Long Beach State Stuns No. 4 Oklahoma In First Signature Win Under Kendall Fearn

Saturday, February 21

Cathedral City, Calif.

10 a.m.

Long Beach State University

8-4

Oklahoma

11-2

Oklahoma Sooners

Long Beach State

Long Beach State Stuns No. 4 Oklahoma In First Signature Win Under Kendall Fearn

2/21/2026 4:55:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Lina Apodaca’s 3-run home run sealed a win over the Sooners.

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

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – Long Beach State stole the show Saturday at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, making a national statement in a 6-4 win over No. 4 Oklahoma before closing out Bethune-Cookman 6-3 for a pair of wins.

An amazing diving catch from Kali Su'e in center field saved a run in the top of the second, and Long Beach State (9-4) took that momentum to grab a lead in the bottom half. Audree Mendoza legged out an infield single, and Su'e drew a walk to put two on. A perfect bunt from Malayna Terrones then loaded the bases with no outs.

No. 4 Oklahoma (11-2) recorded one out at the plate with a fielder's choice, but a single up the middle from Miranda Gonzalez put the Beach up 1-0 after two.

The Beach manufactured another run in the third. Back-to-back singles from Avery Weisbrook and Priscilla Iniguez put runners on the corners, and then a perfectly executed bunt from Mendoza scored Weisbrook to put the Beach on top 2-0.

The Sooners rallied to tie the game in the top of the fourth. A solo home run from Alyssa Parker cut the lead in half, and then a single from Kai Minor followed by a double from Lexi McDaniel tied the game. Oklahoma loaded the bases, but Audrey Lopetegui came on in relief and picked up a fly out to right field to end the inning.

Going back to work in the sixth, Terrones walked to start the inning, and after Emily Dowden reached, a sacrifice put two in scoring position. Nina Sepulveda delivered an RBI single to give the lead back to the Beach, and moving to the top of the order, Lina Apodaca hit a three-run home run to put Long Beach State on top of the Sooners 6-2.

Kendall Wells hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 6-3, but a second incredible catch, this time by Terrones smashing against the wall in foul ground, led to a key first out. Lindsey Cowans re-entered after a strong start and picked up a quick second out. A single with two on led to another Oklahoma run, but with the winning run at the plate, Cowans struck out pinch hitter Gabbie Garcia to seal the win, making the Beach 1-0 against ranked teams in the Kendall Fearn era.

Freshman Audrey Lopetegui finished with her second win of the season, while the Beach handed Audrey Lowry, now 8-1, her first loss of the season. Cowans collected the save for Long Beach State.

Action in the second game of the day against Bethune-Cookman (3-13) got rolling in the bottom of the third. Weisbrook just missed a home run foul, but on the 11th pitch of the at-bat, she drew a two-out walk. Iniguez followed with a double into the gap to score Weisbrook and open the scoring.

A couple of Beach errors allowed Bethune-Cookman to manufacture a run in the top of the fourth, evening the score at 1-1. The Beach rallied immediately. Emily Dowden and Miranda Gonzalez worked back-to-back walks, and then a single from Nina Sepulveda put the Beach back in front. The freshman then quickly stole second with runners on the corners, and then a single from Apodaca plated two more as the Beach took a 4-1 lead. Mendoza and the Beach manufactured an insurance run in the fifth, as the catcher was plunked, stole second and third, and came home to score on a sac fly from Terrones.

Sepulveda hit a solo home run in the sixth to add one more run, and Cowans finished off the game for the second win in a row, 6-3 over Bethune-Cookman.

Long Beach State will play two final games as part of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Sunday. The Beach will have a rubber game with Oregon State, facing the Beavers for the third time in 2026 at 9 a.m., before closing the tournament against Saint Mary's immediately following. Live coverage will be available through FloSoftball and StatBroadcast.