Long Beach State University Athletics
Saturday, March 28
La Jolla, Calif.
1 p.m.
Long Beach State University
20-13, 8-3
11
at
2
UC San Diego
12-20, 2-9
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Long Beach St.
1
0
8
0
2
11
11
0
UC San Diego
1
0
0
0
1
2
6
2
Softball Finishes Road Series Sweep at UC San Diego
3/28/2026 6:07:00 PM | Softball
Long Beach State won in two different ways, one by mercy rule and one with a seventh-inning rally.
LA JOLLA, Calif. – After a dominating performance in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, Long Beach State rallied with four runs in the top of the seventh to finish off a sweep of UC San Diego in La Jolla with a 4-2 victory.
Long Beach State (21-13, 9-3 Big West) got started right away in the opening game. Lina Apodaca and Nina Sepulveda started the game with back-to-back hits, and while the lead runner was thrown out on a fielder's choice, a walk to Avery Weisbrook loaded the bases.
An incredible diving catch from Triton shortstop Marley Espiau robbed Brooklyn Lee of a hit, but quick-witted baserunning from Sepulveda scored the freshman on the play for a sacrifice fly, which put the Beach on top 1-0. Back-to-back doubles from Zara Wasserman and Espiau in the bottom half of the first then evened up the score for UC San Diego (12-21, 2-10 Big West).
The Beach offense went back to work in the third inning. Priscilla Iniguez and Weisbrook hit two straight singles with one out, and then an RBI single from Lee put the Beach back in front. A walk to Emily Dowden loaded the bases, and then Audree Mendoza added to the lead with a station-to-station single.
Pinch hitter Elissa Guerrero scored two more with a single to make the lead 5-1, and then another run came home on a ground ball from Miranda Gonzalez that was misplayed by Espiau, leaving two runners in scoring position. That rolled the lineup over to the top of the order, and Apodaca delivered with a double that scored two more runs. A base hit from Iniguez then added one more as the Beach batted around in the third, scoring eight runs and taking a 9-1 lead.
Long Beach State loaded the bases in the fifth, and added two more insurance runs on a single from Weisbrook and an RBI walk to Lee. Isabella Alonso then finished off the contest to pick up her 10th win of the season and her second complete game.
The Tritons struck first in game two. Loading the bases with one out, a hit batter scored the first run, and then UCSD scored a second on an RBI groundout before reliever Jailynn Banda wrapped the inning with a strikeout.
Long Beach State loaded the bases in the second inning, but couldn't get any runs across against Zoe Rutherford in what would become a theme for the game, leaving 10 on base through the first six innings against the Triton freshman.
The Beach finally broke through in the top of the seventh. Sepulveda singled to start the inning, followed by a double from Iniguez to cut the lead to 2-1. Lee hit a double off the top of the wall that was inches away from being a home run, putting runners on second and third while tying the game. An RBI single from Emily Dowden kept the rally going and put the Beach in front for the first time, and a sacrifice fly from Mendoza scored Lee to make the score 4-2.
Kate Barnett, who had followed Banda in another outstanding relief performance, finished off the game to collect her first win of the season.
Long Beach State returns to the LBSU Softball Complex for a seven-game homestand, which will start when the Beach hosts UC Davis for a three-game series beginning on Friday, April 3.
Long Beach State (21-13, 9-3 Big West) got started right away in the opening game. Lina Apodaca and Nina Sepulveda started the game with back-to-back hits, and while the lead runner was thrown out on a fielder's choice, a walk to Avery Weisbrook loaded the bases.
An incredible diving catch from Triton shortstop Marley Espiau robbed Brooklyn Lee of a hit, but quick-witted baserunning from Sepulveda scored the freshman on the play for a sacrifice fly, which put the Beach on top 1-0. Back-to-back doubles from Zara Wasserman and Espiau in the bottom half of the first then evened up the score for UC San Diego (12-21, 2-10 Big West).
The Beach offense went back to work in the third inning. Priscilla Iniguez and Weisbrook hit two straight singles with one out, and then an RBI single from Lee put the Beach back in front. A walk to Emily Dowden loaded the bases, and then Audree Mendoza added to the lead with a station-to-station single.
Pinch hitter Elissa Guerrero scored two more with a single to make the lead 5-1, and then another run came home on a ground ball from Miranda Gonzalez that was misplayed by Espiau, leaving two runners in scoring position. That rolled the lineup over to the top of the order, and Apodaca delivered with a double that scored two more runs. A base hit from Iniguez then added one more as the Beach batted around in the third, scoring eight runs and taking a 9-1 lead.
Long Beach State loaded the bases in the fifth, and added two more insurance runs on a single from Weisbrook and an RBI walk to Lee. Isabella Alonso then finished off the contest to pick up her 10th win of the season and her second complete game.
The Tritons struck first in game two. Loading the bases with one out, a hit batter scored the first run, and then UCSD scored a second on an RBI groundout before reliever Jailynn Banda wrapped the inning with a strikeout.
Long Beach State loaded the bases in the second inning, but couldn't get any runs across against Zoe Rutherford in what would become a theme for the game, leaving 10 on base through the first six innings against the Triton freshman.
The Beach finally broke through in the top of the seventh. Sepulveda singled to start the inning, followed by a double from Iniguez to cut the lead to 2-1. Lee hit a double off the top of the wall that was inches away from being a home run, putting runners on second and third while tying the game. An RBI single from Emily Dowden kept the rally going and put the Beach in front for the first time, and a sacrifice fly from Mendoza scored Lee to make the score 4-2.
Kate Barnett, who had followed Banda in another outstanding relief performance, finished off the game to collect her first win of the season.
Long Beach State returns to the LBSU Softball Complex for a seven-game homestand, which will start when the Beach hosts UC Davis for a three-game series beginning on Friday, April 3.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Alonso, Isabella (7-4)
L: Christian, Callie (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Apodaca, Lina 1
RBI: Lee, Brooklyn 3 ; Iniguez, Priscilla 1 ; Weisbrook, Avery 1 ; Gonzalez, Miranda 1 ; Apodaca, Lina 2 ; Mendoza, Audree 1 ; Guerrero, Elissa 2
SH: Estrada, Erica 1
SF: Lee, Brooklyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dowden, Emily 1 ; Iniguez, Priscilla 1 ; Weisbrook, Avery 1 ; Estrada, Erica 1 ; Gonzalez, Miranda 2 ; Apodaca, Lina 2 ; Su'e, Kali 1 ; Mendoza, Audree 1 ; Sepulveda, Nina 1
Batting:
2B: Wasserman, Zara 1 ; Womack, Samantha 1 ; Espiau, Marley 1
RBI: Wasserman, Zara 1 ; Arbuckle, Tyla 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Womack, Samantha 1 ; Espiau, Marley 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballINF
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