Shannon Haddad, Long Beach State Softball Pitcher of the Week Sophomore • Pitcher • Simi Valley, Calif.

• Shannon Haddad led Long Beach State to a home sweep of Cal State Fullerton to snatch the conference title from the Titans and garner a fifth career Big West Pitcher of the Week selection. The Beach had to win all three meetings to overtake Fullerton for the crown.

• Haddad twice outdueled Big West Pitcher of the Year favorite Myka Sutherlin, with both aces tossing a pair of complete games. In Friday’s opener, a 3-2 triumph on national television on ESPNU, the Simi Valley native allowed two runs, one of them earned, on three hits and three walks over the 7.0 frames, striking out two.

• Haddad (13-9) then tossed a seventh shutout for 2023 in Saturday’s regular-season finale, with the fourth-year sophomore scattering three hits and two hit-by-pitches without a walk and fanning one.

• The third-year San José State transfer posted a 0.50 ERA for the weekend while throwing 14.0 innings and the Titans managing just six hits for a .133 batting average.

• Haddad was The Big West Pitcher of the Week on March 20 and March 27 earlier this year. Before that, Haddad was The Big West Pitcher of the Week back-to-back again on March 29 and April 5, 2021, as well as The Big West Freshman of the Week on the latter date.

• Haddad and LBSU (31-21) take an eight-game win streak north to the Stanford Regional of the 2023 NCAA Championship this coming weekend. The Beach open with the No. 9 overall seed and host Cardinal on Friday night at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.

Also Nominated: Isabella Alonso (CSUN), Kenedi Brown (UC Davis), Maddie Heinlin (UC Riverside), Sophia Ramuno (Cal Poly), Myka Sutherlin (Cal State Fullerton); 

Kaylee Escutia, CSUN Softball Field Player of the Week Sophomore • Outfielder • Simi Valley, Calif.

• Kaylee Escutia led CSUN to a home sweep of UC Santa Barbara to close out the 2023 regular season, earning a first career Big West Field Player of the Week award.

• Escutia hit .417 (5-for-12) and slugged 1.250, spraying three home runs to all three fields with a double while scoring four times, driving in 10 runs and striking out just once. As a result, the true sophomore now leads the team with five long balls and 30 RBI on the year.

• Escutia produced an RBI infield single before coming around to score in a two-run first inning during Friday’s opener with the Gauchos, in what turned out to be a walk-off 3-2 triumph. A first-pitch, three-run home run to the opposite field in right center in the third overturned a 1-0 deficit in Saturday’s series-clinching 8-1 victory.

• Escutia left the best for last, smacking two more home runs on Senior Day Sunday, with a game-tying two-run blast to center (220 feet) in the third preceding a walk-off grand slam to left on a 1-2 pitch in the eighth inning of a 9-5 decision. Escutia started all three games in right field and in the cleanup spot of the Matador batting order, making four clean putouts defensively.

• CSUN finished 19-8 in The Big West, good enough for third place. At 28-22 overall, the Matadors have drawn a first postseason invitation since 2015. They will take their season-best nine-game win streak to Fort Collins, Colo., to open their involvement in the 2023 National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) this Thursday, May 18, against top-seeded Maryland.

• Escutia makes it three different CSUN standouts to earn the final three Big West Field Player of the Week awards of 2023, following teammates Alexa Landeros (May 1) and Mikayla Carman (May 8).

Also Nominated:  Jackie Alday (UC Riverside), Hannah Becerra (Cal State Fullerton), Jacquelyn Bickar (Long Beach State), Kiara Blanchard (Cal Poly), Anna Dethlefson (UC Davis), Ka'ena Keliinoi (Hawai'i), Madelyn McNally (UC Santa Barbara); 

Makayla Medellin, Long Beach State Softball Freshman of the Week Freshman • Outfielder • Yorba Linda, Calif.

• Makayla Medellin helped Long Beach State to a series sweep of Cal State Fullerton at home to vault over the Titans for the conference crown and grab a league-best fourth Big West Freshman of the Week honor.

• The Yorba Linda native and graduate of Yorba Linda High School batted .333 (2-for-6) with a double, walk, two RBI, two sacrifices and no strikeouts. Medellin started the three games in right field and handled all eight putouts cleanly.

• Medellin provided a sixth-inning sacrifice fly to drive in the lone run of the game in Sunday’s 1-0 victory that clinched the title for the Beach. That was after a walk in the first and double to lead off the fourth. Medellin had earlier gone 1-for-2 with another sacrifice and a first-inning RBI single on a 1-2 pitch that opened the scoring in Friday’s 3-2 decision on national television on ESPNU.

• Medellin’s previous Big West Freshman of the Week awards came after a stellar collegiate debut over the first weekend (Feb. 13), as well as on March 6 and April 17.

• Medellin and LBSU (31-21) take an eight-game win streak north to the Stanford Regional of the 2023 NCAA Championship this coming weekend. The Beach open with the No. 9 overall seed and host Cardinal on Friday night at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.

Also Nominated: Jackie Alday (UC Riverside), Isabella Alonso (CSUN), Sophia Ramuno (Cal Poly); 

2023 Big West Softball Weekly Winners