Softball Returns Home To Host UC Riverside In Important Big West Series

Friday, April 18

Long Beach, Calif.

3 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UC Riverside

Softball Returns Home To Host UC Riverside In Important Big West Series

4/16/2025 10:28:00 AM | Softball

Game Notes - Week 11

The Beach and the Highlanders are tied in the Big West standings.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State will host UC Riverside in a series with significant postseason implications as the two teams enter Friday's doubleheader tied in the Big West standings. The series opening doubleheader will be broadcast live on ESPN+ beginning at 3 p.m.

LEADING OFF
• The Beach snapped a season-long losing streak in a big way to close the UC Santa Barbara series, piling up 13 runs behind six RBI from Makayla Medellin, three RBI each from Jacquelyn Bickar and Priscilla Inigiuez and a season-high three hits from Selena Perez in a 13-7 win on the road against the Gauchos.

• Behind two Big West weekly award winners March 31, Long Beach State went on the road and picked up three wins at UC Davis. Freshman of the Week Lina Apodaca led the team in hitting, moving into the leadoff spot and going 6-for-12 with a .538 on-base percentage against the Aggies, while Kate Barnett was the Pitcher of the Week after throwing a pair of complete game victories.

• Senior Rebekah Durazo is having a massive season so far. The catcher is Top 5 in the Big West in all three slash categories, batting .427 with a .522 on-base percentage and a .653 slugging percentage, ranking nationally in all three categories as well prior to an injury suffered against CSUN. Prior to that setback Durazo was leading Long Beach State with 19 RBI, 3 home runs, 32 hits and 8 doubles this season, and is starting to make her comeback with a pinch hit appearance last week.

• In the circle, Long Beach State has shown a ton of depth this season, using six pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched for all of them. Freshman Brynne Nally is 5-5 with a 2.89 ERA in a team high 63.0 innings, and sophomore Kate Barnett leads the team with a 2.17 ERA and a 5-3 record. Senior Shannon Haddad, a returning two-time First Team All-Big West selection, is 6-3 with a 2.94 ERA and a team-high 53 strikeouts, but has not pitched since March 22. Freshman Maddy Martin and senior Lindsey Cowans has also both played major roles with over 10 appearances this season.

• Long Beach State has been led by their pitching. The Beach starts the week leading the Big West with a 3.38 ERA, and Long Beach State's staff comes into the week with three pitchers ranking in the Top 10 of the Big West, led by Kate Barnett.

• In classic Beach style, Long Beach State's defense has also been excellent in support of their pitching. Long Beach State ranks 73rd nationally with a .968 fielding percentage and are 41st in the nation with 17 double plays turned this season.

• Long Beach State got a massive boost to their pitching staff as senior Eryka Gonzales made a return to the circle to start Big West play. Earning a win at Hawai'i with five scoreless innings of relief, the 2023 All-Big West pitcher had not pitched since last March before making her return on March 8. Gonzales then made her first start of the season, throwing a complete game with three strikeouts at CSUN and is now 3-3 with a 4.15 ERA with five games started.

PLAYER NOTES
• 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 has once again proven to be a leader, batting a team-best .355 in Big West action with four home runs and eight doubles in league play.

• 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 .339 batting average while splitting time behind the plate and at designated player. Lee is second on the team with 25 RBI with a pair of home runs and six doubles.

• 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, striking out a team-high 53 batters and throwing a combined no-hitter and three shutouts already in 2025, posting a 6-3 record with a 2.94 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 63.0 innings pitched and has 43 strikeouts with a 2.89 ERA and a 5-5 record in 17 appearances as a true freshman.

• 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 14 appearances and six starts in 2025. Leading the Beach and second in the Big West with a 2.75 ERA in 51.0 innings pitched, Barnett is now 4-1 with a 3.46 ERA in Big West play, throwing two complete games against UC Davis to earn Big West Pitcher of the Week March 31.

• 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 11 appearances with one start, posting a 4.10 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 29.0 innings.

• 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 .329, third on the team while leading the Beach in stolen bases this season and reaching base at a .430 percentage. 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.

• 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 180 games for the Beach. She currently is 6th in career stolen bases at Long Beach State with 35 and joined the Top 10 all-time in runs scored with 107 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 130 games in her career, Robbins started the year off hot, hitting .385 with two perfect sacrifice bunts in the opening week and is now hitting .253 on 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 now started 129 games at shortstop for the Beach in her career.

• Freshman Lina Apodaca has taken a grasp on a starting role with 28 starts this season, 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. Apodaca is currently batting .294 in her first season at 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. The freshman is now batting .293 with 16 RBI and four home runs.

• Also having a strong week at home at the Louisville Slugger Invitational was sophomore Malayna Terrones. Going 6-for-11 with a double, Terrones batted .545 with a pair of RBI in the four home games. That helped get the sophomore going, and Terrones is now batting .300, fifth on the team in 12 starts this season.

• 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.