Saturday, May 11
Fullerton, Calif.
2 p.m.
Long Beach State University
25-28, 0
4
at
3
Cal State Fullerton
35-17, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
LBSU
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
4
10
0
Cal State Fullerton
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
3
6
0
Titans Top Long Beach State For Big West Title In Final Game Of The Season
5/11/2024 7:55:00 PM | Softball
Long Beach State forced a winner-take-all final game at Cal State Fullerton, but came up short in the last game of the season.
FULLERTON, Calif. – Long Beach State won the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader at Cal State Fullerton as the rivals once more squared off for the Big West Championship on the final day of the season, but the Titans rallied from behind in the final game to end the memorable Big West challenge of Long Beach State in 2024.
Long Beach State (25-29, 20-7 Big West) got off to a promising start with two singles from Jacquelyn Bickar and Makayla Medellin, but Cal State Fullerton (36-17, 22-5 Big West) starter Staci Chambers worked out of the jam to keep the Beach off the board in the first. The Titans then opened the scoring in the bottom half with a two-run double from Ava Arce to take a 2-0 lead.
The key inning for the Beach came in the fifth. Walks to Bickar and Jocylyn Vidal put two on for the fourth time in five innings, and this time Long Beach State cashed in. Senior Cassie Camou had the first big hit, a double down the right field line, and then a single from Carly Robbins scored one more to tie the game. With two outs, Savannah Magadan doubled into the gap to give Long Beach State a 4-2 lead.
A leadoff single put the Titans in position to threaten, and Cal State Fullerton had two on with one out in the fifth. Turning the circle over to Sophia Fernandez, a controversial walk loaded the bases, but the Fernandez would pick up two outs to close the inning and maintain the lead 4-3.
Fernandez would set down the next six batters she faced in order in the sixth and seventh to close out her second save of the season, holding on to the win for freshman Kate Barnett who improved to 7-5 on the year.
In the second game it was Long Beach State that struck early. Singles once again from Bickar and Medellin put two on, and then RBI hits from Vidal and Robbins brought both baserunners in to give Long Beach State a 2-0 lead before the Titans came to the plate. Cal State Fullerton answered back in the bottom half, as a two-out triple from Peyton Toto scored Bailey Wallace and Hannah Becerra to even the score at 2-2.
Long Beach State retook the lead. With two on, a bloop single from Magadan loaded the bases with one out, and an RBI groundout from Sinclair Lawhorn scored Robbins to edge the Beach back out in front 3-2.
The situation changed in the bottom half as the Titans answered back once more. A leadoff double from Megan Delgadillo led to a tie score as the Titans pushed the run around with a single from Kika Ramirez. With two runners in scoring position, a two-out single from Colby McClinton put the Titans in the lead.
McClinton scored on a double from Jessi Alcala, and then Alcala scored on a single by Candace Yingling as Cal State Fullerton continued the rally. A pair of errors allowed another run to score as the Titans took an 8-3 lead after three innings.
Cal State Fullerton added an additional run in the fourth and fifth innings. Long Beach State scored one of their own as Medellin started a two-out rally with a single. An error put runners on the corners, and then a single by Camou scored the sophomore outfielder to make the score 10-4.
Long Beach State finishes the year with a second-place finish in the Big West, finishing in either first or second in four straight seasons and in six of the last seven.
Long Beach State (25-29, 20-7 Big West) got off to a promising start with two singles from Jacquelyn Bickar and Makayla Medellin, but Cal State Fullerton (36-17, 22-5 Big West) starter Staci Chambers worked out of the jam to keep the Beach off the board in the first. The Titans then opened the scoring in the bottom half with a two-run double from Ava Arce to take a 2-0 lead.
The key inning for the Beach came in the fifth. Walks to Bickar and Jocylyn Vidal put two on for the fourth time in five innings, and this time Long Beach State cashed in. Senior Cassie Camou had the first big hit, a double down the right field line, and then a single from Carly Robbins scored one more to tie the game. With two outs, Savannah Magadan doubled into the gap to give Long Beach State a 4-2 lead.
A leadoff single put the Titans in position to threaten, and Cal State Fullerton had two on with one out in the fifth. Turning the circle over to Sophia Fernandez, a controversial walk loaded the bases, but the Fernandez would pick up two outs to close the inning and maintain the lead 4-3.
Fernandez would set down the next six batters she faced in order in the sixth and seventh to close out her second save of the season, holding on to the win for freshman Kate Barnett who improved to 7-5 on the year.
In the second game it was Long Beach State that struck early. Singles once again from Bickar and Medellin put two on, and then RBI hits from Vidal and Robbins brought both baserunners in to give Long Beach State a 2-0 lead before the Titans came to the plate. Cal State Fullerton answered back in the bottom half, as a two-out triple from Peyton Toto scored Bailey Wallace and Hannah Becerra to even the score at 2-2.
Long Beach State retook the lead. With two on, a bloop single from Magadan loaded the bases with one out, and an RBI groundout from Sinclair Lawhorn scored Robbins to edge the Beach back out in front 3-2.
The situation changed in the bottom half as the Titans answered back once more. A leadoff double from Megan Delgadillo led to a tie score as the Titans pushed the run around with a single from Kika Ramirez. With two runners in scoring position, a two-out single from Colby McClinton put the Titans in the lead.
McClinton scored on a double from Jessi Alcala, and then Alcala scored on a single by Candace Yingling as Cal State Fullerton continued the rally. A pair of errors allowed another run to score as the Titans took an 8-3 lead after three innings.
Cal State Fullerton added an additional run in the fourth and fifth innings. Long Beach State scored one of their own as Medellin started a two-out rally with a single. An error put runners on the corners, and then a single by Camou scored the sophomore outfielder to make the score 10-4.
Long Beach State finishes the year with a second-place finish in the Big West, finishing in either first or second in four straight seasons and in six of the last seven.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Barnett, Kate (7-5)
L: Rainey, H. (17-6)
S: Fernandez, Sophia (2)
Batting:
2B: Camou, Cassie 1 ; Magadan, Savannah 1
RBI: Camou, Cassie 1 ; Robbins, Carly 1 ; Magadan, Savannah 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Bickar, Jacquelyn 1 ; Gonzales, KaLeena 1 ; Camou, Cassie 1 ; Robbins, Carly 1
SB: Bickar, Jacquelyn 1 ; Gonzales, KaLeena 1
Batting:
2B: Arce, A. 1
RBI: Arce, A. 2 ; Yingling, C. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Delgadillo,M 1 ; Perez, S. 1 ; Becerra, H. 1
SB: Delgadillo,M 1 ; Romulo, K. 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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INF
/ SoftballC
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INF
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