Softball Finishes Regular Season Against Cal Poly, Celebrates Seniors On ESPNU

Friday, May 2

Long Beach, Calif.

3 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Cal Poly

Softball Finishes Regular Season Against Cal Poly, Celebrates Seniors On ESPNU

4/30/2025 9:21:00 AM | Softball

Game Notes - Week 13

Long Beach State will play a doubleheader Friday before Senior Day Saturday afternoon.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State closes the regular season with a three-game series against Cal Poly. The weekend starts with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 3 p.m., and then the national spotlight will be on the regular season finale and Senior Day at 2 p.m. as the Beach takes on the Mustangs on ESPNU.

LEADING OFF
• With a sweep at Cal State Bakersfield, Long Beach State secured their spot in the first-ever Big West Championship, held this season at Cal State Fullerton. The six teams have been basically decided, but seeding is very much up for grabs in the final week of the regular season.

• The Beach put together wins in three different ways at Bakersfield, with Erkya Gonzales dominating in the circle on the way to a game one win, a comeback victory in extra innings in game two, and then controlling the game offensively in a 12-3 run-rule victory to finish off the series.

• Long Beach State has a large and accomplished senior class that will be playing their final games in the LBSU Softball Complex this weekend. Long Beach State will bid farewell and recognize pitchers Shannon Haddad, Eryka Gonzales and Lindsey Cowans along with position players Jacquelyn Bickar, Corissa Sweet, Rebekah Durazo, Savannah Magadan and Carly Robbins.

• In the circle, Long Beach State has shown a ton of depth this season, using six pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. Senior Shannon Haddad, a returning two-time First Team All-Big West selection, is 8-3 with a 2.61 ERA and a team-high 65 strikeouts, returning to action for the first time since March 22 last weekend at Cal State Bakersfield. Freshman Brynne Nally is 6-6 with a 3.22 ERA in a team high 74.0 innings, and sophomore Kate Barnett is second on the team with a 2.91 ERA and a 6-3 record. Freshman Maddy Martin and senior Lindsey Cowans has also both played major roles with over 10 appearances 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 4-4 with a 4.01 ERA with nine starts in the circle after a complete game shutout at Cal State Bakersfield.

• Long Beach State has been led by their pitching. The Beach starts the week leading the Big West with a 3.49 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 Shannon Haddad.

• In classic Beach style, Long Beach State's defense has also been excellent in support of their pitching. Long Beach State ranks in the Top 100 nationally with a .967 fielding percentage and are 44th in the nation with 20 double plays turned this season.

• Offensively, four players are hitting over .300 in Big West action for the Beach. Sophomore KaLeena Gonzales has been on a tear, now hitting .414 while Jacquelyn Bickar and Makayla Medeelin are hitting .355 and .354 respectively while starting every game. Senior Corissa Sweet is batting .314 as the outfield is having a great league season.

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 has once again proven to be a leader, batting .354 in Big West action with four home runs and eight doubles with 23 RBI in league play.

• Senior Rebekah Durazo started the year on a tear, and is still batting .390 with a .598 slugging percentage on the year. The catcher ranked nationally in all three slash categories before 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, and is starting to make her comeback making her first starts in nearly a month.

• Corissa Sweet is a senior who is succeeding both on the diamond and off. Sweet is now batting .323, second on the team while leading the Beach in stolen bases this season and reaching base at a .417 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 .292 hitter, Bickar is a two-time All-Big West selection and will reach 200 games played this weekend for the Beach. She currently is 4th in career stolen bases at Long Beach State with 37 and joined the Top 10 all-time in runs scored, now with 116 as a staple at the top of the lineup for the Beach.

• 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 65 batters and throwing a combined no-hitter and three shutouts already in 2025, posting an 8-3 record with a 2.61 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 74.0 innings pitched and has 49 strikeouts with a 3.22 ERA and a 6-6 record in 21 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 15 appearances and seven starts in 2025. Among the Big West leaders with a 2.91 ERA in 55.1 innings pitched, Barnett is now 5-1 with a 3.63 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 13 appearances with one start, posting a 4.29 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 31.0 innings.

• Senior Carly Robbins is another regular returning starter for Long Beach State. Having started 137 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 .279 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.

• 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 third on the team with a .317 batting average while splitting time behind the plate and at designated player. Lee is second on the team with 27 RBI with a pair of home runs and six doubles.

• 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 136 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 .274 with 18 RBI, and is tied for the team lead with four home runs.

• Sophomore KaLeena Gonzales has made ten straight starts at second base and is now batting .333 on the season in 14 starts on the year, now leading LBSU in Big West play with a .414 batting average. Another sophomore in Malayna Terrones is playing an increased role in her second season, batting .286 in 27 games with 9 RBI in 2025.

• Freshman Lina Apodaca has taken a grasp on an important 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 .287 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 and is hitting .261 this season.