Softball, Sports

‘Niners sweep ESPNU doubleheader

Game 1 box score

Game 2 box score

The 49er softball team relished being in the ESPN spotlight Saturday afternoon.

During the week, players mugged for the cameras in vignettes filmed for ESPN television. When game time arrived, they made the Gauchos look silly in front of a national audience.

Long Beach State (26-17, 7-4 Big West Conference) captured both games of the doubleheader behind shutouts from Taylor Petty and Brooke Turner at the 49er Softball Complex. The LBSU bats also came alive to deliver two home runs on the afternoon.

“It’s always great to have any kind of exposure for our program,” 49er head coach Kim Sowder said. “It was a great day, we had a great crowd and the team played well.”

LBSU blanked UCSB (21-20, 4-7 Big West), 1-0, in the late game as Petty (11-4) went the distance, struck out two, walked four and held the Gauchos to two hits for the shutout.

The game showcased Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year candidates Petty and her UCSB counterpart Krista Cobb, but it was a former recipient of the award that came up with the game-changing moment.

Leading off the LBSU second, center fielder Bridgette Pagano blasted a solo home run over the left field scoreboard to give the 49ers the 1-0 lead. It was Pagano’s first homer of the season as she went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored.

“[The home run] took pressure off my shoulders, but I knew that I still had to get the job done,” Petty said.

UCSB’s best chance to score came with one out in the fifth when left fielder Brooke Putich took first on a walk before stealing second. In the ensuing at-bat, Christine Ramos smoked a liner off first baseman Jonae Perez’s glove that sailed into right field.

The 49ers’ Casey Burba retrieved the ball and gunned it to home plate, allowing catcher Brandy Reyes to make a backhand tag on Putich for the out.

“That throw by Casey and the snag by Brandy was amazing,” Petty said. “I couldn’t have done it without the defense behind me.”

The San Pedro-native got Jessica Ziegler to groundout, ending the inning.

Cobb (14-7) lasted six innings for the Gauchos, striking out two, walking six and allowing one run on six hits.

“We didn’t hit the ball as well last weekend [against Cal Poly],” Sowder said. “The quicker we bounce back, the better. We can’t let one game or one series be an indicator of how well we do in conference.”

Perez went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Danielle Linke, Brianna Goad and Reyes recorded a hit apiece.

Turner records 23rd career shutout

Sophomore Brooke Turner (14-9) tossed a two-hit gem to lift the 49ers to a 4-0 win over the Gauchos in Saturday’s early game.

The Buena Park-native fanned three batters and walked two to tally her sixth shutout of the season.

With LBSU up 2-0 in the fifth, Linke led off the inning by belting a solo shot over the right field fence for her sixth home run of the season.

“We wanted to make a statement,” she said. “We wanted revenge [after what happened last week] and we took it out on Santa Barbara.”

Linke went 3-for-5 and scored two runs in the doubleheader. Reyes added a 2-for-3 game at the plate to go with two RBIs, while Ashley Weber also had two hits.

“Our offense was impressive,” Sowder said. “We got momentum going the way that we wanted it to.”

The Gauchos’ MeLinda Matsumoto (2-8) was charged with the loss after striking out two and giving up three runs on eight hits in four innings of work.

Game Notes

Linke twisted her ankle in the second inning of the late game while taking a lead at first base. The right fielder slid back to first to beat the pickoff attempt, but came up walking gingerly and had to be removed from the game. She is expected to play in tomorrow’s series finale against UCSB, scheduled for 1 p.m.

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