Softball Opens Time In Mexico With Two Wins

Thursday, February 12

Puerto Vallarto, Mexico

10 a.m. CT

Long Beach State University

4-2

Southern Illinois

6-2

Long Beach St.

Southern Ill.

2/12/2026 5:41:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Long Beach State defeated Southern Illinois 4-2 and Eastern Kentucky 8-2.

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

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – Long Beach State trailed early in both games to open the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge but put big pressure on offensively and rallied in both for two wins Thursday.

In the opening game, Long Beach State (5-2) defeated Southern Illinois (6-2) with a late rally in an exciting start to their time in Puerto Vallarta.

After a quick first inning, Long Beach State got the scoring started in the second. Miranda Gonzalez walked to put a runner on, and after getting moved over by Erica Estrada, Nina Sepulveda singled to score the first run of the game.

The Beach appeared to add another in the third after a leadoff triple from Avery Weisbrook. Priscilla Iniguez lifted a fly ball to right that scored the junior, but Weisbrook was called out on appeal to erase the run. Using that momentum, Southern Illinois answered back with a pair of runs in the third. With one out, a pair of singles gave the Salukis runners on the corners, and a successful double steal tied the game at one. A single then scored Mikaela Coburn to give SIU the lead.

A solo home run in the fifth inning by Iniguez, her second of the young season, tied the game at 2-2. Jailynn Banda settled in for Long Beach State and set up the dramatics for the seventh inning. With two outs in the top of the seventh, Lina Apodaca extended the game with a double, and then Weisbrook singled and scored the speedy right fielder. Aggressive baserunning allowed Weisbrook to take third, and she then scored as Iniguez reached on an error, giving the Beach a 4-2 lead entering the bottom of the seventh.

SIU threatened with a one-out triple from Sydney Porter, but Banda picked up a key strikeout and finished off the game, throwing four scoreless innings to grab the win in the opener.

Eastern Kentucky (3-5) got off to a quick start, holding the Beach off the board in the top of the second inning. Two quick singles put a runner on for EKU, and then two more singles plated one more as the Colonels had two runs on four hits with no outs. Isabella Alonso, Long Beach State's starter, picked up a key out on a groundout and then popped up two more to get out of the inning with no additional damage.

Apodaca doubled to start the third inning as Long Beach State started to chip away. A single from Weisbrook scored Apodaca to get the Beach on the board. In the next frame, Miranda Gonzalez walked to get the action started, and two errors from Eastern Kentucky led to two runs as the Beach took a 3-2 lead.

After a 1-2-3 inning from Alonso in the fourth, the Beach went right back to work. An error and two walks loaded the bases for the Beach, and then an infield single by Erica Estrada kept the bases loaded while adding one more. Pinch hitter Emily Dowden was then hit by a pitch, scoring a second run in the inning. A passed ball added a third, and Long Beach State opened up a 6-2 lead.

A strikeout from Audrey Lopetegui ended the fifth, and Long Beach State went back to work with a two-run home run from Elissa Guerrero, the first of the freshman's career, to extend the lead to 8-2.

Lopetegui finished off the game for her second save of the season, while Alonso collected her first win at Long Beach State.

Long Beach State's time in Puerto Vallarta continues with two more games on Friday. The Beach will take on UTSA to start the day at 2 p.m. PT before closing the day's action with a rematch against Southern Illinois. Check www.longbeachstate.com for streaming and live stats links.