With tournament play behind them, the 49ers took their first step toward winning their third straight Big West Conference title this weekend.
With two wins against Cal Poly (11-19, 1-2 Big West), the Long Beach State softball team (20-14, 2-1 Big West) found itself in a tie for first early in conference play, but a game three loss pushed them further from Hawaii and Pacific, both of which won their first three games.
“It’s really kind of in our hands,” head coach Kim Sowder said. “To get into the postseason we’re going to have to finish these seven weeks pretty strong.”
The team worked toward that goal right off the bat in game one.
Right fielder Darian Tautalafua’s four RBIs and sixth inning homerun carried the team past the Mustangs in a 5-4 win in Saturday’s series opener. It wasn’t a one-man show, though, as she had the help of 10 hits shared by six other ‘Niners.
“We just had timely hitting in game one,” Sowder said. “We did a real nice job offensively … a lot of clutch hitting at the right time.”
Sowder also credited starting pitcher Amanda Hansen’s complete game and two earned runs as essential contributions in the victory.
The 49ers’ pitching received more credit in game two, holding the Mustangs scoreless while handing them their second consecutive loss. Christian Carbajal threw seven shutout innings in the 1-0 win.
The game’s lone run was scored by Tautalafua in the fourth inning after first baseman Sarah Carrasco drove her in with a single down the left field line.
The 49ers repeated their 10-hit effort in game three on Sunday, but with 13 stranded base runners, Sowder said the difference this time was an absence of hits at the right time in a 2-0 loss.
“We left runners on base seven innings so we had plenty of opportunities,” Sowder said. “Everybody had opportunities, and we just didn’t get any timely hits.”
Carrasco and Hannah De Gaetano returned to the lineup after being forced to sit out the last two weeks with injuries. While their big bats brought the team more hits, empty bases prevented them from driving in runs.
Ace pitcher Erin Jones-Wesley sat the weekend out with what Sowder called “arm issues” that she sustained against San Jose State last weekend. Sowder said that her arm will be evaluated in practice this week before she returns to the mound.
The ‘Niners will work on their offensive and defensive inconsistencies this week before heading to UC Riverside on Friday. Sowder said that success takes more than just strong pitching.
“We just have to play good softball,” she said. “We’re going to have to have timely hitting, timely pitching and good defense to be successful.”
LBSU will take on the Highlanders at noon on Friday.