Saturday, May 20
Stanford, Calif.
4:30 p.m.
Long Beach State University
31-23
1
vs
2
Loyola Marymount
28-21
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Long Beach State
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
7
0
Loyola Marymount
0
0
0
0
0
2
X
2
6
2
Long Beach State Ends Season With One-Run Loss To LMU
5/20/2023 8:04:00 PM | Softball
Long Beach State ends their postseason run with a pair of one-run losses.
STANFORD, Calif. – Long Beach State threatened all afternoon long and took the first lead of the day, but Loyola Marymount ended up being the ones to extend their season in Saturday's NCAA elimination game, rallying to beat the Beach 2-1 at the Stanford Regional.
Long Beach State (31-23) had baserunners on in every inning against Loyola Marymount (28-21), but were wanting of the breakthrough hit for much of the day while holding their own against the Lions.
The Beach left two runners on in the first inning, but the Lions were able to work out of trouble in what would be a theme of the early innings. A double from Cam Cecil started off the second inning, then Sara Olson reached on a two-base error to begin the third, but each time, the Beach couldn't punch across the run, part of 11 runners left on base during the day.
Long Beach State finally broke through in the top of the fifth. Sara Olson led off in the inning with a walk, and Jacquelyn Bickar followed with a double as the top of the order set the table once again. Makayla Medellin then drove in a run with an RBI single to give the Beach a 1-0 lead.
Fernandez was outstanding for five innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth. The junior had walked just one batter through the first five, but walked the first Loyola Marymount batters to spark a Lion rally.
With the bases loaded, Shannon Haddad got a critical out with a strikeout in relief, and the Beach nearly escaped the inning with a sure double play from Carly Robbins, but the grounder was ruled just foul, and Taylor Fitch capitalized with a two-run double to put LMU in the lead.
Long Beach State made one final push in the seventh, as Mikayla Ceballos and Sinclair Lawhorn put the winning run in scoring position with a single and walk with two outs, but Jenna Perez closed out the game to grab her 14th win of the season.
With the defeat, Long Beach State's 26th postseason appearance comes to an end, with two one-run losses. Cecil hit .500 to lead the offense in the tournament, while Haddad and Fernandez allowed just three runs combined over 12.0 innings pitched.
At 31-23 the 2023 season was the 29th 30-win campaign for the Big West Champions, who claimed the title for the 10th time in program history behind the leadership of Big West Coach of the Year Kim Sowder.
Long Beach State (31-23) had baserunners on in every inning against Loyola Marymount (28-21), but were wanting of the breakthrough hit for much of the day while holding their own against the Lions.
The Beach left two runners on in the first inning, but the Lions were able to work out of trouble in what would be a theme of the early innings. A double from Cam Cecil started off the second inning, then Sara Olson reached on a two-base error to begin the third, but each time, the Beach couldn't punch across the run, part of 11 runners left on base during the day.
Long Beach State finally broke through in the top of the fifth. Sara Olson led off in the inning with a walk, and Jacquelyn Bickar followed with a double as the top of the order set the table once again. Makayla Medellin then drove in a run with an RBI single to give the Beach a 1-0 lead.
Fernandez was outstanding for five innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth. The junior had walked just one batter through the first five, but walked the first Loyola Marymount batters to spark a Lion rally.
With the bases loaded, Shannon Haddad got a critical out with a strikeout in relief, and the Beach nearly escaped the inning with a sure double play from Carly Robbins, but the grounder was ruled just foul, and Taylor Fitch capitalized with a two-run double to put LMU in the lead.
Long Beach State made one final push in the seventh, as Mikayla Ceballos and Sinclair Lawhorn put the winning run in scoring position with a single and walk with two outs, but Jenna Perez closed out the game to grab her 14th win of the season.
With the defeat, Long Beach State's 26th postseason appearance comes to an end, with two one-run losses. Cecil hit .500 to lead the offense in the tournament, while Haddad and Fernandez allowed just three runs combined over 12.0 innings pitched.
At 31-23 the 2023 season was the 29th 30-win campaign for the Big West Champions, who claimed the title for the 10th time in program history behind the leadership of Big West Coach of the Year Kim Sowder.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jenna Perez (14-12)
L: Fernandez, Sophia (8-5)
Batting:
2B: Bickar, Jacquelyn 1 ; Cecil, Cam 1
RBI: Medellin, Makayla 1
SH: Thies, Teah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Olson, Sara 1
Batting:
2B: Izzy Jamgotchian 1 ; Jasmine Sofowora 1 ; Taylor Fitch 1
RBI: Taylor Fitch 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Izzy Jamgotchian 1 ; Arianna Jaurequi 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballINF
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