Wednesday, May 7
Fullerton, Calif.
1 p.m.
Long Beach State University
27-21
8
vs
10
(5) Hawai'i
32-18
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Hawai'i
0
0
3
4
3
0
0
10
11
1
Long Beach State
1
0
3
0
2
2
0
8
10
3
Long Beach State Softball Eliminated At Inaugural Big West Championship
5/7/2025 9:31:00 PM | Softball
Senior Carly Robbins had five hits across the two games in her final games for the Beach.
FULLERTON, Calif. – Competing for the first time in the first-ever Big West Championship, Long Beach State battled back but defensive miscues throughout the day hampered the Beach in a pair of losses, knocking the Beach out of the tournament.
Long Beach State (27-22) got off to a strong start in the first inning against Hawai'i (32-18). Eryka Gonzales had a pair of strikeouts in the top half of the first inning, and then the Beach got going in the bottom of the first. Jacquelyn Bickar hit her third triple of the season to start the inning, and Carly Robbins immediately followed with an RBI single as the Beach took a 1-0 lead over Hawai'i.
The Rainbow Wahine bounced back in the third. After Cierra Yamamoto reached on an error to start the inning, a two-run home run from Chloe Borges gave Hawai'i their first lead. A solo home run from Izabella Martinez in the frame then made the score 3-1.
Long Beach State had a quick answer. Robbins got the Beach started with her second hit of the game, and Makayla Medellin followed with a hit, putting two in scoring position. Both runners would then score on a double from Priscilla Iniguez to tie the game, and then pinch runner Sophia Stein scampered home on a wild pitch to put the Beach back in front 4-3.
The seesaw continued the next inning. Gonzales got two outs, but two walks and a single loaded the bases in front of Martinez who had another big hit, a two-run double to put the Rainbow Wahine in front 5-4. A single from Carys Murakami then added two more to give Hawai'i their biggest lead of the game. Miscues then piled up for LBSU in the fifth as Hawai'i opened up a larger lead, scoring three more to take a 10-4 lead.
Long Beach State refused to give in. Iniguez hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to pull back two runs, and Carly Robbins brought back two more with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth as the Beach pulled back to 10-8.
The comeback ran out of time for Long Beach State, however, as Macy Brandl finished off the win in relief for the Rainbow Wahine, setting up a second game for Long Beach State on Wednesday night against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
UC Santa Barbara (29-24) scored first. With a runner on in the first inning, a flare would drop in the outfield to plate a first run, and then a second scored on a chopper from Alexa Sams as the Gauchos grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the nightcap. The Gauchos then added two more with a two-run home run from Jazzy Santos in the second, doubling their lead.
Big West Pitcher of the Year Malaya Johnson was in total command for the Gauchos, allowing just one hit through five innings as the Gauchos increased their lead to 6-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. The Beach threatened in the sixth after a leadoff walk from Bickar and a second hit from Robbins in the game, but left two stranded as Johnson maintained the shutout. Back-to-back hits put two in scoring position for UCSB in the sixth, and a two-run single from Sams ended the game early in an 8-0 margin.
Long Beach State closes the 2025 campaign with a 27-22 overall record, having advanced to the Big West Championship in its first tournament while tying for second place overall in the Big West with a 17-10 conference record.
Long Beach State (27-22) got off to a strong start in the first inning against Hawai'i (32-18). Eryka Gonzales had a pair of strikeouts in the top half of the first inning, and then the Beach got going in the bottom of the first. Jacquelyn Bickar hit her third triple of the season to start the inning, and Carly Robbins immediately followed with an RBI single as the Beach took a 1-0 lead over Hawai'i.
The Rainbow Wahine bounced back in the third. After Cierra Yamamoto reached on an error to start the inning, a two-run home run from Chloe Borges gave Hawai'i their first lead. A solo home run from Izabella Martinez in the frame then made the score 3-1.
Long Beach State had a quick answer. Robbins got the Beach started with her second hit of the game, and Makayla Medellin followed with a hit, putting two in scoring position. Both runners would then score on a double from Priscilla Iniguez to tie the game, and then pinch runner Sophia Stein scampered home on a wild pitch to put the Beach back in front 4-3.
The seesaw continued the next inning. Gonzales got two outs, but two walks and a single loaded the bases in front of Martinez who had another big hit, a two-run double to put the Rainbow Wahine in front 5-4. A single from Carys Murakami then added two more to give Hawai'i their biggest lead of the game. Miscues then piled up for LBSU in the fifth as Hawai'i opened up a larger lead, scoring three more to take a 10-4 lead.
Long Beach State refused to give in. Iniguez hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to pull back two runs, and Carly Robbins brought back two more with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth as the Beach pulled back to 10-8.
The comeback ran out of time for Long Beach State, however, as Macy Brandl finished off the win in relief for the Rainbow Wahine, setting up a second game for Long Beach State on Wednesday night against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
UC Santa Barbara (29-24) scored first. With a runner on in the first inning, a flare would drop in the outfield to plate a first run, and then a second scored on a chopper from Alexa Sams as the Gauchos grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the nightcap. The Gauchos then added two more with a two-run home run from Jazzy Santos in the second, doubling their lead.
Big West Pitcher of the Year Malaya Johnson was in total command for the Gauchos, allowing just one hit through five innings as the Gauchos increased their lead to 6-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. The Beach threatened in the sixth after a leadoff walk from Bickar and a second hit from Robbins in the game, but left two stranded as Johnson maintained the shutout. Back-to-back hits put two in scoring position for UCSB in the sixth, and a two-run single from Sams ended the game early in an 8-0 margin.
Long Beach State closes the 2025 campaign with a 27-22 overall record, having advanced to the Big West Championship in its first tournament while tying for second place overall in the Big West with a 17-10 conference record.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brandl, Macy (17-7)
L: Gonzales, Eryka (6-5)
Batting:
2B: Martinez, Izabella 1
HR: Martinez, Izabella 1 ; Borges, Chloe 1
RBI: Martinez, Izabella 4 ; Murakami, Carys 3 ; Borges, Chloe 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Martinez, Izabella 1 ; Ichimura, Maya 1 ; Thomas, Liliana 1 ; Yamamoto, Cierra 3 ; Borges, Chloe 3 ; Goshi, Larissa 1
Batting:
2B: Iniguez, Priscilla 1 ; Weisbrook, Avery 1
3B: Bickar, Jacquelyn 1
HR: Robbins, Carly 1 ; Iniguez, Priscilla 1
RBI: Robbins, Carly 3 ; Iniguez, Priscilla 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Bickar, Jacquelyn 1 ; Robbins, Carly 2 ; Medellin, Makayla 2 ; Iniguez, Priscilla 1 ; Stein, Sophia 1 ; Magadan, Savannah 1
HBP: Magadan, Savannah 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
INF
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