The Long Beach State softball team built a pair of two-run leads, but Cal Poly answered both times to eventually snap the 49ers’ seven-game winning streak, 5-4, in eight innings at Bob Janssen Field on Saturday. LBSU won the series, however, after sweeping both games of a doubleheader Friday.
The Mustangs scored the winning run in the eighth inning without the benefit of a hit. Nicole Lund led off the inning with a walk and eventually came around to score the winning run after two infield errors by LBSU shortstop Alisha Rosen and third baseman Liz Javier.
The 49ers (30-14, 8-4 Big West Conference) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on back-to-back RBI doubles by Sarah Carrasco and Javier. But the Mustangs (7-31, 3-9 Big West) answered with two runs of their own in their half of the inning on a Stephanie Correia two-RBI double by Stephanie.
LBSU regained the lead with two runs in the top of the sixth as Javier picked up her second RBI of the day with a single to center before coming around to score on a double by Christina Schallig.
Cal Poly responded yet again, however, with a pair of runs in its half of the inning. Mustangs pitcher Rebecca Patton helped her cause with a two-run home run to send the game into extra innings.
The 49ers would threaten in the top of the eighth inning when Carrasco led off the inning with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Brooke Bell who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Javier. Schallig followed with a single to center, but Bell was thrown out at the plate on an attempt to score.
Freshman Erin Jones-Wesley (16-5) was charged with the loss in relief after entering the game to start the eighth inning. Senior Brooke Turner got the start and allowed four runs on six hits in six innings while striking out eight. Carrasco, Javier and Schallig all went 2-for-3 to lead The Beach, while Hannah De Gaetano went 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Patton (5-16) earned the win for the Mustangs as she pitched a complete game while giving up four runs on nine hits.
LBSU returns home next weekend for a three-game series against UC Santa Barbara. The 49ers and Gauchos will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. Action on both days starts at 1 p.m. at the 49er Softball Complex.
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