Softball ends season with series loss to Long Beach State

Russ Edmondson

The climax in the last softball game of the season did not come in the last inning, but rather during the game’s first at bat.

Senior Hornets catcher Jenny O’Leary, out with a season-ending knee injury, crouched behind the plate one last time, catching a strikeout from teammate Amy Barker.

O’Leary’s one batter appearance started a 3-1 loss at Sac State’s Shea Stadium on Saturday to Long Beach State, who is ranked No. 20 in the country.

The Hornets finished the season 7-17 in Big West Conference play and 25-30 overall. This was their first losing season in six years. The 49’ers, who will now begin postseason play, went 39-21, and 17-7 in their Big West Conference games.

On Friday, the Hornets split a doubleheader with the 49’ers, losing the opener 4-1 before shutting out Long Beach St. 8-0.

Saturday’s loss was senior day, and after the six Hornets seniors were honored before the game, they all took the field. This included O’Leary, Sac State’s all-time Division I batting average leader at .314. The at bat that O’Leary caught brought huge cheers from the 305 in attendance, the largest crowd of the season.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget the last swing that I got to see behind the plate,” O’Leary said. “I think that is what I’ll remember more than anything. Batting averages, put outs, errors, whatever. They are nice to look at every now and then but I’ll never forget catching Amy that last batter.”

Hornets coach Kathy Strahan realized that letting O’Leary catch one last time would mean a lot to her.

“Pretty moving. I know when I came off the field, I was pretty choked up after making the substitution,” Strahan said. “I can’t say enough about her career, and it was cut short unfortunately. But her three-year career was pretty outstanding, and we’re better for having worked with her.”

In Friday’s victory over the 49’ers, freshman Gina Steenburgen tossed her first collegiate shutout, allowing only five hits. Her job was made easier when her teammates scored three first inning runs.

“It felt good knowing that there is not as much pressure on me. I can just go out and relax,” Steenburgen said. “I just went in knowing I was feeling good.”

Strahan also appreciated her team’s early scoring burst.

“It’s really uplifting. That really sets the tone offensively,” Strahan said. “We get a little lift like that, spread our sails and we can go a ways.”

The win featured a season-high 16 hits for Sac State, which was accomplished in only six innings because Sac State led by eight runs. Senior Sarah Cunningham, freshman Jillian Bivert and junior Patty Villa all recorded three hits in the victory. Villa also raised her team leading RBI total to 28, with four in the game.

“We had timely hitting today, it was good to see,” Strahan said. “Just to take advantage of some of those opportunities and bust the game open.”

Sac State’s two losses were both to 49’ers senior Kristi Fox. She allowed Sac State one earned run over 14 innings. Fox finished the season 24-8, completed 28 of her 29 starts, with a 0.87 ERA.

Strahan was proud of her team and thought that they played well over the weekend, but that facing Fox twice made it tough to win.

“She is one of the top pitchers in the country,” Strahan said. “Long Beach will go to the playoffs and they’ll do very well. I want them to represent the conference well, they’re a good team.”

Despite the team’s losing record, Strahan sees her young team as a reason for optimism for next year.

“The whole infield returns next year, and that’s exciting. We can build off that,” Strahan said.

“We’ll be a better club next year for having gone through this year and they’ll be better people for having gone through a little bit of the ups and downs of the year, too.”

Strahan specifically pointed out the improvement of freshman shortstop Veronica Rodrigues, who went 3-for-4 in the season finale.

“She is making plays at shortstop now that she wasn’t making earlier in the year,” Strahan said.

“All the youngsters are stepping up. They’re coming around.”