Softball Stuns No. 16 Baylor, Falls In Extra Innings Against San Diego State To Open Louisville Slugger Invitational

Thursday, March 9

Long Beach, Calif.

3 p.m.

Long Beach State University

8-13

Baylor

18-4

Baylor

Long Beach State

Softball Stuns No. 16 Baylor, Falls In Extra Innings Against San Diego State To Open Louisville Slugger Invitational

3/9/2023 9:16:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Eryka Gonzales held Baylor to four hits as Long Beach State had two complete game performances in the circle.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State picked up their first win over a ranked opponent on Thursday, capitalizing on a strong pitching performance from Eryka Gonzales and nearly did the same against another top opponent in San Diego State, falling 4-3 in eight innings in the first extra-inning contest of the year for Long Beach State.

Long Beach State (8-14) opened the day against No. 16 Baylor (18-4), and after Eryka Gonzales worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, the sophomore was excellent. Striking out three, Gonzales nearly finished off a complete-game shutout, working five more scoreless innings before allowing one run in the seventh as the Bears manufactured a run after a leadoff hit batter.

The Beach picked up their runs in the pitcher's duel in the second inning. Teah Thies singled to start the inning, and after a hit batter, the Beach pushed both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice.

Selena Perez plated one with an RBI groundout, and then Carly Robbins followed with an RBI single to give the Beach a 2-0 lead which would be enough for Gonzales, who finished off the complete game for her second win of the young season.

In the nightcap, San Diego State (15-7) did just enough to outlast the Beach despite another strong pitching performance, this time from Shannon Haddad. The Aztecs got going right away with a single and took the lead 1-0 after a double from Mac Barbara, but Haddad struck out Macey Keester looking to end the inning, the first of seven strikeouts for the sophomore.

The Aztecs added another run in the top of the sixth on another RBI double from Barbara, but the Beach would bounce right back in the bottom of the inning. Back-to-back singles from Sara Olson and Thies put two on, and Corissa Sweet singled to bring home the first run of the game for LBSU. Smart baserunning from Thies on a groundout added another run, and the Beach pulled even with San Diego State 2-2.

Long Beach State threatened again in the seventh, loading the bases, but the third SDSU pitcher of the game Allie Light, escaped the jam to send the game to extra innings.

In the eighth, the Aztecs took advantage of a Long Beach State error to score an additional run along with the tiebreaker runner to take a two-run lead. In the bottom half, the Beach pushed across the third run and a double from Robbins left a runner in scoring position, but Light finished off the win for San Diego State.

The Louisville Slugger Invitational continues on Friday, March 10 with five games scheduled at the LBSU Softball Complex. The Beach will close the day against Loyola Marymount, with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. Live coverage throughout the day can be found at www.beachlivestats.com, and updates throughout the day will be available through Long Beach State's social media channels as well.