Long Beach State doubled its lead over Hawaii in the Big West softball standings with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday at 49er Softball Complex.
Long Beach pitchers Erin Jones-Wesley and Amanda Hansen combined for 20 strikeouts in complete-game victories.
The 49ers (31-9, 8-0) won the first game 5-3 behind Jones-Wesley’s 11 strikeout performance. Sarah Carrasco’s fifth-inning grand slam was the decisive blow in Long Beach State’s 8-2 win in the second game.
"The opportunities were there today," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "We had the lead in the second game. We kept it close in the first game. We just never really put it together to put them away."
The series concludes with a single game on Sunday at 10 a.m. The game will be shown on ESPN3.
Jones-Wesley gave up four hits and walked eight in the series opener. She escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first and the 49ers took the lead on Ashlynn Booker’s two run single in the bottom of the inning.
The 49ers led 4-0 through five innings before UH (19-18, 4-4) scratched out a run in the sixth on Sarina Jaramillo’s RBI groundout. The 49ers added a run in the sixth when Carrasco tripled to lead off the inning and Ashley Holmes followed with a double.
UH rallied with two out in the top of the seventh. Leisha Li’ili’i hit her 11th home run of the season, a two-run shot to left. But Jones-Wesley ended the game with her 11th strikeout on her 164th pitch of the game. Loie Kesterson (8-2) surrendered nine hits and didn’t record a walk or strikeout in taking the loss.
UH led early in the second game, scoring on Li’ili’i’s RBI single in the first inning and another by Ulu Matagiese in the fourth.
Long Beach State erased a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the fifth when Darian Tautalafua singled with the bases loaded. Carrasco followed with her grand slam and Hansen closed out a complete-game win.
UH’s Heather Morales (9-7) gave up 13 hits, walked five and struck out one in the loss.
At Long Beach, Calif.
| UH (19-17, 4-3) |
000 |
001 |
2 |
— |
3 |
4 |
1 |
| LBSU (30-9, 7-0) |
200 |
021 |
x |
— |
5 |
9 |
0 |
Loie Kesterson and Sharla Kliebenstein. Erin Jones-Wesley and Karli Sandoval.
W—Jones-Wesley. L—Kesterson.
Leading hitters—Hawaii: Jazmine Zamora, 2B; Leisha Li’ili’i, HR, 2 RBIs; Kliebenstein, 2B; Sarina Jaramillo, RBI. Long Beach State: Cya Neal 3-4; Hannah De Gaetano, RBI; Ashlynn Booker, 2-3, 3 RBIs; Sarah Carrasco, 3B; Ashley Holmes, 2B.
| UH (19-18, 4-4) |
100 |
100 |
0 |
— |
2 |
7 |
1 |
| LBSU (31-9, 8-0) |
010 |
052 |
x |
— |
8 |
13 |
0 |
Heather Morales and Kayla Wartner. Amanda Hansen and Lauren Lombardi. W—Hansen. L—Morales.
Leading hitters—Hawaii: Leisha Li’ili’i, RBI; Sarina Jaramillo, 2-3; Ulu Matagiese, RBI. Long Beach State: Shayna Kimbrough, 2-4; Hannah De Gaetano, 2-4; Darian Tautalafua, 2-3, 3 runs, RBI; Sarah Carrasco, 2-4, 2B, grand slam; Lombardi, 2-3; Leilani Tupua-Tautalatasi, RBI; Ashlynn Booker, 2-3, 2B.
BIG WEST SOFTBALL
| |
Conference |
|
|
|
Overall |
| |
W |
L |
Pct. |
GB |
W |
L |
| Long Beach St. |
8 |
0 |
1.000 |
— |
31 |
9 |
| UCSB |
5 |
3 |
.625 |
3 |
25 |
16 |
| CS Fullerton |
5 |
3 |
.625 |
3 |
24 |
16 |
| Hawaii |
4 |
4 |
.500 |
4 |
19 |
18 |
| CS Northridge |
3 |
5 |
.375 |
5 |
26 |
17 |
| Cal Poly |
3 |
5 |
.375 |
5 |
21 |
16 |
| UC Davis |
3 |
5 |
.375 |
5 |
14 |
24 |
| UC Riverside |
1 |
7 |
.125 |
7 |
20 |
21 |
Saturday
Long Beach State 5, Hawaii 3
Long Beach State 8, Hawaii 2
UC Santa Barbara 8, CS Northridge 7
UC Santa Barbara 8, CS Northridge 3
UC Davis 3, Cal Poly 2
UC Davis 3, Cal Poly 2
UC Riverside 6, CS Fullerton 3
CS Fullerton 4, UC Riverside 2
Sunday
Hawaii at Long Beach State, 10 a.m.
UC Santa Barbara at CS Northridge
UC Davis at Cal Poly
UC Riverside at CS Fullerton
