Friday, April 25
Bakersfield, Calif.
12 p.m.
Long Beach State University
22-20, 0
7
at
0
Cal State Bakersfield
16-29, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Long Beach State
0
0
0
0
4
0
3
7
10
0
CSU Bakersfield
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
1
Senior Pitching Leads Long Beach State To Doubleheader Sweep
4/25/2025 4:55:00 PM | Softball
Makayla Medellin had the game-winning hit in extra innings as the Beach had two outstanding pitching performances.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Eryka Gonzales through a complete game shutout in the opening game, and Shannon Haddad returned to action in a big way, setting a season high with 8 strikeouts as the Beach held off the Roadrunners in eight innings in game two, 5-4 (8).
Great starting pitching carried the early portion of the opener as Eryka Gonzales and Bailee Bustos went pitch-for-pitch for four innings. Eryka Gonzales limited Cal State Bakersfield (16-28, 7-16 Big West) to just one hit through four, while Long Beach State (24-20, 14-10 Big West) only had three hits and no runs against Bustos through four.
Long Beach State broke the game open in the fourth. Malayna Terrones singled to start the inning, and after a walk to Bickar, a single brought home the first run of the game. Another base hit, this time from Makayla Medellin, scored Bickar, and then both Corissa Sweet and Medellin scored on a trailing ball that clipped off of the glove of the Runner center fielder, scoring two more to make the lead 4-0 after the top of the fifth.
Cal State Bakersfield threatened with a pair of runners in the fifth, but Gonzales was able to finish off the shutdown inning to keep the score 4-0. Carly Robbins added two more with her first home run of the season in the top of the seventh, and KaLeena Gonzales followed with a solo shot, the first back-to-back home runs of the season for Long Beach State.
Gonzales finished off the complete game shutout, holding the Runners to three hits and striking out three while grabbing her fourth win of Big West play.
Cal State Bakersfield struck first in game two. Brynne Nally struggled, as after a leadoff walk, two straight hits and an RBI groundout scored three runs for the Runners, clearing the bases. Two more hits ended the freshman's start, and Shannon Haddad returned to action for the first time in over a month, closing out the inning with a strikeout.
Long Beach State pulled one back with a wild play to start the top of the third. Selena Perez hit a blooper to left field, and stretching that into a double, an overthrow at second went all the way to the fence, allowing the junior to score and start the inning with a run. The Beach would go on to load the bases, but the Runners escaped the inning with just the lone run scored.
The Beach took advantage of a Runners miscue to pull all the way back in the top of the fifth. Medellin reached on an error, and Priscilla Iniguez singled to put two on for LBSU. A groundout scored Medellin, and then Iniguez scored to tie the game on a triple into the gap from KaLeena Gonzales. Avery Weisbrook then followed with a double down the line put the Beach in front 4-3.
Haddad in the circle turned in a dominant performance. After getting the last out of the first inning, Haddad struck out a season-high eight batters and held the Runners off the scoreboard until the seventh inning.
Kailey Yahya singled to start the inning, and after a sacrifice to second, a bunt by Kaia Johnson set the stage for Cal State Bakersfield. Safe at first, Johnson sped for an uncovered second, allowing Yahya to score and tie the game as the contest went to extra innings.
The top of the order delivered once again in the top of the eighth inning, as Bickar hit a double and then came home to score on an RBI single from Medellin as the Beach once more took a one run lead. Haddad then retired the side in order, closing out a 7.1 inning relief appearance with a season-high eight strikeouts to finish off the win as the Beach took both on Friday.
The Beach and Cal State Bakersfield close out their series on Saturday afternoon, with a first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
Great starting pitching carried the early portion of the opener as Eryka Gonzales and Bailee Bustos went pitch-for-pitch for four innings. Eryka Gonzales limited Cal State Bakersfield (16-28, 7-16 Big West) to just one hit through four, while Long Beach State (24-20, 14-10 Big West) only had three hits and no runs against Bustos through four.
Long Beach State broke the game open in the fourth. Malayna Terrones singled to start the inning, and after a walk to Bickar, a single brought home the first run of the game. Another base hit, this time from Makayla Medellin, scored Bickar, and then both Corissa Sweet and Medellin scored on a trailing ball that clipped off of the glove of the Runner center fielder, scoring two more to make the lead 4-0 after the top of the fifth.
Cal State Bakersfield threatened with a pair of runners in the fifth, but Gonzales was able to finish off the shutdown inning to keep the score 4-0. Carly Robbins added two more with her first home run of the season in the top of the seventh, and KaLeena Gonzales followed with a solo shot, the first back-to-back home runs of the season for Long Beach State.
Gonzales finished off the complete game shutout, holding the Runners to three hits and striking out three while grabbing her fourth win of Big West play.
Cal State Bakersfield struck first in game two. Brynne Nally struggled, as after a leadoff walk, two straight hits and an RBI groundout scored three runs for the Runners, clearing the bases. Two more hits ended the freshman's start, and Shannon Haddad returned to action for the first time in over a month, closing out the inning with a strikeout.
Long Beach State pulled one back with a wild play to start the top of the third. Selena Perez hit a blooper to left field, and stretching that into a double, an overthrow at second went all the way to the fence, allowing the junior to score and start the inning with a run. The Beach would go on to load the bases, but the Runners escaped the inning with just the lone run scored.
The Beach took advantage of a Runners miscue to pull all the way back in the top of the fifth. Medellin reached on an error, and Priscilla Iniguez singled to put two on for LBSU. A groundout scored Medellin, and then Iniguez scored to tie the game on a triple into the gap from KaLeena Gonzales. Avery Weisbrook then followed with a double down the line put the Beach in front 4-3.
Haddad in the circle turned in a dominant performance. After getting the last out of the first inning, Haddad struck out a season-high eight batters and held the Runners off the scoreboard until the seventh inning.
Kailey Yahya singled to start the inning, and after a sacrifice to second, a bunt by Kaia Johnson set the stage for Cal State Bakersfield. Safe at first, Johnson sped for an uncovered second, allowing Yahya to score and tie the game as the contest went to extra innings.
The top of the order delivered once again in the top of the eighth inning, as Bickar hit a double and then came home to score on an RBI single from Medellin as the Beach once more took a one run lead. Haddad then retired the side in order, closing out a 7.1 inning relief appearance with a season-high eight strikeouts to finish off the win as the Beach took both on Friday.
The Beach and Cal State Bakersfield close out their series on Saturday afternoon, with a first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gonzales, Eryka (4-4)
L: Bustos, Bailee (12-12)
Batting:
2B: Iniguez, Priscilla 1 ; Robbins, Carly 1
HR: Robbins, Carly 1 ; Gonzales, KaLeena 1
RBI: Medellin, Makayla 1 ; Iniguez, Priscilla 1 ; Robbins, Carly 2 ; Gonzales, KaLeena 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bickar, Jacquelyn 1 ; Sweet, Corissa 1 ; Medellin, Makayla 1 ; Iniguez, Priscilla 1 ; Robbins, Carly 1 ; Gonzales, KaLeena 1 ; Perez, Selena 1
CS: Bickar, Jacquelyn 1 ; Medellin, Makayla 1
HBP: Medellin, Makayla 1
Base Running:
SB: Johnson, Kaia 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballSoftball Game Highlights vs California Baptist 3/20/2024
Thursday, March 21
Long Beach State Wins Big West Dennis Farrell Commissioner's Cup
Wednesday, May 31
NCAA Stanford Regional Postgame Comments - Long Beach State Softball
Saturday, May 20
60 Seconds at The Beach: Softball Nichole Fry
Monday, July 11
