The Beach was shut out after the 3rd inning and fell to the Princeton Tigers 10-7 in the first game of their doubleheader at the LBSU Softball Complex on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
After a promising first inning which included a four-run two out rally response to Princeton’s three-run inning, Long Beach State lost steam.
Sophomore catcher Julia Dumais began her four RBI afternoon with a leadoff home run for Princeton in the top of the first inning. Karis Ford, a freshman right fielder who also finished with four RBIs, then struck a two-run shot to put the Tigers up 3-0 before Long Beach first came up to bat.
Back-to-back-to-back singles set up junior third baseman South Carolina transfer Carly Robbins to belt a three-run double, evening the score. After senior catcher Jaeden Barajas drew a walk, senior San Jose State transfer catcher Lilyanna Martinez hit a single, scoring Robbins.
Dumais was back at it again in the second inning, doubling in junior left fielder Allison Ha for the Tigers off of LBSU senior starting pitcher Sophia Fernandez.
The Beach responded with ferocity in the third inning as Junior second baseman Jacquelyn Bickar started the big inning by smacking a two-run triple, making the score 7-4 with one out in the third.
Martinez followed that by hitting her second RBI single later in the inning, scoring Bickar.
The Tigers responded as they had been doing all game and when the smoke had cleared, Princeton scored six innings.
Long Beach State could not get anything substantial going for the rest of the game.
The Beach assistant coach Kevin Castillo was strangely ejected in the fourth inning, for reasons still unclear.
Princeton senior pinch hitter Cate Bade provided an insurance run in the seventh, making the score 10-7.
Due to the proximity between their first and second games of the day, head coach Kim Sowder and Beach players were unavailable for an interview. The Beach takes on UC Riverside on March 16 at the LBSU Softball Complex.