It was just a few weeks ago that the Long Beach State softball team was brushed aside in five innings by Texas A&M. One week later at the Easton Desert Classic, it lost in five innings to an Oregon State team that went on to sweep the tournament.
This time, it was the ‘Niners that did the sweeping.
‘Niners capped off a perfect weekend of their own with two run-rule called games and a no-hitter by Erin-Jones Wesley at the San Diego Classic I.
LBSU (12-6) improved its winning streak to eight games with a mixture of strong pitching and a wide share of offensive participation. Head coach Kim Sowder had hoped to see more action from “bats one through nine” all those weeks ago.
“Every player on the team contributed in one way or another, and that was great to see,” Sowder said.
Shortstop Shayna Kimbrough initiated The Beach’s undefeated weekend immediately with game one’s first run in the first inning of a 6-2 win over Boise State (9-10). Second baseman Nalani St. Germain led LBSU’s four offensive contributors with a homerun and two RBIs.
Starting pitcher Jones-Wesley struck out seven batters over six innings to pick up her fifth win of the season. Amanda Hansen held the Broncos hitless in the seventh to secure the win for LBSU.
A four-game winning streak was revived when The Beach staged a late, sixth inning comeback in a 5-4 win over San Diego State (10-9) with a two-RBI single by designated player Emily Gregorio.
Pitcher Christian Carbajal secured the win in the next inning to complete her first complete game of the season while earning only two runs.
“Carbajal really gave us the lift in the circle,” Sowder said. “She’s really been pitching well, and it’s really helped our team confidence.”
Jones-Wesley’s complete game against New Mexico (11-12) on Saturday was sufficient enough to take the workload off LBSU’s offense, but six 49ers batters still combined to lead The Beach to a comfortable 6-2 win.
The 49ers jumped to an early lead when leadoff hitter Kimbrough scored on a throwing error in the first inning. St. Germain inflated the lead by driving in third baseman Hannah DeGaetano and Kimbrough in the sixth inning with a single to left field.
Plenty of offense in the first three games increased to bigger numbers and more contributors in LBSU’s final two games, which resulted in less innings.
Rightfielder Darian Tautalafua drove in six runs Saturday, fueling LBSU to cruise past Brigham Young (7-13) in a six inning run-ruled 12-3 victory.
A pair of second inning home runs by Tautalafua and catcher Sarah Carrasco gave the ‘Niners an early three run lead. The Cougars swiftly responded with first baseman Katie Manuma’s three run homerun in the top of the next frame to pull BYU out of the hole.
Tautalafua doubled in St. Germain and Karli Sandoval in her next at-bat to add to a five run fourth inning before forcing officials to call the game in the sixth with a two run homerun.
Both LBSU’s offense and pitching were so dominant that their only competition by the end of the tournament seemed to be each other.
A very active offense caused a second consecutive prematurely called-game before Jones-Wesley could pitch the seventh inning of her no-hitter in the 8-0 shutout over Fresno State (13-10).
“The first four games we played were in less than 24 hours,” Sowder said. “So I think what I was most pleased with was the energy that our team had in every game.”
As Tautalafua drove in the final run the game before, Kimbrough brought in the final run against the Bulldogs to build upon their weekend habits. Kimbrough totaled four runs scored while Tautalafua drove in three.
The ‘Niners will open their official season home-opener against Virginia Tech on Thursday at Mayfair Field at 7:30 p.m., where they will host the Long Beach Invitational.