In their second game of the Louisville Slugger Invitational, the Long Beach State softball team couldn’t overcome a rocky first inning and lackluster offensive performance, losing to San Diego State 7-1 at the LBSU Softball Complex Friday night.
It was an outing to forget for Beach starting pitcher Mo Quinlan, who ceded 4 runs to San Diego State in the first inning. Quinlan was a bit wild to start, as she struggled to hit the strike zone. Quinlan walked two batters to start the first inning, and after forcing a groundout which advanced the runners, threw a wild pitch which scored the first run of the game. This was then followed by another walk, and once Quinlan’s pitches found the strike zone, San Diego State’s AJ Murphy was all over them, crushing a bases clearing RBI double to make it 3-0. Quinlan then walked another batter, and a fielding error by the Beach allowed SDSU to tack on another run on an infield single with the bases loaded.
“We struggled in the circle in the first inning, it’s a tough way to start a game,” said LBSU head coach Kim Sowder. “We just had a hard time getting any momentum back after that first inning,”
Kate Barnett came in relief for the Beach and was able to pitch the remaining 6 innings. Although she did give up 3 additional runs on 9 hits, including another 2 run RBI double in the top of the third inning and a sacrifice fly in the top of the 6th inning, Sowder credits Barnett for getting outs and giving the Beach some quality innings as they are currently short on healthy arms.
“I thought Kate did a great job coming in relief and pitching 6 strong innings,” said Sowder. “I’m glad she was able to eat up innings for us, we need that right now with all the games being played and our limited number of pitchers.”
Although the pitching struggles defined the night, the Beach struggled at the plate as well, with only a .125 team batting average and recording a mere three hits total on the night. The only real highlight offensively occurred in the bottom of the third inning, where Sara Olson ripped a triple into right field and was able to score on a sacrifice fly from Jacquelyn Bickar, giving the Beach their first and only run of the game. The Beach’s other two hits came on a single from Lilyanna Martinez in the 2nd inning and a triple from Eryka Gonzales in the 5th inning, though neither were able to cross home plate.
“I felt we could’ve had better at bats tonight because we’ve been pretty strong offensively all year,” said Sowder. “I’m more disappointed by the three hits than anything else.”
Despite the loss, the Beach will have to move forward quickly as they face a doubleheader Saturday against both Princeton at 12:30 pm and Grand Canyon at 3pm as they wrap up their Louisville Slugger Invitational and get ready for Big West play.
“In long seasons like this you gotta view it one game at a time,” said Sowder. “We need to let this one go, and just focus on coming out tomorrow with good energy, get solid performances in the circle, and just try to play better softball.”
