Softball Looks To Continue Strong Start At Hillenbrand Invitational Hosted By Arizona

Friday, February 27

Tucson, Ariz.

Noon MT

Long Beach State University

Howard

Softball Looks To Continue Strong Start At Hillenbrand Invitational Hosted By Arizona

2/24/2026 1:23:00 PM | Softball

Game Notes - Week 4

The Beach will play their fourth and final full tournament of the non-conference schedule starting Friday.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The tournament portion of the season comes to a close with one final trip, as the Beach heads to Tucson to take part in the Hillenbrand Invitational. The Beach will take on the hosts, No. 14 Arizona twice as well as a pair of games against Howard and one against Minnesota over three days in Arizona.

LEADING OFF
• Long Beach State grabbed the national spotlight at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, stunning No. 4 Oklahoma behind a three-run homer from Lina Apodaca and strong pitching from Lindsey Cowans and Audrey Lopetegui. Now 9-6 overall, Long Beach State's strong start has the team ranked as the No. 12 Mid-Major team in the nation by D1Softball.

• The Beach went 4-1 at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, the best record of the four teams in Mexico. The Beach was led by tournament MVP Nina Sepulveda along with All-Tournament Team selections Isabella Alonso and Avery Weisbrook.

• Nina Sepulveda hit .429 with a home run and five runs scored in Cathedral City, repeating as the Big West Freshman of the Week after earning the award after her MVP performance at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.

• As a team, Long Beach State is hitting .306 with a consistent lineup providing solid offense early for the Beach. Five regulars are hitting over .300, led by junior designated player Malayna Terrones who is batting .432 on the season.

• A strong start for Terrones led to the junior being selected as the first Big West Field Player of the Week for the new season. Hitting safely in all five games, Terrones went 4-for-4 in the rematch with Oregon State, and reached base at a .733 rate in the first week with 9 hits, two walks and a sacrifice bunt.

• The 2026 season marks the first under new head coach Kendall Fearn. Fearn becomes just the fifth coach in the program's 45-year history, assuming the leadership role following the retirement of Kim Sowder at the conclusion of the 2025 campaign, her 19th in charge of the program.

• Fearn comes to Long Beach State following a successful stint at San Diego State as the lead assistant for the Aztecs, seeing the team to three straight NCAA tournament appearances that included a run to the 2023 Super Regionals in her three seasons in San Diego. Fearn also had previous stops at Indiana and Marshall following a standout career as an infielder at UNLV under former Long Beach State coach Pete Manarino.

• The Beach enters the season with a mix of old and new under Fearn. The Beach has three returning starters and two returning pitchers as part of 12 returning letterwinners, while bringing back two redshirts. Fearn and her staff also added five Division I transfers and five high school recruits to round out the roster.

PLAYER NOTES
• Malayna Terrones has had a tremendous start to the season, opening the year making just four outs over the first five games, hitting 9-for-13 with a .733 on-base percentage to earn Big West Player of the Week. Terrones remains the team's leader in batting average, hitting .432 while starting all 15 games.

• Sophomore Priscilla Iniguez had a strong first season at the Beach, also earning Honorable Mention All-Big West honors as well as being chosen for the Big West All-Freshman Team after hitting five home runs. Picking up where she left off, Iniguez has reached safely in every game, has a pair of seven-game hitting streams and is batting .400 with a team-high three home runs.

• Another returning starter is junior Avery Weisbrook. Returning to Southern California after one season at Florida State, Weisbrook played in 37 games for the Beach last season and has continued to show great improvement. Weisbrook has started every game this season at shortstop for the Beach and is hitting .356 with five extra-base hits..

• Anchoring the leadoff position, sophomore Lina Apodaca is another returner for Long Beach State. Hitting .292 a year ago while starting 29 games, Apodaca is batting .309 in 2026 with nine runs scored and 10 RBI, including a critical 3-run home run to help Long Beach State defeat No. 4 Oklahoma.

• Freshman Nina Sepulveda is making an early case for Big West Freshman Player of the Year. Starting all 15 games for Long Beach State, Sepulveda is batting .350 with a pair of home runs and a team-high 17 RBI, earning MVP honors at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge and two Big West Freshman of the Week awards this season.

• Redshirt Freshman Miranda Gonzalez has gotten an early opportunity to shine. Starting 14 games at second base, Gonzalez has an on-base percentage of .421 and leads the team with 10 walks.

• Erica Estrada spent her first two seasons primarily as a pinch runner, but is getting her chance in the lineup to start the 2026 season. A strong defensive outfielder, Estrada started the first 11 games of the season in center field before a minor injury, hitting .280. Supplementing her efforts in the outfield is freshman Kali Su'e, who made a spectacular catch against the Sooners and has three stolen bases in the early part of the season.

• Catcher Audree Mendoza has seen every pitch of the season behind the plate for Long Beach State. A transfer from Penn State, Mendoza excelled during the 2024 season before sitting out last year, and the team is counting on her to make an impact this season. So far the sophomore has done just that, hitting .235 with three doubles and a team-high four stolen bases.

• Junior Brooklyn Lee returns for Long Beach State as an Honorable Mention All-Big West selection from 2025. In her first season at the Beach, the catcher split time behind the dish and at DP, hitting .304 with 28 RBI, second-most on the team. Lee begins the season injured, but is eying a return later in the year.

• Under Fearn and pitching coach Shelby Miller, the Beach is using all of their pitchers collectively, and as a staff the team has the second-lowest ERA among Big West teams through 15 games.

• Familiar to fans of the Big West is a veteran pitcher, Isabella Alonso. Alonso pitched for three seasons with conference rival CSUN, and is coming to finish her career at the Beach after earning both Honorable Mention All-Big West and All-Freshman team honors with the Matadors in addition to a spot on the inaugural Big West Championship All-Tournament team last season. This year with the Beach, Alonso is 3-2 with a 3.50 ERA, leading the team with 32.0 innings pitched and 13 strikeouts.

• Returning to the pitching staff is graduate Lindsey Cowans. Cowans had a successful career at LIU and threw 26.0 innings last season for the Beach. In a bigger role this season, Cowans has started the year with a 2-0 record, pitching 22.0 innings across 10 appearances, including a start and a save against No. 4 Oklahoma.

• Freshman Audrey Lopetegui is tied second on the team in innings pitched, and is among the national leader in saves with three already this season. Fellow freshman Pricilla Ramirez has five strikeouts in just 8.2 innings pitched as a relief specialist for the staff.

• Jailynn Banda made 12 appearances in the circle for St. John's one season ago as a true freshman with a 3.46 ERA, and returns to Southern California for her sophomore season coming from Norwalk High School. Banda had a standout performance against Southern Illinois, striking out 5 in 4.0 innings of scoreless relief with just two hits.

• Returning as an All-Big West selection, earning Honorable Mention All-Big West honors as a sophomore after All-Freshman team recognition in 2024 is junior Kate Barnett. Over the last two seasons, Barnett has posted a 13-8 overall record with a 3.46 ERA, consistently playing a major role with the Long Beach State pitching staff. Barnett has yet to feature in 2026 due to injury.

THIS AND THAT
• In a nod to the tradition of Long Beach State softball as well as respect for the reputation of Kendall Fearn, Beach softball was picked to finish in third in the Preseason Big West Coaches Poll, despite not having any individual players chosen as Preseason All-Big West.

• Long Beach State continues to have continued historical success. Long Beach State has competed in 5 Women's College World Series, made the NCAA Tournament 26 times, and claimed 10 Big West titles. The Beach has also reached the 30-win plateau 29 times, most recently in 2023.

• Long Beach State boasts tremendous home support, ranking in the Top 50 in total attendance nationally in each of the last two seasons despite having a total capacity of 500. Long Beach State finished 2025 ranked 8th in percentage attendance, filling at over 100% during the season with 15 total sellouts.