The No. 21 Long Beach State softball team led early against No. 3 UCLA on Sunday in front of a huge crowd at LBSU Softball Complex, but the Beach couldn’t hold on in a 6-5 loss to finish the Louisville Slugger Invitational.
LBSU (19-7) got on the board in the first inning when sophomore Taylor Rowland drove in junior Nichole Fry with a single. Sophomore pitcher Cielo Meza (11-2) kept UCLA scoreless for three innings, but the Bruins (24-0) scored five times in the fourth inning to take the lead for good.
Fry finished with three RBIs, and last one came as part of the three-run sixth inning for LBSU. Third baseman LT Torres had the other RBI.
UCLA pitcher Rachel Garcia (10-0) left the tying run on base to finish off her complete game. She had seven strikeouts while giving up seven hits and three walks.
LBSU hosts Texas Tech on Wednesday and Monmouth on Thursday. Both games are scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
