LAKEWOOD — Senior pitcher Brooke Turner held the Sacramento State Hornets in check for a 2-1, extra-inning Long Beach State softball win at the Long Beach Marriott Invitational on Saturday.
Turner (4-1) pitched through nine innings, giving up an unearned run, and had nine strikeouts including the last batter of the ninth.
“It wasn’t very pretty,” LBSU head coach Kim Sowder said, “but the pretty part was that Brooke Turner did a heck of a job for us. She was so strong in the circle.”
LBSU’s defense nearly spoiled Turner’s outing, with an error allowing Hornets (5-10) second baseman Devin Caldwell to score from second in the fifth. Hits were few and far between as well, with the 49ers scraping together only four.
“I can only control what I do,” Turner said, “and if we’re not scoring, I just try to stay strong out there and get us back in as quick as we can.”
The Beach came back in the bottom of that inning on senior Christina Schallig’s two-out, first-pitch home run to left field.
The game remained tied 1-1 until the bottom of the ninth, when senior Liz Javier hit a two-out, walk-off single to the gap in left center, scoring Caitrin DeBaun.
“The seniors came through for us today,” Sowder said. “It was nice to see their leadership when we’re struggling a little bit right now.”
The win ended a two-game slide where the 49ers could manage only three unearned runs. Sowder noted that the team hasn’t hit the ball well the last few games.
“Granted, we faced some good pitchers,” Sowder said.
Sowder gave credit to the pitching of the Hornets’ Taylor Stroud (3-3), who took the loss but kept her ERA at a low 1.11. Stroud gave up six hits and one strikeout.
Sunday concludes the Long Beach Invitational, with LBSU facing Utah State (11:15 a.m.) and St. Mary’s.(1:30 p.m.).
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.