By Diego Devia
The Long Beach State softball team earned its first home win of the season Sunday, after a dominant 8-0 victory over San Diego State at the Softball Complex.
The Beach (12-11) put the game out of reach for the Aztecs (17-11) with a two-RBI triple by sophomore outfielder Maddy Ruffin in the fourth, forcing the mercy rule.
“This was a good win, being our first mercy of the season,” Ruffin said. “It was really cool being able to dominate a team like we know we can.”
After back-to-back home losses to begin the Louisville Slugger Invitational, the Beach came out to a fast start in the team’s third game, scoring early in the second inning off an RBI-double down the left foul line by senior infielder Taylor Rowland.
“It feels good to play better and hit the ball,” head coach Kim Sowder said. “It was a solid game all the way around for us, pitching, defense and offense.”
Long Beach piled on four more runs in the third with RBI’s from Alyssa Gonzalez, Ruffin, as well as two more from Rowland, bringing their lead to 5-0.
“It was nice to get on the board and get that first key run,” Sowder said. “I think everybody relaxed a bit more and cashed in those runs and put them away instead of letting teams hang around.”
In the fourth, the Beach continued its hitting ways, loading up the bases for junior catcher Justine Briones who hit an RBI single bringing home junior outfielder Rylie Seip increasing the lead to 6-0. With runners on third and second, Ruffin stepped up to the plate, hitting a two-RBI triple to ice the game at 8-0 heading into the fifth.
Senior pitcher Kellie White was able to hold the Aztecs to only five hits in her shutout victory, improving her record to 6-5 on the season.
“We’ve got to stay focused,” Ruffin said. “Don’t ride the highs too high and the lows too low, and that’s what we are doing.”
