The Long Beach State softball team spent the weekend in Palm Springs, but it was hardly a vacation, as the 49ers dropped four of five games at the Cathedral City Classic.
The ‘Niners (6-9) won their opening game 12-6 over Fordham on Thursday, but lost the nightcap of the doubleheader 7-6 to Colorado State.
After having Friday off, they fought hard in a 3-0 loss against No. 14-ranked Stanford on Saturday. The 49ers closed out the tournament with losses to Long Island and No. 15 Arizona, 5-2 and 4-0, respectively.
Erin Jones-Wesley, the Big West Pitcher of the Week each of the last two weeks, had a rough go in Palm Springs.
She took the win against Fordham despite walking nine batters and giving up 11 hits, but was on the mound for three of the 49ers’ four losses.
Jones-Wesley pitched complete games against Stanford and Arizona, two ranked opponents that will likely be the toughest of the season for LBSU.
She kept the games close, giving up three runs to Stanford and four to Arizona, but the offense couldn’t get anything going to back her up. Jones-Wesley is now 6-4 with a 1.95 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 61 innings this season.
On offense, first baseman Ashlynn Booker led the 49ers with five hits and four RBI. She hit two home runs over the weekend.
Leilani Tupua-Tautalatasi had three RBI in the ‘Niners’ 12-run outburst against Fordham, adding to three-hit games by Shayna Kimbrough, Dana Garcia and Alisha Rosen.
Defense remains by far the biggest concern for the 49ers. Twelve errors led to six unearned runs this past weekend, and a season-total of 25 errors has led to a staggering 26 unearned runs by 49er pitchers.
The ‘Niners won’t have much time to work out the kinks, though, as they will play their home opener on Wednesday — a doubleheader against Maine starting at 1pm. Following that, they will travel to Santee, CA to play in the first half of the San Diego Classic.