The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2023-24 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
A pair of one-run wins helped Long Beach State softball sweep UC Santa Barbara in Big West action last weekend. The Beach (17-24, 12-3) is now in second place in the conference standings just one game back of Cal State Fullerton.
In the first game, senior Sophia Fernandez retired the first eight batters she faced and only allowed two hits in a 2-1 win. UCSB led 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning when LBSU’s Sara Olson and Jacquelyn Bickar got the rally going with back-to-back singles before Erica Estrada beat out a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Jocylyn Vidal worked a bases loaded walk and Cassie Camou drilled a deep RBI sacrifice fly to score Bickar for a 4-3 victory. It’s the seventh walk off win for the Beach this season.
Olson had an on-base percentage of .667 on the weekend with five hits, three walks and a pair of stolen bases in the three games against UCSB.
LBSU visits Cal Poly this weekend with about a month left in the season.
Men’s Volleyball
Baseball
The Dirtbags (18-14-1, 6-9) salvaged a win in the Big West series at CSUN on Monday in a rescheduled game. LBSU trailed by six runs but came back to grab a 10-7 victory.
LBSU had a season-high 14 hits as Armando Briseno went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Kyle Ashworth, Alex Champagne, Nick Marinconz, and John Newman Jr. all had two hits. Champagne also had three stolen bases and three runs scored.
The Dirtbags host UC Riverside this weekend.
Women’s Golf
Women’s Water Polo
No. 7 LBSU (20-7, 5-1) was able to hold off UC San Diego in a 10-9 win. Senior Lara Luka scored a pair of goals and dished out three assists to help the Beach move into second place in the Big West standings. Luka has now passed Stacy Black for the most goals in a season at LBSU, breaking a record that stood for 23 years.
The Beach hosts No. 9 UC Irvine on Thursday.
Beach Volleyball
No. 7 LBSU (23-7, 6-2) snapped Cal Poly’s 16-match win streak with a win thanks to Savannah Standage and Mo Gibson clinching a close set late.
The Beach hosts Cal State LA for two matches on Saturday.
Women’s Tennis
Rhona Cook and Sarah Medik earned a pair of singles victories during a loss to CSUN. Despite the loss, the Beach have won five of their last seven matches. LBSU hosts UC Irvine on Friday.
