PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico — On Day 2 of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, the Eastern Kentucky University softball team fell to Long Beach State, 8-2.
 
Long Beach State overcame a 2-0 deficit in the third inning and scored eight unanswered runs over the next five frames.
 
The Colonels struck early, scoring twice in the first inning before Long Beach State recorded an out.
 
Kennedy Drafton led off with a single and stole second. Jaelin Haynes followed with an infield RBI single, scoring Drafton and advancing to second on a throwing error.
 
Lilly Davis singled, and Jordan Smith delivered an RBI single to shallow center, bringing home Haynes for a 2-0 lead.
 
Long Beach State responded in the third inning, taking advantage of a double and two EKU errors to score an unearned run and cut the lead to 2-1.
 
In the top of the fourth, EKU threw out two runners attempting to steal, but Long Beach State kept the inning alive with a walk and a fielding error. With two outs, Nina Sepulveda reached on an error that plated two unearned runs.
 
Long Beach State pulled away in the fifth, scoring three runs to extend its lead to 6-2. Audree Mendoza reached on an error and advanced on a wild pitch before scoring on an RBI single by Erica Estrada. A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch forced in another run, and a passed ball allowed a third to score.
 
The Beach added two more runs in the sixth. After a throwing error allowed a runner to reach, Elissa Guerrero hit a two-run home run to left, pushing the lead to 8-2.
 
EKU threatened in the fifth and sixth with singles but could not capitalize. Long Beach State retired the Colonels in order in the seventh to seal the win.
 
NEXT UP
 
The Colonels return to action tomorrow at 2 pm ET, facing UTSA after defeating them 11-1 on Wednesday. The roadrunners are coming off a 9-10 loss to Southern Illinois.