Softball Homestand Continues This Weekend Against CSUN

Saturday, April 2

Long Beach, Calif.

1 p.m.

Long Beach State University

CSUN

Photo by: John Fajardo

3/29/2022 12:36:00 PM | Softball

Game Notes - CSUN

All three games will once again be brodacst live on ESPN+.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State's current homestand continues with three games against CSUN this weekend. The series starts with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday, with the finale set for a 1 p.m. first pitch. All three games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

LEADING OFF
• The Beach rallied for a pair of comeback victories to take a second straight series against UC Davis. LBSU fell behind in the first inning in both games, but came back for two one-run wins, the second coming on a walkoff hit from freshman Jacquelyn Bickar. The Aggies turned the script around on Sunday though, extending the game with a solo home run in the seventh inning before grabbing the win in 13 innings.

• Sunday's game was the longest game for the Beach since the 2011 season, when the Beach won against UCSB in 13 innings. The Beach also had a win in 13 innings against UNLV in 2009, making the only game longer in the last 20 years a 17-inning contest against Cal Poly in 2004.

• 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 .282, led by three regulars hitting over .300 in Naomi Hernandez, Kyra Snyder, and Ashleigh Inae. That mark is even higher in league play, as the team is hitting .318 after six 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.

• Senior Naomi Hernandez is having another outstanding season, batting .391 with 18 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 120 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 .246 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 18 appearances, Fowler has 61 strikeouts over nine starts as well as a team-high three saves.

• Sophia Fernandez leads the staff nine starts, pitching 61.0 innings with team-best 3.56 ERA and a 4-4 record, including a complete game victory against No. 24 BYU. Shelby Frutoz has also pitched 35.1 innings as a redshirt freshman, leading the team in wins with a 5-3 record and two saves over 16 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. Moving to third base for Long Beach State, Inae has started 28 games this season and has been on a tear, hitting .545 in league play and now batting .303 on the year.

• Freshman Corissa Sweet is leading a collection of true freshman who are making a big impact in their first season. Sweet is fourth on the team in batting and slugging on the year, and has added four stolen bases along with her .288 batting average and team-high five doubles.

• Freshman Marissa Caballero has started every game at shortstop for Long Beach State, and is hitting .288 with four doubles and 13 RBI on the year. Her primary middle infield partner is also a freshman, Jacquelyn Bickar, who has started 29 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 29 games for Long Beach State, and is hitting .271 on the year and leads the team with eight stolen bases.

• Sophomore Sinclair Lawhorn has now started 17 games at first base, while junior Cam Cecil is hitting .275 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 a late debut in the season, but is hitting .400 this season. Martinez hit .351 a year ago before an injury prematurely ended her season, and just made her return from rehab, easing back in and making her first two starts against UC Davis.

• Long Beach State will be without two key infielders, as junior Emily Salazar suffered a season-ending knee injury and Carly Robbins, a transfer from South Carolina, will sit out the season as a redshirt. Also currently sidelined due to injury is defending Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year Shannon Haddad.