After Long Beach State won the opening game in the three-game series against Cal State Fullerton Friday, the Titans bounced back to snag a pair of one-run victories, snapping Long Beach State’s program-best winning streak at 14 games.
The opener was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel between Cielo Meza and Trish Parks, as the game featured eight hits in total as Cal State Fullerton (23-20, 8-2 Big West) held on for a 2-1 lead.
Long Beach State (33-9, 7-2 Big West) scored the opening run of the game, as Nichole Fry was hit by a pitch to put the leadoff batter on. A single by Naomi Hernandez moved Fry over, and the junior shortstop would score on a wild pitch to give the Beach a 1-0 lead.
Brooke Clemetson hit a leadoff triple for the Titans in the bottom half of the inning, and Cal State Fullerton tied the game with an RBI single from Sammie Vandiver.
Meza would just give up just two more hits, but it would be decisive, as Ari Williams led off the fourth inning with a solo home run that would hold up as the game-winner. Parks would hold on for the win, scattering four hits with four strikeouts for the Titans.
Game two proved to be more offensive, as Long Beach State jumped out to an early lead. Hernandez, Taylor Rowland and Tierra Falo hit three straight singles to bring home a run in the first inning, and then a two-run double from Hernandez capped a three-run second as the Beach jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
An RBI double from Rowland brought home a fifth run for the Beach, but a big fourth inning from the Titans changed the complexion of the contest. Flores, who had given up no hits and just one walk over the first three innings was unable to get out of the fourth inning, though two errors behind the senior did not help as the Titans tied the score at 5-5.
The Beach bounced back, retaking the lead. Julia Lombardi drew a leadoff walk and came around to score in the fifth, and then Lauren MacLeod was plunked with the bases loaded to make the score 7-5 after six innings.
The Titans put two on with one out in the bottom of the seventh, setting the stage for the comeback. After a walk loaded the bases, and error from Fry extended the inning allowing a run to score, cutting the lead to one. Fry and Magnett recovered to get the second out on a fielder’s choice at home following a groundout to short, but a double from Julia Valenzuela brought home a pair of runs and gave the Titans the 8-7 walkoff victory.
Long Beach State will stay on the road for its next conference series, traveling to UC Santa Barbara for three games beginning on Saturday, April 21 at 1 p.m.
Baseball
The Dirtbags (14-21, 2-3 Big West) were unable to win their third straight game on Saturday afternoon, suffering a 2-1 loss against CSUN (17-17, 5-3 Big West) at Matador Field to even the weekend series.
Long Beach State stranded nine men on base in Saturday’s loss, and had the potential tying run at third base in the ninth inning, but couldn’t find a way to bring him home. LBSU’s lone run came from an RBI grounder by Clayton Andrews in the seventh inning to score Brooks Stotler.
Andrews also started on the mound and put together another quality start. He allowed two runs in the second inning on a triple, followed by a wild pitch, and then a solo home run. He ended up going six innings, allowing the two runs on seven hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.
LBSU looked to have scored in the fifth inning with a bases loaded, no outs situation. On a grounder to second, CSUN unsuccessfully tried to turn a double play, but Long Beach State’s Shaq Robinson was called for interference on the play. That meant both he and the batter, Santino Rivera, were called out and the other runners were sent back to their bases, effectively wiping a run off the board for the Dirtbags.
Joey Sanchez got the start in right field and was 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of singles. Robinson had a pair of bunt singles (on sacrifice bunt attempts) and also laid down a sacrifice bunt in the ninth inning.
LBSU will look to take the rubber match as Tyler Radcliffe (1-4, 4.23 ERA) will get the start for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
Beach Volleyball
No. 6 Long Beach State didn’t drop a set Saturday, opening the day with a 5-0 exhibition win over Long Beach City before cruising to a pair of sweeps over Utah and CSU Bakersfield.
Long Beach State (20-4) debuted its new-look top two flights against Long Beach City, led by a familiar face in head coach Misty May-Treanor. Nele Barber, partnering with Sasha Karelov, defeated Sierra Davis and Josannah Vazquez 21-8, 21-8 in the top flight, while Rachel Nieto dropped to No. 2, playing with Megan Kruidhof, but again the pair found a great result in a 21-13, 21-9 win over Jordan Diaz and Taty Umi. The remainder of the flights also won easily in straight sets to capture the first win of the day.
Long Beach State next faced Utah (1-6), and again won in straight sets with some blowouts and some tight matches. Kruidhof and Nieto rollowed to a 21-12, 21-4 win over Melissa Powell and Tawnee Luafalemana, while Hannah Matt and Marisa Ramsey crushed Lauga Guata and Lauren Sproule in their first set on the way to a 21-2, 21-12 victory. Hailey Harward and Nicci Reinking, playing together at No. 3, also had a single digit win in a 21-6, 21-13. The closest match came at No. 1, as Barber and Karelov were pushed in a 21-18, 22-20 win over Adora Anae and Dani Barton.
In the last of six matches including netural contests at the LBSU Sand Courts on Saturday, Long Beach State once again dominated in a 5-0 win over CSU Bakersfield, beating the Runners for a third time this season by that margin. The new pairs in the top two flights continued to find success, as Barber/Karelov won 21-10, 21-11 over Emily Hansen and Sydney Haynes, while Kruidhof/Nieto rollwed to a 21-5, 21-6 win over Sarah Garrow and Desiree Sukhov.
Zoi Konstantopoulou and Nicci Reinking moved up a flight in a straight sets win, as did Hannah Matt and Marisa Ramsey, while Alexis Patterson and Emma Kirst moved moved into the lineup, winning 21-10, 21-11 at No. 5 against Ally Barber and Krista Hernandez.
The Beach is back at the sand courts on campus tomorrow, bringing back Utah as well as No. 16 Loyola Marymount for a tri-dual. Matches are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., and prior to the matches, Long Beach State will recognize their five departures, Nele Barber, Anete Brinke, Sasha Karelov, Hannah Matt and Rachel Nieto.
Track & Field
Long Beach State’s men’s throwers and pole vaulters made up the bulk of the competitors in action on Saturday at the Triton Invitational, as the Beach wrapped up their final meet before returning to the Jack Rose Track next week.
The field events for the men started with the hammer throw, as freshman Ryan Coy set a season high with a throw of 48.26 meters. Senior Nicholas Hudson, the defending Big West Field Athlete of the Week, had the top mark for the Beach at 59.57 meters.
In the shotput, Tavi Kamarullah matched his best mark of the season at 16 meters even, while Sullivan Wall had a toss of 13.49 meters, his best of the season for the senior.
The busiest event of the day was the men’s discus, as six 49ers competed across two divisions. Josh Carr was entered into the invitational division, competing with postgraduate athletes as well as collegiate competition, throwing 53.27 meters. Coy topped his previous best in a second event Saturday, throwing 45.58 meters, while Hudson had the top mark in the open division for LBSU at 50.15 meters.
In the javelin, Jeffery Pulcher threw 50.95 meters to finish 19th in the event, while in the pole vault, both Michael Magula and Dustin Wert cleared the opening height of 4.65 meters but were unable to progress.
On the women’s side, Long Beach State participated in one event, as Cassasndra Nychay and Crystal Rodriguez both participated in the event. Nychay was the top finisher for the Beach, throwing 37.09 meters.
Long Beach State is proud to host multiple days of exciting track and field action at the Jack Rose Track in the next week. The Beach hosts the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate on Thursday, April 19, and then hosts the annual Beach Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
