Softball Closes Mary Nutter With Run-Rule Victory

Sunday, February 23

Cathedral City, Calif.

9:30 a.m.

Long Beach State University

5-7

Minnesota

4-9

Long Beach State

Minnesota

2/23/2025 2:05:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Long Beach State finished the tournament with a run-rule win over Howard after a narrow defeat to Minnesota.

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

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – Long Beach State's catchers had a big day, as Brooklyn Lee had six hits over two games and Rebekah Durazo had five as LBSU closed out their time at the Mary Nutter Classic with a narrow 5-4 defeat to Minnesota before a 9-1 win over Howard in six innings.

Long Beach State (6-7) utilized some classic small ball to push across the first run of the game. Jacquelyn Bickar worked a walk, stole second, was pushed to third by Carly Robbins with a sacrifice and then scored on a single from Lina Apodaca.

Minnesota (5-9) answered back in the bottom half, starting with a one-out triple Breezy Burnett. After a single scored one run, a two-run home run from Taylor Krapf put the Golden Gophers in front 3-1.

Kate Barnett settled in for the Beach in the circle from there, holding Minnesota off of the board through the next three innings. The Beach got leadoff hits in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, but couldn't recapture their execution from the first inning, and the score remained the same until the bottom of the fifth. A three-base error in the outfield to start the inning got Minnesota started, and the Golden Gophers added two unearned insurance runs in the frame.

Those runs ended up making a difference as the Beach rallied for a run in the sixth. Rebekah Durazo started the inning with a single, and Brooklyn Lee followed with another hit to put two on. After moving the runners over, an error brought home a run as the Beach made the score 5-2.

Barnett worked an uneventful bottom of the sixth, and the Beach went back to work in the seventh. A Robbins single and a Rebekah Durazo double put two runners in scoring position, and Lee's third hit of the game scored both to make the score 5-4. Reliever Presley Hosick finished off the three-inning save for Minnesota to close out the win.

Against Howard (4-7), after a quick first inning, Long Beach State got the action going in the second inning. Doubles from Durazo and Lee scored one run while leaving a runner in scoring position, and then Lee came home on an RBI groundout from Makayla Medellin to put the Beach in front 2-0. The heart of the order struck again in the fourth. Durazo and Lee combined for back-to-back singles, and a double from Medellin brought home the senior to add a run for the Beach.

Robbins was plunked and Lina Apodaca reached on an error in front of that trio, who came through once again in the fifth. Durazo singled to score two, and Lee doubled to score Durazo making the score 6-0 in favor of the Beach after five. A parade of pinch hitters for LBSU kept the momentum going after a leadoff single from Corissa Sweet, first scoring Sweet and then two more with bases-loaded single from Savannah Magadan.

Freshman Brynne Nally finished the complete game to record her fourth win of the season. Howard added a run in the bottom of the sixth, but Nally struck out three while allowing four hits on the way to the win.
Long Beach State will return to the LBSU Softball Complex next week, hosting the team's annual Louisville Slugger Invitational. The Beach will play four games over the three days of action, starting Friday, February 28 against Utah Tech.