Superior pitching beat skilled offense this weekend when Long Beach State swept UCSB softball 5-0, 6-5 and 3-2 at the 49er Softball Complex.

[media-credit id=20281 align=”alignleft” width=”194″][/media-credit]Freshman pitcher Erin Jones-Wesley, who tops the Big West in ERA and wins with 19, anchored the 49er defense with 16 strikeouts while only giving up three runs and eight walks in her 20 innings of work. With the win, Long Beach improves to 11-4 in the Big West, while the Gauchos drop to 8-7 and fourth place in league.

In Sunday’s 3-2 loss in eight innings, Long Beach’s senior first baseman Christina Schallig came up with the late-game heroics, blasting a ball over the left field fence in the eighth to secure the series sweep. Shallig’s offense led the 49ers, hitting 2-4 with one run and one RBI.

Junior left fielder Brooke Putich led the Gauchos offensively, batting 2-3 with one RBI, while freshman first baseman Lauren Boser tallied both the team’s runs.

UCSB took the first lead in Saturday’s 13-inning showdown with two singles and a double in the second inning. The 49ers strung together a series of hits to score four runs in the second and third inning, but the Gauchos added to their league-leading doubles tally — 60 — with two more in the sixth.

Freshman left fielder Hannah De Gaetano scored a one-one home run in the 11th inning to tie the game, then scored the winning run on a single from freshman designated hitter Sarah Carrasco in the 13th. De Gaetano hit 2-6 with three runs and one RBI.

Though junior right fielder Allison Taylor batted 3-6 with a run and three RBIs, UCSB was outhit 15-9. In addition, Long Beach proved its depth in the circle with three pitchers stepping up to tame the Gaucho offense.

The 49ers dominated the game one with a 5-0 victory. Jones-Wesley tallied five strikeouts while junior Krista Cobb struggled, allowing five runs on five hits. Freshman Andriana Collins relieved Cobb in the fifth and pitched a perfect two innings.

The Gauchos tallied as many hits as the 49ers in the first game of the series but failed to find a scoring run. Boser led the team offensively hitting 2-3.

UCSB is on the road again next weekend, traveling north for a three-game series against Pacific.

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