Softball Falls In Two On Second Day In Cathedral City

Saturday, February 25

Cathedral City, Calif.

Noon

Long Beach State University

5-8

BYU

8-5

Long Beach State

BYU Cougars

Photo by: Diego Devia @Devia.Img

2/25/2023 10:38:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Long Beach State edged by BYU before losing to No. 24 Missouri in the night game.

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

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – On the second day at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Long Beach State battled but came up short in both games on Saturday, falling in a one-run game 6-5 against BYU before giving up a big inning late in a loss to No. 24 Missouri.

                Long Beach State (5-9) started off the day against BYU (8-5) in the first of two games Saturday. The Beach struck first, as Carly Robbins walked to start a rally, coming home on a Teah Thies single to give the Beach an early lead. BYU answered back quickly, however, getting their first two batters of the game on base and then bringing both home on an RBI single from Hailey Morrow.

                The Cougars added two more runs in the second inning to take a 4-1 lead, but the Beach started to work their way back. Mikayla Ceballos led off the third inning with a single, and thenthen two batters later, Emily Salazar doubled to cut the lead to two runs at 4-2.

                Continuing to chip away, Long Beach State scored two more runs in the fifth. Thies started the inning with a walk, and after a single from pinch hitter Jacquelyn Bickar and a sacrifice, Selena Perez scored one run with a sacrifice fly and then an RBI single from Sinclair Lawhorn tied the game at 4-4.

                Sophia Fernandez, who had settled in with two clean innings after coming on in relief, surrendered the lead in the fifth. Pinch hitter Emma Andrewjeski started the inning with a single, and after an error extended the inning, BYU brought in two more runs to retake a 6-4 lead.

                Ceballos and Thies both singled to start a rally for the Beach in the sixth inning, and a third hit from Selena Perez brought home a fifth run, but Kaysen Korth escaped the jam with the lead, and retired the Beach in order in the seventh to claim the victory.

                In the team's night game, Long Beach State went up against their fourth ranked foe of the season in No. 24 Missouri (12-4). Shannon Haddad took the start in the circle, and Mizzou to just one run over the first three innings over work. The Tigers held a 1-0 lead through three after working around a leadoff triple from Emily Salazar in the second inning.

                After adding an insurance run in the fourth inning, the Tigers led the game 2-0 after five, but broke the game open in the sixth inning. Turning the ball over to Eryka Gonzales in the circle after her strong performance one night ago, the Tigers ended up striking quickly. Starting the inning with two doubles and getting some help from the Beach with two errors, a three-run home run from Kara Daly capping off a seven-run inning to end the game early after six.

                Long Beach State returns for one final game Sunday at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. With their original opponent, Arizona State, dropping out of the tournament, Long Beach State will now face Utah in their fifth and final game out in the desert, with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. with coverage at FloSoftball and www.beachlivestats.com.