Softball Hosts UC Davis For Conference Home Opener This Weekend

Saturday, March 26

Long Beach, Calif.

1 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UC Davis

Photo by: John Fajardo

Softball Hosts UC Davis For Conference Home Opener This Weekend

3/22/2022 1:04:00 PM | Softball

Week 7 UC Davis

All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

By: Roger Kirk, Associate Athletics Director, Communications & Broadcast

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Saturday marks the conference home opener for Long Beach State, as the Beach welcomes UC Davis to the LBSU Softball Complex for a three-game series. The series begins with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday, with the final set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

LEADING OFF
• Long Beach State piled up 29 runs in three games at UC Riverside, winning their first conference series on the road. Ashleigh Inae was on a tear, going 8-for-11 on the weekend to hit .727. The Beach has five regulars hitting .400 or better in league play after the series.

• As a team, Long Beach State is third in the conference in hitting at .288, led by four regulars hitting over .300 in Naomi Hernandez, Kyra Snyder, Marissa Caballero and Corissa Sweet. That mark is even higher in league play, as the team is hitting .409 after three Big West games.

• The Beach closed non-conference play with one of their best games of the year. Sophia Fernandez got the start and three innings, Shelby Frutoz two and the win and Samantha Fowler two and the save as the trio finished off the second combined no-hitter in program history, the 32nd overall for the Beach. Naomi Hernandez hit a solo home run in support of the staff, who struck out eight on the way to the win.

• Long Beach State faced a tough road right out the gate, playing eight teams ranked in the Top 25 in the first 14 games of the year, and six games against teams in the Top 10. The Beach grabbed a win against No. 24 BYU behind a complete game from Sophia Fernandez, and the Beach finished non-conference play with a 9-7 record against teams outside the Top 25.

• For the third time, Long Beach State took part in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge to open up the season. Freshman Marissa Caballero led the team in batting with a .462 batting average while making no errors in five starts at shortstop. Senior Justine Briones and sophomore Sara Olson both were named to the All-Tournament Team as well for the event, as Briones had a 3-run home run and Olson had five RBI on the weekend.

• Senior Naomi Hernandez is having another outstanding season, batting .395 with 15 RBI and two home runs to lead Long Beach State. Now in her fifth year with the program, Hernandez was a national freshman of the year finalist in 2018, as well as the Big West Freshman Player of the Year. A two-time All-West Region selection, Hernandez has also been named All-Big West three times, and was a first team honoree for the second time in 2021.

• Hernandez has already claimed plenty of space in the LBSU record books. She is fourth all-time at LBSU with a .345 career batting average, and ranks in the career Top 10 in runs scored, hits, doubles and walks at the Beach.

PLAYER NOTES
• Catcher Justine Briones joins Noami Hernandez in her fifth year with the program. Having started over 100 games behind the plate in her career, Briones was an All-Big West selection in 2021 and hit .289 with 16 RBI in Big West Conference action. Briones started the year by hitting .375 with a three-run home run in Puerto Vallarta, earning All-Tournament team honors, and leads the team with two home runs while hitting .255 on the year with nine RBI.

• Long Beach State's pitching staff has come together and is working as a unit, exemplified no better than a three-pitcher combined shutout against California Baptist, just the second in school history and the first with more than two pitchers. Four pitchers have five or more starts, and none more than nine this season on the pitching staff.

• Samantha Fowler was the breakout pitcher in the circle for the Beach one year ago, and leads the staff in starts and strikeouts this season. In a team-high 16 appearances, Fowler has 42 strikeouts over seven starts as well as a team-high three saves.

• Sophia Fernandez leads the staff nine starts, pitching 49.0 innings with a 3-3 overall record with 29 strikeouts, including a complete game victory against No. 24 BYU. Shelby Frutoz has also pitched 33.2 innings as a redshirt freshman, leading the team in wins with a 5-3 record over 14 appearances for the Beach. Mo Quinlan has made six starts for LBSU and Addison Kostrencich has also pitched 15.1 innings in her debut season rounding out the staff.

• Kyra Snyder is another returning starter for the Beach. Snyder opened the year by hitting .438 in Puerto Vallarta, and is batting .339 on the year, second on the team over 23 starts split between DP and first base. Snyder also hit her first home run of the year at UC Riverside.

• Graduate transfer Ashleigh Inae will be counted on to make an immediate impact for the Beach. Inae started 180 games at shortstop for ECU and finisher her career there with a .290 batting average. Inae will have one season of eligibility with Long Beach State, and has started in 25 games at third base for the Beach. The senior has been on a tear as of late, and is hitting .464 over the last two weeks.

• Freshman Corissa Sweet is leading a collection of true freshman who are making a big impact in their first season. Sweet is second on the team in slugging at .433 while batting .317 with five doubles, a triple and 13 RBI.

• Freshman Marissa Caballero has started every game at shortstop for Long Beach State, and is hitting .328 with four doubles and 13 RBI on the year. Her primary middle infield partner is also a freshman, Jacquelyn Bickar, who has started 26 games at second base and was named the Big West Freshman of the Week after hitting .500 against UC Riverside.

• Sophomore Sara Olson was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, coming up with clutch hits in both of Long Beach State's wins, finishing the weekend with five RBI. Olson has now started in 26 games for Long Beach State, and is hitting .289 on the year.

• Sophomore Sinclair Lawhorn has now started 16 games at first base, while junior Cam Cecil is hitting .250 with 11 starts in 2022 after starting 38 games one season ago after transferring from Iowa. Sophomore Mikayla Ceballos has also started seven games behind the plate for Long Beach State with 5 RBI.

• 2021 Honorable Mention All-Big West selection Lilyanna Martinez made her debut last week, and is a perfect 3-for-3 in four plate appearances with three singles and a HBP. Martinez hit .351 a year ago before an injury prematurely ended her season, and just made her return from rehab.