{"id":187882,"date":"2026-02-21T20:40:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T20:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/187882\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T20:40:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T20:40:18","slug":"long-beach-state-stuns-oklahoma-at-the-mary-nutter-collegiate-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/187882\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach State Stuns Oklahoma at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5k\">Long Beach State stunned Oklahoma at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5n\">The Beach never trailed, as they took an early lead in the second inning, before putting together a massive sixth inning to down the Sooners.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5q\">Nina Sepulveda thought she had delivered the game-winning run with an RBI-single off OU sophomore Audrey Lowry in the sixth, but right fielder Lina Apodaca hit a three-run bomb to start the celebrations in the Long Beach State dugout.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5t\">Freshman Kendall Wells homered for the Sooners to start the seventh and Kai Minor brought another run home with a two-out single, but Oklahoma\u2019s rally fell short.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5w\">Long Beach State won 6-4, notching a victory over Beach alum Patty Gasso, to hand the No. 5 Sooners their first unranked loss of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5z\">OU fell to 11-2 in 2026 with the loss, while Long Beach State improved to 8-4.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_0,h_0\/c_fill,w_16,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/voltaxMediaLibrary\/mmsport\/all_sooners\/01kj0xvwjykhpttw3dyv.png\" alt=\"Final Box Score\" title=\"Final Box Score\" width=\"0\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"69\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Final Box Score | OU Stats<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6d\">The Sooners\u2019 only two runs came in the fourth, but OU had plenty of opportunities throughout the contest.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">Oklahoma stranded two runners in the third, left the bases loaded in the fourth and left two more runners on in the fifth before Long Beach State retook control.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">OU started Sydney Berzon, but she allowed two runs on six hits in 2 1\/3 innings before Gasso had to turn to Lowry. Lowry settled things down for the most part, but the sixth inning got away from the sophomore in the defeat.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">The Sooners nearly opened the scoring in the top of the second inning.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">Allyssa Parker reached with a leadoff single, then she advanced to second on a ground ball to the left side. Parker was able to move up another 60 feet on a passed ball.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6s\">Minor almost brought her fellow freshman home with two outs, but Long Beach State centerfielder Kali Su\u2019e hustled to left-center field and made a diving grab to end the threat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read More Oklahoma Softball<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"75\">Long Beach State then seized momentum.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"78\">Berzon loaded the bases, allowing a pair of singles and issuing a walk, to start the bottom of the second.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7b\">Ailana Agbayani got the first out of the inning for the Sooners by throwing home on a fielder\u2019s choice, but Miranda Gonzalez plated the first run of the contest with an RBI-single up the middle.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-20\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7e\">OU catcher Isabela Emerling was able to tag Malayna Terrones out at home to prevent a second run from scoring, however, and Berzon induced a groundball over to third to end the inning.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-21\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7h\">Down a run, the Sooners got a pair of two-out baserunners in the third, but Ella Parker was unable to drive a run home to tie the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-22\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7k\">The Beach added another in the third.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-23\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7n\">With runners on the corners and one out, Audree Mendoza laid down a bunt that rolled toward first. Wells charged to field the ball, but as she turned to throw to first, nobody was covering the bag, which allowed the run to score while everyone reached safely.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-24\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7q\">Gasso then decided to replace Berzon with Lowry in the circle, and the sophomore left-hander retired the next two batters to end the third.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-25\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7t\">Allyssa Parker immediately got the Sooners on the board in the fourth, however.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-26\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7w\">She crushed a solo shot, her sixth home run of the year, to cut the deficit to 2-1.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">FIRE US UP FRESHIE!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AllyssaParker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@AllyssaParker<\/a> goes yard \ud83d\udca3 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Fw3p4BHzBz\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/Fw3p4BHzBz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OU_Softball\/status\/2025284135141736547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">February 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-28\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"82\">OU then tied the game with two outs.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-29\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"85\">Minor\u2019s single was turned into a run when Lexi McDaniel doubled off the right field wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">an inning for the freshmen!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LexiMcDaniel2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@LexiMcDaniel2<\/a> pinch hit game-tying 2B! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N7wKvsWjkh\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/N7wKvsWjkh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OU_Softball\/status\/2025285574828167169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">February 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-31\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8b\">Agbayani and Kasidi Pickering both drew walks to load the bases, but Wells flew out deep to right field to the warning track to end the top of the fourth with the game still at 2-2.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-32\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8e\">A walk and a fielding error gave Long Beach State a pair of runners to start the sixth inning, which the Beach turned into a massive inning.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-33\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8h\">Miali Guachino took over for Lowry in the circle after the home run, but the damage was already done.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-34\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8k\">Wells hit a leadoff bomb to start the seventh, and Oklahoma put runners on the corners with two outs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-35\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8n\">Minor singled to cut the deficit to 6-4, and Gabbie Garcia was called upon to pinch hit with runners on first and second, but Garcia struck out to end the game.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-36\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8q\">Saturday marked Oklahoma\u2019s first loss to Long Beach State since the Beach upset the Sooners 5-4 on Feb. 15, 2020, at the Candrea Classic in Tucson, AZ.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-37\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8t\">OU\u2019s day at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic isn\u2019t done.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-38\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8w\">Immediately following the loss, Oklahoma will regroup to take on Cal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long Beach State stunned Oklahoma at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Saturday.\u00a0 The Beach never trailed, as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-187882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-long-beach","9":"tag-long-beach-headlines","10":"tag-long-beach-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}