Sunday, March 10
Long Beach, Calif.
Noon
Long Beach State University
4-21
2
vs
4
Utah State
15-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
Utah State
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
4
7
0
Long Beach State
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
7
1
Photo by: John Fajardo
Sophia Fernandez Gem Spoiled In Extra Innings By Utah State
3/10/2024 3:23:00 PM | Softball
Utah State scored three in the eighth to grab the win despite a complete game from the senior.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Senior Sophia Fernandez faced just one batter over the minimum through six innings of work, but offensively the Beach did not cash in some early opportunities and Utah State made Long Beach State, defeating LBSU 4-2 in extra innings.
Long Beach State (4-21) left 10 batters on base on the day, undoing the early work of Sophia Fernandez who was spectacular until late in the contest. A great double play erased the only batter that reached over the first five innings, and Fernandez made quick work of a two-out hit in the sixth by inducing a quick groundout.
Offensively, Long Beach State had two on in the second after singles from Sara Olson and Corissa Sweek, and loaded the bases in the third with a walk to Jacquelyn Bickar, a single from Carly Robbins and a walk to Olson, but both times the Beach could not get the big hit they needed.
That continued in the fifth, as Olson doubled to leadoff the inning, and Erica Estrada singled to put two in scoring position with no outs. Denay Smith was able to work out of the jam for Utah State (15-9) however and the Aggies finally broke through in the seventh.
Tatum Silva singled and was pushed around to third before a sacrifice fly brought home the opening run of the game. Long Beach State answered in the bottom half with a two-out rally, as Carly Robbins singled and a double from Makayla Medellin allowed the run to score, tying the game at 1-1.
An outstanding catch by Cassie Camou to start the eighth looked to put the Beach in a great position as the Beach had two outs with no runs scored despite the tiebreaker runner on third, but a liner from Ariel Fifita was just outside of the reach of Robbins to score the first run of the inning. Silva followed with a single, and a passed ball added a third run as Utah State took a 4-1 lead.
Olson walked to reach base for a fourth time, and Jaeden Barajas was hit by a pitch to load the bases and give the Beach life in the bottom of the eighth. An RBI groundout from Sweet scored one run, but Jessica Stewart struck out the final two batters to end the game, collecting her third save of the season.
Long Beach State will begin Big West action this coming week, starting out on the road with three games against UC Riverside as the Beach looks to defend their Big West Title. The series starts out with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 16 -followed by a single to close the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
Long Beach State (4-21) left 10 batters on base on the day, undoing the early work of Sophia Fernandez who was spectacular until late in the contest. A great double play erased the only batter that reached over the first five innings, and Fernandez made quick work of a two-out hit in the sixth by inducing a quick groundout.
Offensively, Long Beach State had two on in the second after singles from Sara Olson and Corissa Sweek, and loaded the bases in the third with a walk to Jacquelyn Bickar, a single from Carly Robbins and a walk to Olson, but both times the Beach could not get the big hit they needed.
That continued in the fifth, as Olson doubled to leadoff the inning, and Erica Estrada singled to put two in scoring position with no outs. Denay Smith was able to work out of the jam for Utah State (15-9) however and the Aggies finally broke through in the seventh.
Tatum Silva singled and was pushed around to third before a sacrifice fly brought home the opening run of the game. Long Beach State answered in the bottom half with a two-out rally, as Carly Robbins singled and a double from Makayla Medellin allowed the run to score, tying the game at 1-1.
An outstanding catch by Cassie Camou to start the eighth looked to put the Beach in a great position as the Beach had two outs with no runs scored despite the tiebreaker runner on third, but a liner from Ariel Fifita was just outside of the reach of Robbins to score the first run of the inning. Silva followed with a single, and a passed ball added a third run as Utah State took a 4-1 lead.
Olson walked to reach base for a fourth time, and Jaeden Barajas was hit by a pitch to load the bases and give the Beach life in the bottom of the eighth. An RBI groundout from Sweet scored one run, but Jessica Stewart struck out the final two batters to end the game, collecting her third save of the season.
Long Beach State will begin Big West action this coming week, starting out on the road with three games against UC Riverside as the Beach looks to defend their Big West Title. The series starts out with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 16 -followed by a single to close the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: SMITH, Denay (5-2)
L: Fernandez, Sophia (3-8)
S: STEWART, Jessica (3)
Batting:
RBI: FIFITA, Ariel 1 ; SILVA, Tatum 1 ; GONZALEZ, Giselle 1
SH: BUNTON, Alex 1
SF: GONZALEZ, Giselle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: FIFITA, Ariel 1 ; SILVA, Tatum 1 ; ASHNER, Ali 1 ; VARGAS, Hannah 1
Batting:
2B: Medellin, Makayla 1 ; Olson, Sara 1
RBI: Medellin, Makayla 1 ; Sweet, Corissa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dowden, Emily 1 ; Medellin, Makayla 1
SB: Estrada, Erica 1
HBP: Barajas, Jaeden 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
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INF
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INF
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