The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2022-23 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
The best party in Long Beach is in the Walter Pyramid on nights the Long Beach State men’s volleyball team is playing. The No. 4-ranked Beach once again played hosts to nearly 3,000 guests on Friday night, although the fans had a better time than their guests, the No. 11-ranked USC Trojans. The Beach entertained the fans but played rude hosts to USC in a sweep, 25-17, 25-15, 25-23.
BASEBALL
The Dirtbags bounced back with a big win over Fresno State last week before sweeping UC Riverside on the road in Big West action. LBSU won those three games by a combined score of 25-7.
LBSU got three quality starts from pitchers Graham Osman (6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 11 K, 2 BB), Nico Zeglin (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 2 BB) and Myles Patton (6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 8 K).
LBSU hosts Cal Baptist tonight at 6 p.m., and Cal Poly for three games this weekend.
Women’s Water Polo
No. 9 LBSU upset No. 3 California, 8-7 last Sunday. Anne de Kleer led the way for the Beach with three goals and Elisa Portillo netted the overtime winner. The Beach never trailed in the game and the win is their first against California since the 2007 season.
Softball
LBSU used their team speed to collect three triples in a 2-0 win over UC Davis last weekend while sophomore Shannon Haddad delivered her fourth complete game shutout of the season. Haddad scattered four hits and struck out six with no walks in a fantastic outing, her eighth complete game of the season.
Haddad was named Big West Pitcher of the Week and leads the Big West in innings pitched in conference action with 26.0 innings pitched, posting a 3-0 record with an 0.81 ERA and three shutouts. Additionally, the sophomore has struck out 20 batters without allowing a walk over four starts.
The Beach (16-14, 6-0) travels to CSUN this weekend.
Women’s Golf
An outstanding second round from Jasmine Leovao and a consistent day from Janae Leovao saw the pair tied for third place overall at the Fresno State Classic, one stroke off of the lead after 36 holes on Monday.
Played at the San Joaquin Country Club, Long Beach State finished the opening day right in the thick of the team competition, closing the day in third place, four strokes behind the leaders and two stokes behind Fresno State among the 15-team field.
Firing a four-under par 68 in the second round, Jasmine finished with three birdies and recorded an eagle on the Par 5 12th with just one round over par on the way to recording the lowest round of the day, complementing a first round 75. Janae meanwhile had three birdies on the way to a two-under par first round 70 before shooting a 73 in the second round to also finish the day 1-under par for the tournament.
Hannah Ko was a scorer for the Beach in both rounds, while Angelina Kim rallied from a tough start in the first round to record a one-over par 73 in the second round for Long Beach State. Sophomore Kristina Ponomareva was the team’s other counting score in the first round with a 76.
Competing as an individual, freshman Madison Le had an excellent day as well, carding rounds of 74 and 75 to finish the day tied for 23rd overall in the 84-golfer field.
The final round of the Fresno State Classic started this morning.
