Softball Begins Big West Play On The Road At Hawai'i

Friday, March 7

Honolulu, Hawaii

8 p.m. PT

Long Beach State University

Hawai'i

3/5/2025 10:37:00 AM | Softball

Game Notes - Week 5

The preseason favorites will take on the team with the best non-conference record in a great start to league action.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Big West Conference play begins on the road this week as Long Beach State travels to face Hawai'i to open league play. Long Beach State was picked as the preseason league favorites, but will face a tough test in the Rainbow Wahine who had the best overall record in the conference this season.

LEADING OFF
• The Rainbow Wahine have been especially tough at home. Hawai'i is now 12-4 in Honoulu, while 2-4 away from the islands, and are led by former Long Beach State pitcher Addison Kostrencich who has a 7-4 record with a 2.39 ERA over 64.1 innings pitched this season.

• Long Beach State has also been led by their pitching. The Beach leads the Big West and ranks 26th nationally with a 2.18 ERA, and Long Beach State's staff comes into the week with four pitchers ranking one through four in ERA, led by Kate Barnett, but all four have an ERA under 2.30.

• In classic Beach style, Long Beach State's defense has also been excellent in support of their pitching. Long Beach State ranks 37th nationally with a .974 fielding percentage and are sixth in the nation with 13 double plays turned this season.

• Senior Rebekah Durazo is having a massive season so far. The catcher is leading the Big West in all three slash categories, batting .510 with a .569 on-base percentage and an. 804 slugging percentage. Durazo is leading Long Beach State with 18 RBI, 3 home runs, 26 hits and 6 doubles this season.

• Long Beach State's two catchers were both named to the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic All-Tournament team after an outstanding weekend in Cathedral City. Rebekah Durazo continues to lead Long Beach State, hitting safely in all five games to improve her average to .436 on the year while hitting another home run. Brooklyn Lee hit .588 with 6 RBI, hitting three doubles and picking up three hits in three separate games as the Beach went 2-3 in the desert.

• In the circle, Long Beach State has four pitchers that are all averaging over an inning pitched per game, and have all thrived this season. Senior Shannon Haddad, a returning two-time First Team All-Big West selection, is 4-1 with a 2.29 ERA and a team-high 35 strikeouts, while
freshman Brynne Nally is 4-2 with a 2.14 ERA and a team-high 39.1 innings pitched as the pair have started the majority of the team's games. Sophomore Kate Barnett leads the team with a 1.50 ERA, while Maddy Martin is also under a 2.00 ERA at 1.78 this season in 19.2 innings pitched.

• Haddad led Long Beach State to a 3-1 weekend at their second home tournament, the Louisville Slugger Invitational last week. Making two starts, Haddad pitched two complete games, striking out 11 batters and giving up just six combined hits and one run, earning her sixth career Big West Pitcher of the Week honor.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

PLAYER NOTES
• Senior Shannon Haddad returns to the pitching 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 a team-high 35 batters and throwing a combined no-hitter and two shutouts already in 2025, posting a 4-1 record with a 2.29 ERA.

• 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 now leads the team with 39.1 innings pitched and 27 strikeouts, and has a 2.14 ERA with a 4-2 record in nine appearances 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. Martin has now made five appearances with one start, posting a .178 ERA with eight strikeouts in 19.2 innings.

• Sophomore Kate Barnett was a bright spot in the circle for Long Beach State to begin her college career in 2024 and has continued to pitch well for the Beach this year. Barnett has now made seven appearances in 2025 and leads the team with a 1.50 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched, while walking just three batters on the year.

• Brooklyn Lee had a monster week in Cathedral City at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, batting .588 with three doubles and six RBI on the way to earning All-Tournament Team honors. Lee, a transfer from UC San Diego, is now second on the team with a .392 batting average while playing primarily as the team's designated player while also working as the team's backup catcher.

• Corissa Sweet is a senior who is succeeding both on the diamond and off. Sweet hit over .270 in her first two seasons at Long Beach State, and is now batting .375, third on the team while leading the Beach in stolen bases this season. 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.

• 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. Medellin hit .429 in the Louisville Slugger Invitational last week.

• Also having a strong week last week was sophomore Malayna Terrones. Going 6-for-11 with a double, Terrones batted .545 with a pair of RBI in the four home games. Terrones had a pair of home runs as a true freshman for Long Beach State in 2024.

• Senior Jacquelyn Bickar returns for her fourth year as a starter at Long Beach State. A career .283 hitter, Bickar is a two-time All-Big West selection has started over 150 games for the Beach. She currently is tied for 8th in career stolen bases at Long Beach State with 33 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 118 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 over 100 games at shortstop for the Beach in her career.

• 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. The freshman is now batting .243 with 6 RBI and a pair of home runs.

• Freshman Lina Apodaca has taken a grasp on a starting role, playing in every game while mostly starting 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. Apodaca is currently batting .295 in her first season at the Beach.

• 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.