Long Beach State Softball Opens Big West Play With Series At UC Riverside

Saturday, March 16

Riverside, Calif.

1 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UC Riverside

Photo by: John Fajardo

Long Beach State Softball Opens Big West Play With Series At UC Riverside

3/12/2024 10:08:00 AM | Softball

Week 6 - UC Riverside

The Beach will open their championship defense on the road against the Highlanders.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Big West Conference action will begin on the road this season for Long Beach State, as the Beach travels to UC Riverside for a three-game series beginning on Saturday. The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday with a final game Sunday. All three will be broadcast on ESPN+.

LEADING OFF
• The Beach are the defending Big West champions, and were picked to finish second in the preseason poll by the league's coaches. The team's leading hitters, Jacquelyn Bickar, Carly Robbins, Sara Olson and Makayla Medellin were all All-Big West selections a year ago and will look to carry their momentum into the series with the Highlanders.

• Long Beach State opened their home schedule with a thrilling win over Michigan. Junior Corissa Sweet had both a game-tying RBI to extend the game into extra innings as well as the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Beach walked off the Wolverines 7-6.

• Freshman Malayna Terrones hit a two-run home run in that game as well as a second home run in a win over San Jose State. Slugging .648 over six games, Terrones became the first player for Long Beach State to earn a Big West weekly honor, named the Big West Freshman of the Week on March 4.

• Through 25 games, Long Beach State has played eight opponents in the Top 25, and faced the second toughest strength of schedule in Division I during the non-conference per Massey Ratings, just behind Baylor.

• Sophomore Makayla Medellin returned for Long Beach State at the Judi Garman Classic and hit .500 over five games. Medellin had a double and a home run and finished the week with five RBI in a strong return for the 2023 Big West Freshman of the Year.

• The Beach started the season at the Puerto Vallarta Collegiate Classic, and faced three teams in the Top 20, battling the distance in all four but not coming away with a win. Starting pitchers Eryka Gonzales and Shannon Haddad were both named to the All-Tournament team, while the offense was led by juniors Corissa Sweet and Jacquelyn Bickar.

• Shannon Haddad, Sara Olson and Jacquelyn Bickar were all selected for the 2024 Big West Preseason All-Big West team as selected by the coaches, the most individuals chosen from any team. The Beach and Cal State Fullerton were once again tabbed to finish top two after the rivals have battled for the championship in each of the last three seasons.

• In 2023 Long Beach State broke the school single-season stolen base record with 60, breaking the record of 53 set during the 2007 season. Lilyanna Martinez, Sara Olson and Jacquelyn Bickar all had 13 or more stolen bases and return in 2024.

• Both seniors, Sara Olson and Lilyanna Martinez are both in the program's top 5 in career stolen bases, and have their sights set on the school record currently held by head coach Kim Sowder. Olson ranks second currently with 42 stolen bases while Martinez is 5th overall with 35 stolen bases. Junior Jacquelyn Bickar also needs just one stolen base to join Long Beach State's Top 10.

PLAYER NOTES
• Senior Sara Olson is leading Long Beach State in on-base percentage this season, hitting .288 with a team-high 21 hits, 13 walks and six doubles on the year while serving as the team's primary leadoff hitter. An outstanding defensive outfielder as well, Olson has five stolen bases this season and is searching for another All-Big West selection in 2024.

• Junior Jacquelyn Bickar shares the team lead in hitting so far this season, batting .303 with seven stolen bases leading the team. A first-team All-Big West selection in 2023, Bickar has been an everyday starter for three seasons and needs only one more stolen base to join Olson and Lilyanna Martinez in the program's career Top 10 in steals.

• After missing six games, defending Big West Freshman of the Year Makayla Medellin returned in a big way for the Beach, batting .500 at the Judi Garman Classic. Medellin is fourth on the team with a .255 batting average and is second on the team with eight RBI on the year in 17 starts.

• Junior Carly Robbins has had a solid start offensively for Long Beach State. An All-Big West selection a season ago, Robbins is batting .290 with two doubles, two triples and two home runs, slugging a team-best .484 and leading the team with 15 RBI, starting every game in the infield.

• Lilyanna Martinez had a strong weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, and is batting .235 while playing in every game, primarily in center field. The senior is a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts this season, and now ranks 5th in career steals at the Beach. She also shares the single-season with head coach Kim Sowder after swiping 19 bags last season on the way to second-team All-Big West honors.

• Freshman Malayna Terrones was named the Big West Freshman of the Week on March 4 after hitting a pair of home runs against Michigan and San Jose State. A true freshman from Los Alamitos HS, Terrones has 5 RBI on the year and has started 10 games for the Beach.

• Two Division I transfers are making an impact for Long Beach State as well. Jaeden Barajas has started 11 games behind the plate for Long Beach State and is second on the team with ten walks and a .386 on-base percentage on the year. Jocylyn Vidal is among the team leaders with seven RBI, splitting time between third base and DP in 2024.

• Senior Sophia Fernandez has had to lead the way for Long Beach State in the circle. Fernandez has three wins and a save this year for Long Beach State, pitching a team-high 46.1 innings, including 23.2 innings last week in the absence of both Shannon Hadded and Eryka Gonzales. Last season, Fernandez went 7-1 in Big West play with six starts, and held opponents to a Big West leading .149 hitting in conference play while posting a 1.25 ERA, earning second-team All-Big West honors.

• Junior Eryka Gonzales has started eight games this season for Long Beach State, pitching 32.0 innings in the circle for LBSU. A second-team All-Big West pick in 2023 Gonzales was the team leader in ERA at 1.95 and was third in innings pitched over 19 appearances with seven starts on the year, posting a 6-3 overall record.

• Freshman Kate Barnett has been a bright spot early in the circle for Long Beach State in 2024. Pitching primarily in relief so far, Barnett's 45.0 innings are second-most on the team, and her ERA is the lowest on the team.

• Junior Shannon Haddad has missed been out since Feb. 17 after trying to work through an injury to start the year. The Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year in 2021 with an 8-0 record and a 2.05 ERA Haddad went 13-10 over 146.1 innings pitched, striking out 109 with a 2.10 ERA in 2023.

• Other key players for Long Beach State include a trio of senior first basemen who will battle for time in Sinclair Lawhorn, Mikayla Ceballos and Cassie Camou. Sophomore Selena Perez has started 19 games at shortstop and has made just three errors, while Rebekah Durazo and Savannah Magadan have combined to start 14 games behind the plate in support of Jaeden Barajas.