Erin Jones-Wesley led the Long Beach State softball team with a pair of two-hit, complete-game shutouts as the ‘Niners swept UC Riverside 10-4, 1-0 and 6-0 over the weekend.
The dominant weekend put the 49ers (23-22, 11-4 Big West Conference) over .500 for the first time since February 19 and kept them tied with Pacific for first place in the Big West. They did it with 22 total hits and 17 total runs, more than they’ve had in any conference series thus far.
“We’re playing well and really playing as a team and it’s just nice to see a lot of different people contributing,” LBSU head coach Kim Sowder said. “I really couldn’t ask for more. Erin pitched another really nice game and [catcher] Sarah [Carrasco] did a really good job behind the dish.”
The battery of Jones-Wesley and Carrasco resulted 14 shutout innings this weekend, extending Jones-Wesley’s scoreless innings streak to 19. During that time she has amassed 19 strikeouts and lowered her ERA to 2.04.
“It’s just about taking it one game at a time and one pitch at a time,” Jones-Wesley said. “I’m not thinking about ‘oh, no one scored’ and I’m staying calm and just having my pitches move. I’m working one pitch at a time and trying not to see the big picture.”
“Taking it one game at a time” seems to be the motto of the 49er softball team this year, and so far, it’s working out. In the first game of the series, The Highlanders (20-27, 3-12 Big West) scored 4 unearned runs in the first inning, but the ‘Niners didn’t flinch. They batted around and scored seven runs in the second and added another two in the third. Starting pitcher Taylor Petty went on cruise control the rest of the game and earned the victory, improving her record to 6-1 in the process.
Saturday’s doubleheader concluded with a 1-0 pitcher’s duel. 49er third baseman Hannah De Gaetano was responsible for the game’s only run, as she hit a solo home run off the new scoreboard in left field in the fourth inning.
Jones-Wesley only allowed four total baserunners, only one of which advanced past first base. She struck out nine and had her best performance since her three-hit shutout at UC Davis two weeks ago.
“I think they were equally as good,” Sowder said of Jones-Wesley’s two gems. “Just a lot of easier 1-2-3 innings and they didn’t get a good piece off of her.”
Sowder gave Jones-Wesley the start in Sunday’s finale as well, and she didn’t disappoint. She put another two-hit shutout in the books and dismantled the Big West’s best offense for the second consecutive game.
She had a comfortable as well, as the ‘Niners jumped out to an early 6-0 lead thanks to a pair of Riverside errors at the plate. There was no need to look back and Jones-Wesley improved to 17-12 on the season.
The 49ers’ sweep helped them emerge from what was a four-way tie for the Big West lead. UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara, who shared the lead with LBSU and Pacifc, split a series 2-1 this weekend and fell out of the tie but still remain well within striking distance.
The ‘Niners will play three crucial games at Cal State Fullerton next weekend before they return home to face Pacific in a series that could decide the Big West regular season champion. If they come out on top, they will advance to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year.