The Long Beach State softball team took two of three from UC Davis this past weekend, thanks to strong pitching performances from starters senior Taylor Petty and sophomore Erin Jones-Wesley.
The 49ers (18-21, 6-3 Big West) swept a Saturday doubleheader but lost the Sunday finale to the Aggies, as Petty and Jones-Wesley combined for a 1.67 ERA and 18 strikeouts over the weekend.
The series began with a dominant effort from Petty, who cruised through six innings of work before giving up a two-run homer to designated player Kylie Fan at the beginning of the second.
Jones-Wesley was brought in to close out the game and she did just that, earning the save and ensuring a 4-2 victory for the 49ers. Second baseman Cya Neal led the offensive effort for the Beach with two hits and two RBI.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Jones-Wesley threw her fourth complete-game shutout of the season by scattering 3 hits and striking out eight.
The sophomore earned her 14th win of the year, as first baseman Hannah De Gaetano’s seventh inning home run helped put up just enough runs to ensure a victory.
The Sunday finale didn’t go as smoothly, however, as the Aggies’ hitters finally figured out Jones-Wesley and were able to tag her for two runs before she was relieved by Petty in the fourth inning.
Petty gave up one run herself but kept the game well within reach for the 49er hitters, who simply couldn’t get runs home.
LBSU had more hits than Davis (16-24, 6-3 Big West) but left 9 runners on base. The ‘Niners were in a great position to tie the game in the top of the seventh, but De Gaetano was thrown out trying to go from first to third on a single by Aggies catcher Karli Sandoval.
Instead of having runners on first and second with the tying run at the plate, the game ended with a final score of 3-1 in favor of Davis.
LBSU entered the series tied for second place in the Big West with a chance to take over first from UC Davis with a sweep.
Instead, both schools were jumped over by Pacific and each are currently one game back of the Tigers. The 49ers will be on the road once again next week, as they play a three-game series at Cal State Northridge.