LONG BEACH, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara softball team travels to Long Beach this weekend for a Big West series against Long Beach State. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, Apr. 11 with the first game starting at 3 p.m., followed by a single game on Sunday, Apr. 12, at 12 p.m.
ABOUT LAST WEEK
Over the weekend, the Gauchos won their series, taking two of three games against Hawai'i. UC Santa Barbara got key contributions from multiple players throughout the weekend. Sophia Clark was dominant in the circle, pitching 8.1 innings, striking out five and not allowing a single run to score. Ella Myers came through in the clutch in game three with a go-ahead two-run home run. Dani Rauscher was consistent all weekend, going 9-for-11 (0.818) at the plate with a double and earning The Big West Field Player of the Week.
SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
Long Beach State enters the weekend in a three-way tie for third in the conference standings, while the Gauchos are tied with Cal State Fullerton for first place. The Beach are currently 21-16 and 9-6 in Big West play.
Long Beach State is hitting .298 as a team, with four players batting above .340. Lina Apodaca leads the team with a .374 average, and Avery Weisbrook is hitting .354 while leading the nation in assists in the field. Nina Sepulveda, a two-time Big West Freshman of the Week, leads the team in RBIs with 34 while also going 9-for-11 in stolen bases.
Long Beach State has posted some quality wins during the season, including an upset over No. 4 Oklahoma and going 4-1 at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.
Coming into the weekend, Long Beach holds a team ERA of 4.27, but three of their arms currently hold a sub-3.00 earned run average. Isabella Alonso has pitched the majority of the Beach's innings, accounting for roughly a third of the total innings. Jailynn Banda and Lindsey Cowans sit behind Alonso, each with 42 innings under their belt.
FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday's doubleheader begins at 3 p.m., and Sunday's game is set for noon. There will be no stream available for the games, but live stats will be available.
