Matadors Take Game One Against Softball In Back-And-Forth Game

Friday, May 1

Long Beach, Calif.

6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

27-21, 15-10

CSUN

14-30, 9-16

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
CSUN	1	0	1	0	4	0	1	7	7	2
Long Beach State	0	3	0	0	3	0	0	6	8	5

Matadors Take Game One Against Softball In Back-And-Forth Game

5/1/2026 8:41:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Emily Dowden tied the game in the fifth inning with a three-run home run.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. – A three-run home run from Emily Dowden tied the game late following a difficult defensive inning for the Beach, but CSUN had one final answer to take a 7-6 win in the opening game Friday of the three-game series.

CSUN (14-30, 9-16 Big West) struck first as Vanessa Perez started the game with a double, coming around to score after a sacrifice and an RBI groundout.

Long Beach State (27-21, 15-10 Big West) answered in the bottom of the second to take the lead. A leadoff walk, a single from Brooklyn Lee and a perfectly executed bunt loaded the bases, and the Beach would plate three with a sacrifice fly and a Matador error to take a 3-1 lead.

An error to start the third inning allowed CSUN to push across a run, a harbinger of what was to come later in the fifth. In that frame, Long Beach State made four errors, allowing for four runs, but the Beach limited the damage with a strong play, throwing out Amber Rivas at home on a double-steal attempt from CSUN.

The out at the plate helped spark some momentum for the Beach. Iniguez walked to start the inning, and after a hit from Nina Sepulveda, Emily Dowden tied the game with one swing, a massive three-run home run that evened the score at 6-6.

CSUN rallied once more. Maddie Okano singed to start the top of the seventh inning, and while the Beach picked up two outs, a double off the wall from Mackenzie Kila gave the Matadors a one-run lead.

That would hold as the Beach went down in order in the bottom of the seventh and the Matadors closed out the 7-6 win.

The regular season comes to a close Saturday with one final doubleheader against CSUN, the final two home games this season for the Beach prior to the Big West Championship. The Beach will honor their two departing seniors, Isabella Alonso and Lindsey Cowans, following the conclusion of the second game. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.