RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside kicked off the 2023 Big West slate on Saturday at the LBSU Softball Complex, dropping both games of a doubleheader, 6-0 and 2-1 to Long Beach State. 

Leah Brito and Gigi Araki each went 2 for 3 in game one in the five and six spots, respectively, with Brito collecting her second double of the year in the fifth inning. 

Brito's leadoff double set off a chain of events that loaded the bases for UC Riverside, but a couple of unlucky bounces went Long Beach's way as the Beach kept its shutout intact following a six-run second innings. The Highlanders ultimately put runners in scoring position in the first, fifth and sixth innings. 

This all came after Maddie Heinlin got UCR out of a jam, as the Beach threatened with a runner on third in the fifth inning. 

UCR and Long Beach State mustered four hits apiece and no runs through six innings of game two, but the Highlanders' bats - after falling flat in game one - were the ones to break the silence in the nightcap. Brito picked up her second double of the day and third of the year in the top of the seventh to leadoff the inning and later moved 60 feet over on Araki's single into left field. 

Another double was just what UC Riverside ordered, as Samiya Jones' two-bagger to center brought Brito home for the 1-0 lead with a split in sight. Long Beach answered in the bottom half, though, with a leadoff double before walking off for the doubleheader sweep. 

UC Riverside and Long Beach State will finish this weekend's series on Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch from the LBSU Softball Complex.