{"id":307837,"date":"2026-05-09T16:04:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/307837\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T16:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:04:11","slug":"long-beach-states-run-at-big-west-championship-comes-to-a-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/307837\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach State\u2019s Run At Big West Championship Comes To A Close"},"content":{"rendered":"

FULLERTON, Calif. \u2013 Long Beach State took an early lead, fell behind, and then rallied but couldn’t quite pull past UC Santa Barbara in an offensive showcase in the final game for the Beach at the 2026 Big West Championship.
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\nLong Beach State (31-22) started off with a quick start once again to kick off their game with UC Santa Barbara (30-25). Lina Apodaca<\/a> hit her 21st double of the season to extend her own record and put the Beach on the front foot right away. With runners on the corners after a wild pitch and a walk, Priscilla Iniguez<\/a> delivered with an RBI base hit to give the Beach a 1-0 lead, and then a double by Nina Sepulveda<\/a> added a second in the top of the first for LBSU.
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\nThe Gauchos bounced straight back. Opening the game with an infield single, UCSB followed with a double from Tehya Banks and a home run from Ella Myers to take a 3-2 lead before the Beach picked up an out.
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\nLoading the bases after the home run, an Ainsley Waddell single just outside of the reach of Jiselle Hernandez<\/a> scored two more. Station-to-station singles by Dani Rauscher and Myers made the score 7-2 as the Gauchos batted around.
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\nLong Beach State pulled back a run in the next inning, as Audree Mendoza<\/a> walked, stole second, and then scored on an RBI base hit from Apodaca. The Gauchos kept the lead at five after the second inning, though, taking advantage of an error from Isabella Alonso<\/a> to make the score 8-3.
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\nThe Beach continued to show their fight. Sepulveda and Emily Dowden<\/a> reached in front of Mendoza, who hit her second home run of the season, a three-run shot to left field as the Beach cut the lead back to two on one swing. Long Beach State continued to score in every inning, taking advantage of an error to push across a run and cut the lead back even further in the fourth inning.
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\nJust as the Beach was closing in, UC Santa Barbara provided themselves some breathing room. With a walk and a single putting two on, junior Ainsley Waddell homered to center to match Mendoza’s earlier three-run homer and push the lead to 11-7.
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\nLong Beach State wasn’t done. In the sixth, the Beach scored once again as Avery Weisbrook<\/a> and Brooklyn Lee<\/a> hit back-to-back doubles, and Sepulveda singled to put runners on the corners. A critical call at the plate would stand after a challenge, though, as Lee was judged to be thrown out at the plate, and the Gauchos escaped the threat with just the run scored to continue to lead 11-8.
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\nUC Santa Barbara added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, before Long Beach State made one final push.
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\nMiranda Gonzales gave Long Beach State a spark with a solo home run, her second of the season, before turning over the lineup in the top of the seventh. A single from Weisbrook and two walks then loaded the bases, and a wild pitch cut the lead down to three, sending the team’s hottest hitter in Sepulveda to the plate. UCSB and Sophia Clark picked up the one final out that the Gauchos needed, though, to knock out the Beach from the championship.
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\nLong Beach State set a pair of team records in the season, recording the most double plays in program history with 28 as well as a program-record 95 doubles. The Beach finishes the season 31-23 overall, the 30th 30-win season in program history and one for first-year head coach Kendall Fearn<\/a>.
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