|
Johnson
powers 49ers softball at Stanford Invitational
Gone
• Senior center fielder Lauren Johnson
slugs three home runs at the Stanford Invitational
last Friday. Matt Brown / Sports Information
By
Matt Pearson
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
The
No. 21-ranked Long Beach State softball
team (7-3) continued tournament play as
they traveled to Palo Alto for the Stanford
Invitational, where solid pitching and clutch
hitting propelled the 49ers to a 3-2 record
over the weekend.
Senior
center fielder Lauren Johnson provided power
at the plate as she belted three home runs
on Friday.
In
the first game against Kentucky, Johnson
crushed a two-run homer in the third inning
to help lead LBSU to a 5-0 win.
Senior
Marcel Torres continued her dominance over
opposing batters as she pitched five innings,
gave up two hits and struck out five in
her victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.
In
the second game against DePaul, Johnson
continued to flex her muscles at the plate.
After going deep in the first inning, with
one on and two out in the bottom of the
seventh, Johnson hit her second home run
of the game to tie the score at 3-3.
The
score remained the same until the ninth
inning, with senior pitcher Meredith Cervenka
placed at second due to the International
Tie-breaker Rule, freshman shortstop Jessica
Beaver doubled to score Cervenka for the
4-3 victory.
Cervenka
(3-1) picked up the win, pitching all nine
innings, giving up three runs on five hits
and striking out six.
"They
are finding ways to win," 49er Head
Coach Pete Manarino said.
In
the first game on Saturday, LBSU ran into
a brick wall in the form of San Diego State
(9-1). The 49ers fell to the Aztecs for
the second time this season, by a score
of 4-1.
Torres
picked up her first loss (3-1) after giving
up four runs on three hits and striking
out seven. She also went two-for-three at
the plate with an RBI in the loss.
But
LBSU came back strong in the second game
of the day, defeating Cal Poly by a score
of 3-1. The 49ers once again showed their
ability to score late as they picked up
runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings
to top the Mustangs.
Freshmen
left fielder Lacy Tyler went two-for-three
with two runs scored. Junior second baseman
Tiffanie Wedell, junior third baseman Melanie
McCauley and Johnson each had an RBI.
Cervenka picked up the win (4-1) as she
allowed only one run on five hits in seven
innings and struck out four.
In
the final game on Sunday against No. 6-ranked
Stanford, LBSU did not lose to as much as
they beat themselves. The 49ers committed
four errors in the field that led to two
unearned runs in the 3-1 loss.
Torres
picked up the loss (3-2) as she gave up
two runs on three hits in the first three
innings.
Although
defense is usually a strong point for the
49ers, Manarino is trying out players at
different positions and focusing on creating
chemistry between the veteran and younger
players.
"People
are still learning," he said.
|
