April 19, 2006
FULLERTON, CA - Long Beach State's Jessica Beaver snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-out grand slam to key a five-run fifth and the 49ers salvaged game three of a rain-delayed series with Cal State Fullerton thanks to a 5-1 victory on Wednesday afternoon at Anderson Field.
The loss snaps the Titans' season-best four-game winning streak, dropping them to 25-19 overall, 6-3 in the Big West Conference. Long Beach State improved to 21-17 overall, 6-3 in league play, with the victory.
With runners at the corners, Kourtnee Gervasi got the 49ers on the board with a one-out single back up the middle, scoring pinch-runner Franciska Morlet to knot the game at 1-1. After a walk to Brianna Goad to load the bases, Tiffanie Wedell struck out looking for the second out to bring up Beaver.
Fullerton starter Candice Baker (16-8) jumped ahead of the 49ers' shortstop with two quick strikes, but the third pitch caught a little too much of the plate as Beaver lined a shot that just cleared the fence in left to make it 5-1.
Long Beach State's Michelle Turner (18-8) then took it from there, limiting the Titans to just five hits on the day and striking out six batters to earn the win.
Baker suffered the loss despite striking out 10 - the sixth time this season the junior righty has reached double digits in strikeouts.
Cal State Fullerton got on the board quickly in the first as junior Ashley Van Boxmeer led off the frame with her ninth home run of the season, giving her 19 for her Titans' career and placing her in a tie for 10th on the school's career charts. She later added a single to finish 2-for-3 on the day.
Amanda Kamekona, Katie Gollhardt, and Candice Baker also had hits on the day with Kamekona's third-inning single extending her team-best hitting streak to seven games.
The Titans return to action this weekend as they travel north to Stockton, Calif., to take on the first-place Pacific Tigers in a three-game series beginning on Saturday (April 22) with a doubleheader at noon.