Softball Heads To Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

Friday, February 21

Cathedral City, Calif.

3 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Utah

Photo by: John Fajardo

2/19/2025 11:35:00 AM | Softball

Game Notes - Mary Nutter

The Beach will play five games starting on Friday.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State will once again participate in one of the largest and most prestigious tournaments in the country, the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic held annually in Cathedral City, Calif. The Beach will play five games over three days beginning with Utah on Friday, February 21. All five games will be broadcast live via FloCollege.

LEADING OFF
• Shannon Haddad pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout and Rebekah Durazo hit a three-run home run, her second of the season as Long Beach State defeated Saint Mary's 4-0 last week. The Beach pitched well but lost their other three games last week in the Wilson Tournament in three close games against Winthrop, Iowa State and Kansas.

• Weather wasn't an issue at all on a perfect day Sunday for Long Beach State's home opener, as the Beach pushed No. 2 Oklahoma to the limit for 11 innings. The Beach had chances and held the Sooners off the scoreboard for the most consecutive innings since 2018, but the defending champions ultimately prevailed in extra innings.

• Long Beach State's pitching and defense has been excellent so far in classic Beach style. The Beach has four pitchers with an ERA 2.25 or under to combine for a team ERA of 2.02, 37th in the nation and with just 5 errors on the year, Long Beach State ranks 16th nationally with a .981 fielding percentage.

• Senior Shannon Haddad and freshman Brynne Nally each contributed in the circle against Fresno State to the second combined no-hitter in program history, and the 34th overall. Haddad and Nally collaborated on 7.0 scoreless innings, and then Rebekah Durazo salvaged the contest in a unique way with a two-run double to walk off the no-no against the Bulldogs.

• Those two pitchers have started every game for LBSU so far this season, and both boast an ERA under 2.00 and had combined for 35 strikeouts in 10 appearances in 2025.

• The freshman class for Long Beach State had a huge week in their first competition. Nally was named the Big West Freshman of the Week for her part in the no-hitter while also leading LBSU in innings pitched, going 2-0 on the week with an 0.60 ERA. Priscilla Iniguez hit .462 and hit three doubles, and Lina Apodaca started the season with a four-game hitting streak. Finally, Maddy Martin was the standout of the Oklahoma game, striking out two and throwing six innings total against the Sooners, five scoreless until the breakthrough in the 11th inning.

• Long Beach State has been ranked in each of the first two Mid-Major Top 25 polls from D1Softball, introduced this season. The Beach is ranked No. 25 in that poll entering the week with a great chance to move up with a strong weekend in Cathedral City.

• Receiving nine out of ten first place votes, Long Beach State Softball was the clear favorite entering the 2025 season the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, finishing in front of Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara. Pitcher Shannon Haddad and senior utility Jacquelyn Bickar were both selected Preseason All-Big West by the coaches as well.

PLAYER NOTES
• Senior Shannon Haddad returns to lead the staff following a season-ending injury in 2023. A two-time first team All-Big West selection, Haddad helped lead Long Beach State to the Big West title in each of those seasons, and over those two healthy seasons posted a 21-10 overall record with 173 strikeouts. The veteran pitcher has again impressed early, striking out 21 batters and throwing a combined no-hitter and a one-hit shutout already in 2025.

• Brynne Nally was very active in the first week of her collegiate career, winning Big West Freshman of the Week in her first opportunity after going 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and sharing in a no-hitter with Haddad. Nally is now second on the team with 19.1 innings pitched a 14 strikeouts while leading the starters with a 1.45 ERA as a true freshman.

• Also having a spectacular debut was Maddy Martin, who as the game with No. 2 Oklahoma kept getting extended, ultimately threw six innings against the Sooners and allowed just four hits and two runs, striking out two in her collegiate debut coming against the defending national champions.

• Sophomore Kate Barnett was a bright spot in the circle for Long Beach State to begin her college career in 2024. Pitching primarily in relief before being asked to start in the absence of Haddad and Eryka Gonzalez, Barnett's 97.0 innings were second-most on the team, and her ERA was the second-lowest on the team. In conference play, Barnett posted a 7-2 overall record with a 1.94 ERA and 20 strikeouts, all the best among freshmen in the league one season ago.

• Rebekah Durazo secured the starting role at catcher for Long Beach State last season, earning Honorable Mention All-Big West in 2024. The senior has started off the 2025 season well, and leads Long Beach State with a .364 batting average, hitting two home runs and slugging .727. Her 9 RBI lead the team, and her bat has carried the Beach in their early wins this season.

• Junior Makayla Medellin returns for Long Beach State after two outstanding seasons. The 2023 Big West Freshman of the Year and a two-time All-Big West selection, Medellin led Long Beach State with a .384 batting average, 10 doubles and three home runs and hit .461 in Big West play last season in 2024.

• Senior Jacquelyn Bickar returns for her fourth year as a starter at Long Beach State. A career .286 hitter, Bickar is a two-time All-Big West selection has started over 150 games for the Beach. She currently ranks 10th in career stolen bases at Long Beach State with 31 and is just outside of the Top 10 in runs scored as a staple at the top of the lineup for the Beach.

• Senior Carly Robbins is another regular returning starter for Long Beach State. Having started 105 games in her career, Robbins started the year off hot, hitting .385 with two perfect sacrifice bunts in the opening week of the year. Robbins, a graduate student, was selected this fall to represent the Big West at the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum in Charlotte, North Carolina specifically for her drive and desire to be an active leader on campus and beyond.

• Also returning is junior Selena Perez after starting at shortstop in each of her first two seasons. An excellent defensive shortstop, Perez has made fewer than 10 errors each season while starting 100 games in total at shortstop for the Beach.

• Priscilla Iniguez led Long Beach State as a true freshman in hitting through the first weekend. With three hits in each of her first two games, Iniguez began the season batting .462 with three doubles and a pair of RBI while starting all four games at first base.

• Freshman Lina Apodaca has taken a grasp on a starting role, playing each of the first eight games primarily in right field. The freshman hit a single late in the game against No. 2 Oklahoma, and had a six-game hitting streak to start the season, now tied for third on the team in batting at .292.

• Sophomore KaLeena Gonzales has gotten off to a strong start, batting .400 at the Wilson Tournament including a double to help spark a rally against Iowa State.

• Brooklyn Lee joined Long Beach State as a transfer from Big West rival UC San Diego, and has started seven games for the Beach, primarily as the team's designated player while also working as the team's backup catcher.

• Lindsey Cowans is another transfer; the pitcher had her best outing of the season against Kansas, giving the Beach a chance at a comeback with three innings of scoreless pitching, striking out two while allowing just two hits to the Jayhawks.

• Corissa Sweet is another senior who is succeeding both on the diamond and off. Sweet hit over .270 in her first two seasons at Long Beach State, and has played in 139 games in her career at the Beach. A President's Scholar, the Molecular Cell Biology major was one of 25 students in her matriculation class selected for the highest merit-based scholarship awarded academically at Long Beach State to it's over 41,000 students.

• Long Beach State's final senior is catcher Savannah Magadan. Magadan played in a career-high 29 games one season ago while serving as the team's backup catcher.