Softball Starts Season Thursday At Stanford Invitational

Thursday, February 6

Stanford, Calif.

2 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Pacific

Photo by: John Fajardo

2/5/2025 10:09:00 AM | Softball

Game Notes - Week 1

The Beach opens the season by playing 12 games in 10 days.

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

LONG BEACH,Calif. -- Long Beach State opens up the season with a packed run of games, opening up the year playing on nine out of ten days to complete their first 13 games on the schedule. That stretch begins on the road, as the Beach will face Pacific to open the Stanford Invitational before facing the hosts, Stanford, on Thursday, February 6.

LEADING OFF
• The Beach will then play three more games in Stanford. LBSU will again open the day of February 7 against Pacific before taking on Seattle U, and then close the tournament against Fresno State on Saturday morning.

• Long Beach State then faces a quick turnaround for a packed weekend at home. The Beach will host Oklahoma in their home opener on February 9, and then take on Winthrop and San Diego before hosting the Wilson Tournament from Thursday February 13 to Sunday, February 16 at the LBSU Softball Complex.

• 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.

A LOOK BACK
• For the fourth consecutive season, the Big West title came down to the final series of the season between Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton, and the home team prevailed once again as the Titans took two of three from the Beach in Fullerton to win the Big West and advance to the NCAA Regionals.

• Long Beach State won their eight other Big West series, and finished in second place on the year. 2024 marked the fifth time in the last six seasons that Long Beach State has finished either in first or second place in the Big West.

• Makayala Medellin finished another outstanding season for Long Beach State. The 2023 Big West Freshman of the Year, Medellin led Long Beach State during the regular season with a .384 batting average, 10 doubles and three home runs. Medellin was even better during league play, leading the Big West with a .461 batting average and slugging .629 with four stolen bases and just four strikeouts in 89 at-bats in conference play. A First Team All-Big West pick, Medellin has earned All-Big West in each of her two seasons at the Beach.

• Both Shannon Haddad and Eryka Gonzales were lost to season-ending injuries in 2024, but return for Long Beach State in 2025. Haddad is a two-time First Team All-Big West selection earning the honor in both 2021 and 2023. Helping lead Long Beach State to the Big West Championship in both seasons, Haddad was the 2021 Big West Freshman of the Year, and posted a 21-10 overall record with 173 strikeouts of those two seasons. Eryka Gonzales earned Second-Team All-Big west honors in 2023 after leading the Big West in league play with an 0.63 ERA as the experienced duo return to lead the LBSU pitching staff in 2025.

PLAYER NOTES
• Freshman 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 Gonzalez, Barnett's 97.0 innings are second-most on the team, and her ERA is 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.

• Rebekah Durazo secured the starting role at catcher for Long Beach State last season, earning Honorable Mention All-Big West in 2024. Starting 31 games behind the plate and 37 overall, Durazo was fourth on the team in batting in Big West play and was second on the team with 23 RBI on the year.

• Senior Jacquelyn Bickar returns for her fourth year as a starter at Long Beach State. A career .285 hitter, Bickar is a two-time All-Big West selection and has started 150 games in her career entering the year. She also currently ranks 10th in career stolen bases at Long Beach State with 30 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 101 games over the last two seasons, Robbins is a career .265 hitter with 37 RBI and four home runs. 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.

• 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 135 games entering her final season at LBSU. 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.

• Selena Perez returns for her third season, 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 92 games in total.

• Malayna Terrones leads a group of five sophomores who are looking to take their next step in their second seasons at LBSU. 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 had 5 RBI on the year and started 10 games for the Beach. KaLeena Gonzales, Erica Estrada, Emily Dowden and Sophia Stein all also made their collegiate debuts one season ago, all playing primarily as pinch runners, though Gonzales did start seven games in the infield.

• The Beach welcome a trio of Division I transfers that are looking to make an immediate impact. Infielder Avery Weisbrook joins Long Beach State after one season at Florida State, Brooklyn Lee earned Big West All-Freshman team honors for her play as a catcher at UC San Diego last season, and the Beach brings in an experienced collegiate arm in Lindsey Cowans, a two-time All-NEC selection from Long Island.

• Long Beach State rounds out the roster with eight freshman. The Beach signed two pitchers in Maddy Martin and Brynne Nally as well as six position players: Alyssa Aguilar, Lina Apodaca, Callie Fitzpatrick, Miranda Gonzalez, Priscilla Iniguez and Macie Lawrence.

THIS AND THAT
• A five-time Big West Coach of the Year, Kim Sowder enters her 19th season as head coach at Long Beach State, her Alma Mater, where she was an All-American shortstop. Sowder ranks fourth in career wins as a member of the Big West after winning her 500th career game in 2023, and ranks in the Top 60 active Division I coaches in career wins.

• Now with 262 career Big West victories, Sowder ranks third in conference history in wins, trailing only her collegiate coach, Long Beach State's Pete Manarino and Judi Garman of Cal State Fullerton.

• In addition to Sowder, Associate Head Coach Panita Thanatharn also played for the program, finishing her career as an All-Big West selection in 2007. Assistant Coach Kevin Castillo is in his ninth year with the program, and is a former member of the USA Men's Fastpitch Softball National Team. Mariah Ramirez returned for her seventh season as an assistant coach following a standout career at Utah.

• Long Beach State continues to have continued historical success. Long Beach State has competed in 5 Women's College World Series, made the NCAA Tournament 26 times, and claimed 10 Big West titles. The Beach has also reached the 30-win plateau 29 times including 2023, with nine of those coming under the leadership of Kim Sowder.

• Long Beach State increased on their home numbers in 2024, and ranked in the Top 50 in total attendance nationally despite having a crowd capacity of 500. The Beach filled their stadium at 99.36% capacity, ranking 17th in the nation.

• 2024 marks a major change in the season structure, as for the first time the Big West will host a conference tournament. Held in Fullerton, the tournament will feature the top six teams in the final league standings competing in a double-elimination format for the championship.