Softball Begins First Ever Big West Championship Tomorrow

Wednesday, May 7

Fullerton, Calif.

1 p.m.

Long Beach State University

(5) Hawai'i

5/6/2025 2:49:00 PM | Softball

Game Notes - Week 14

The Beach opens play at 1 p.m. in the first game against Hawai'i.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Taking advantage of the new format, Long Beach State will make the first edition of the Big West Championship for softball, opening as the four seed against (5) Hawai'i as the double elimination tournament begins on Wednesday, May 7 from Cal State Fullerton.

LEADING OFF
• Long Beach State is on a great run, entering the tournament having won six straight games after sweeps against Cal State Bakersfield and Cal Poly. That winning streak helped the Beach climb into a four-way tie for second place in the Big West. The Beach has now finished in first or second in the conference in five straight seasons and seven of the last eight.

• The depth of the Beach showed as eight players were named All-Big West as the conference announced the postseason awards on Tuesday. Senior Jacquelyn Bickar and junior Makayla Medellin were both second team selections, the third All-Big West honor for both, while Kate Barnett, Rebekah Durazo, Priscilla Iniguez, Brooklyn Lee, Brynne Nally and Corissa Sweet were all chosen as Honorable Mention.

• The Beach has picked up some momentum in the winning streak, and is now three wins away from reaching 30 wins for the 30th time in program history. Against Cal Poly, Shannon Haddad, Eryka Gonzales and Kate Barnett combined for two shutouts and Carly Robbins led the team in batting as Long Beach State finished the regular season seven games over .500.

• 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 9-3 with a league-best 2.32 ERA and a team-high 74 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 2.86 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 6-4 with a 3.32 ERA with 10 starts in the circle and three shutouts this season.

• Long Beach State has been led by their pitching. The Beach enters the Big West Championship leading the league with a 3.28 ERA, and Long Beach State's staff comes into the week with four pitchers in the Top 15 of the Big West, led by Shannon Haddad. LBSU ranks 72nd nationally in ERA.

• 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 80 nationally with a .968 fielding percentage and are 40th in the nation with 22 double plays turned this season.

• Offensively, five players hit over .300 in Big West action for the Beach. Sophomore KaLeena Gonzales has been on a tear, now hitting .387 while Makayla Medellin and Jacquelyn Bickar are hitting .356 and .329 respectively while starting every game. Senior Corissa Sweet is batting .321 as the outfield is having a great league season collectively, and a big series against Cal Poly lifted senior Carly Robbins to a .317 batting average.

LAYER NOTES
• Junior Makayla Medellin is now a three-time All-Big West selection. The 2023 Big West Freshman of the Year, Medellin has once again proven to be a leader, batting .356 in Big West action with four home runs and nine doubles with 23 RBI in league play, leading the Beach in all three of those categories in Big West action.

• Senior Rebekah Durazo started the year on a tear, and is still batting .388 with a .588 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, 33 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 .327, second on the team while leading the Beach in stolen bases this season and reaching base at a .419 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 .289 hitter, Bickar is a three-time All-Big West selection and has played in 200 games for Long Beach State. 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 119 as a staple at the top of the lineup for the Beach. A defensive star, Bickar has started in six different positions during her time at the Beach, playing both infield and outfield at a high level.

• 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 74 batters and throwing a combined no-hitter and three shutouts already in 2025, posting a 9-3 record with a 2.32 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 16 appearances and seven starts in 2025. Among the Big West leaders with a 2.86 ERA in 56.1 innings pitched, Barnett is now 5-1 with a 3.53 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 140 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 .292 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 .313 batting average while splitting time behind the plate and at designated player. Lee is second on the team with 28 RBI with a pair of home runs and six doubles, including the game-winning hit against Cal Poly in the team's last action.

• 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 139 games at shortstop for the Beach in her career.

• Priscilla Iniguez has had a great season for the Beach in her freshman season, earning both All-Freshman Team and Honorable Mention All-Big West this season. Iniguez shares the team lead with four home runs and is third on the squad with 22 RBI while batting .267 in 42 games played.

• Sophomore KaLeena Gonzales has closed Big West play on a hot streak, batting .387 in league play with 10 starts, best on the team. Gonzales has been splitting time with another sophomore at second base, Avery Weisbrook, who is batting .229 with a pair of home runs after transferring to Long Beach State from Florida State.

• 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 .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 and has played in 25 games this season fort he Beach.

• Sophomore Malayna Terrones is hitting .281, playing in the outfield and as a DP while also providing an important bat off the bench this season for Long Beach State.