Sunday, May 7
Bakersfield, Calif.
1 p.m.
Long Beach State University
28-21, 18-6
7
at
4
CSU Bakersfield
7-40, 2-22
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2
3
4
5
6
7
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E
Long Beach State
2
0
2
0
0
3
0
7
10
0
CSU Bakersfield
2
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2
0
0
0
0
4
6
2
Photo by: John Fajardo
Softball Finishes Sweep At CSU Bakersfield With 7-4 Win
5/7/2023 3:16:00 PM | Softball
Sunday’s win sets up a title-deciding series with Cal State Fullerton at home next weekend.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Long Beach State ultimately never trailed over the weekend, getting big hits from Sara Olson and Jacquelyn Bickar to stay in front of CSU Bakersfield in the series finale, a 7-4 win Sunday in Bakersfield.
Long Beach State (28-21, 18-6 Big West) struck early in the series finale. Sara Olson led off the game with a single and Jacquelyn Bickar followed with a walk to put two runners on. A passed ball moved both into scoring position, and an error on a groundout scored the first run of the game while leaving the Beach in a threatening position, which the team cashed in with an RBI single from Lilyanna Martinez to open up a 2-0 lead.
CSU Bakersfield (7-40, 2-22 Big West) refused to give in however. A two-run home run in the first inning tied the score for the first time as Karissa Munsey's blast to left made it 2-2.
After a quiet second, the Beach regained the lead in the third. Emily Salazar and Cam Cecil started a two-out rally with back-to-back singles, and Teah Thies brought home both with a standup triple off of the wall to make the score 4-2.
The Runners had one more answer. Starting the inning with two singles, Kim Sowder elected to bring in Eryka Gonzales in relief, and while the sophomore picked up a key strikeout, Samantha Martinez hit a double to score both runners and tie the game once more at 4-4.
Gonzales was outstanding from there however. That double was the only hit or runner the sophomore would allow in the contest, retiring 14 straight to finish off the game and wait for the offense to deliver for the defense.
The top of the order would come through once more in the sixth. With an error extending the inning and leaving one on as the order turned over, Olson broke the deadlock with an RBI double to make the score 5-4. Bickar and Makayla Medellin followed with RBI singles to add two more runs of insurance, which was more than enough for Gonzales on Sunday.
Over the course of the game, Long Beach State had three more stolen bases, one each from Bickar, Martinez and Mikayla Ceballos, setting the new team record at 56, breaking the previous mark of 53 set by the 2007 squad at the Beach.
The sweep sets the stage for another classic final series of the season with Cal State Fullerton. Just like the last two seasons, the Big West championship will come down to the final weekend between the Beach and the Titans. The series will begin on the national stage at 7 p.m. on Friday night, live on ESPNU, and then finish with two games on Saturday starting at 1 p.m., both on ESPN+.
Long Beach State (28-21, 18-6 Big West) struck early in the series finale. Sara Olson led off the game with a single and Jacquelyn Bickar followed with a walk to put two runners on. A passed ball moved both into scoring position, and an error on a groundout scored the first run of the game while leaving the Beach in a threatening position, which the team cashed in with an RBI single from Lilyanna Martinez to open up a 2-0 lead.
CSU Bakersfield (7-40, 2-22 Big West) refused to give in however. A two-run home run in the first inning tied the score for the first time as Karissa Munsey's blast to left made it 2-2.
After a quiet second, the Beach regained the lead in the third. Emily Salazar and Cam Cecil started a two-out rally with back-to-back singles, and Teah Thies brought home both with a standup triple off of the wall to make the score 4-2.
The Runners had one more answer. Starting the inning with two singles, Kim Sowder elected to bring in Eryka Gonzales in relief, and while the sophomore picked up a key strikeout, Samantha Martinez hit a double to score both runners and tie the game once more at 4-4.
Gonzales was outstanding from there however. That double was the only hit or runner the sophomore would allow in the contest, retiring 14 straight to finish off the game and wait for the offense to deliver for the defense.
The top of the order would come through once more in the sixth. With an error extending the inning and leaving one on as the order turned over, Olson broke the deadlock with an RBI double to make the score 5-4. Bickar and Makayla Medellin followed with RBI singles to add two more runs of insurance, which was more than enough for Gonzales on Sunday.
Over the course of the game, Long Beach State had three more stolen bases, one each from Bickar, Martinez and Mikayla Ceballos, setting the new team record at 56, breaking the previous mark of 53 set by the 2007 squad at the Beach.
The sweep sets the stage for another classic final series of the season with Cal State Fullerton. Just like the last two seasons, the Big West championship will come down to the final weekend between the Beach and the Titans. The series will begin on the national stage at 7 p.m. on Friday night, live on ESPNU, and then finish with two games on Saturday starting at 1 p.m., both on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gonzales, Eryka (6-3)
L: Martinez, Kirsten (0-10)
Batting:
2B: Olson, Sara 1
3B: Thies, Teah 1
RBI: Olson, Sara 1 ; Bickar, Jacquelyn 1 ; Medellin, Makayla 1 ; Ceballos, Mikayla 1 ; Martinez, Lilyanna 1 ; Thies, Teah 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Olson, Sara 2 ; Bickar, Jacquelyn 2 ; Salazar, Emily 1 ; Cecil, Cam 1 ; Thies, Teah 1
SB: Bickar, Jacquelyn 1 ; Ceballos, Mikayla 1 ; Martinez, Lilyanna 1
HBP: Perez, Selena 1
Batting:
2B: Martinez, Samantha 1
HR: Munsey, Karissa 1
RBI: Munsey, Karissa 2 ; Martinez, Samantha 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Williams, Maya 1 ; Montoya, Savanna 2 ; Munsey, Karissa 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
3b/2b
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
C
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