By Senior infielder Tierra Falo stepped up to the plate with bases loaded and shot a low ball up the middle to bring in two runs and tie the game, but it wasn’t enough to earn the win after seven innings of play. Long Beach State (3-4) lost to Fresno State 6-3 in the first home game of the Stacy Winsberg Invitational Friday.
Fresno State drew first blood in the first inning when junior infielder Miranda Rohleder bolted home and slid past the catcher on a bunt by freshman outfielder McKenzie Wilson. The Bulldogs earned their second run in the third when Vanessa Hernandez drove in Hayleigh Galvan with a single.
The game saw multiple injuries early on, causing Long Beach to make last minute lineup adjustments. Sophomore infielder Katelyn Hanson limped off of the field in the first inning after colliding with a base runner at third base. In the second inning, freshman infielder Emily Salazar suffered a rolled ankle on offense after leading off of first base.
Despite the slow start on the offensive end, junior pitcher Ashley Coleman threw off many Bulldog batters with her changeup by drawing strikeouts and dinky grounders. She was replaced in the fourth inning by junior pitcher Devyn Magnett, who entered to pitch one batter and was interchanged with freshman utility Samantha Fowler at the start of the fifth.
The 49ers struggled to put runs on the board until the fourth inning when Falo brought the score to a tie, truly beginning the battle against the Bulldogs.
Fresno State was unsatisfied with the tie, and responded with a triple from junior infielder Haley Fuller, which brought in three runs. Following the hit that cleared the bases, Kelcey Carrasco launched a line drive up the middle and scored Fuller.
In order to stay in the game, Long Beach had to score with their last ups in the bottom of the seventh, but the team was unable to produce additional runs.
Long Beach later fell to Oregon State 4-2 after going up 4-0 early on in the back-end of its double header.
Long Beach State hosts Boise State 2 p.m. Saturday.
