Red Raiders Drop 4-2 Decision at No. 22 Long Beach State

Wednesday, March 14

Long Beach, CA

4 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

16-9

Long Beach State

20-7

Texas Tech

Long Beach State

Red Raiders Drop 4-2 Decision at No. 22 Long Beach State

March 14, 2018 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Texas Tech will head to UC Riverside Friday for five games to wrap up its spring break trip.

By: Texas Tech Athletics Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Texas Tech softball suffered a 4-2 setback at No. 22 Long Beach State on Wednesday in a midweek tilt at the LBSU Softball Complex.

A strong effort from the Red Raiders (16-9) fell short as the 49ers found enough holes in the fifth to plate three runs and take the lead for good, dropping Tech to 4-2 during its California road trip.

LBSU pitcher Cielo Meza (12-2), who entered the contest with a 1.69 ERA and a no-hitter against No. 21 Minnesota to her name, limited Tech to one hit through five innings of work with nine strikeouts before sophomore Devyn Magnett came on to earn the save.

Freshman pitcher Erin Edmoundson (11-3) matched her through four innings, giving up just one run on one hit with two strikeouts and one walk. She would run into trouble in the fifth before sophomore Kassidy Scott came on to finish the game.

Outfielders Karli Hamilton and Heaven Burton knocked in runs for Tech, while redshirt freshman Michaela Cochran and freshmen Kelcy Leach and Olga Zamarripa recorded Tech's three hits. Junior Jessica Hartwell reached base twice with a pair of hit by pitches.

After both sides exchanged quick first and second innings, LBSU broke the scoring in the third. The Beach loaded the bases with a single, an intentional walk and an error at first before senior Lauren MacLeod would take one on the left forearm to bring home a run and make it 1-0, 49ers.

The Red Raiders responded in the next half inning as Burton got things started with a hard-hit ball to the second baseman that went down as an error. Cochran followed with a single through the middle, and Hartwell would load the bases after getting hit by a pitch. With one out, Hamilton recorded her 23^rd RBI of the year with a sacrifice fly to left field that brought home Burton and made it a 1-1 ballgame.

The lead shifted back to the 49ers in the bottom of the fifth. A soft double to right and a bunt single put runners on the corners for shortstop Nichole Fry, who delivered an RBI single to right field and put the Beach up 2-1. One batter later, MacLeod tripled down the line in right to bring in a pair and make it a 4-1 game.

That ended the day for Edmoundson, who tossed 4.1 innings and gave up three earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Scott finished the game holding LBSU without a hit or a run in the final 1.2 innings.

Tech fought back in the top of the seventh as Leach singled through the middle before Zamarripa singled to right, giving Tech runners on the corners with one out. Burton brought in the run from third with an RBI groundout, but Cochran was unable to keep the rally alive, grounding out to end the game.

Zamarripa's hit in the seventh was the first of her career. The Corpus Christi, Texas, native is now 1-for-5 on the season with three runs and an RBI. Cochran, meanwhile, has hit safely in 21 of 25 games this season. Additionally, Leach has recorded hits in six of the last nine games.

MacLeod led the Beach with three RBI on 1-for-2 hitting, while infielder Julia Lombardi finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

POST GAME NOTES

The loss is just Tech's third in the last 12 games.
Texas Tech falls to 2-4 all-time against Long Beach State
Heaven Burton's hitting streak came to an end Wednesday at 16 games.
The Red Raiders struck out 10 times Wednesday, its most this year since opening day.
The three hits for Tech matched its fewest of the season.

UP NEXT
The Red Raiders will head to Riverside, Calif., for the final five games of its California tour, where Tech will take on Purdue, Idaho State and UC Riverside. The event begins Friday with Idaho State at 11 a.m. CT., followed by Purdue at 1:30 p.m. CT.