Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Head to Westwood
2/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
49ers Travel Up to Westwood For Weekend Tournament
SCOUTING THE FIELD: Florida is 16-5 and ranked 19th in the nation … the Gators are coming off a doubleheader sweep of Eastern Michigan on Monday … Kim Waleszonia leads the Gators with a .343 average, 15 runs and 24 hits … Stacey Nelson has a 0.34 ERA in 14 appearances with 78 strikeouts … Illinois State is 11-4 and ranked 25th in the nation … the Redbirds are coming off a 4-1 record at last weekend's NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, GA. … Kaprice Williams is batting .407 with 11 hits and 3 homeruns … Shannon Nicholson is 6-3 and has an ERA of 1.35 with 12 appearances and 31 strikeouts … Loyola Chicago will begin their season this Friday with a doubleheader versus UC Riverside … the Ramblers are coming off a 20-41 season and a fourth place finish in the Horizon League … Tara Miller lead the team last year with a .357 average, 24 RBI, 8 homeruns and 34 stolen bases … Krista Crosson returns for the Ramblers with a 9-24 last season and a 4.73 ERA with 87 strikeouts … 12th ranked UCLA is 11-5 and coming off a 5-2 victory over Loyola Marymount on Tuesday … the Bruins are led by OF Krista Colburn who is batting a .420 in 16 games with 17 runs and 21 hits and OF Kaila Shull batting .419 with 15 runs, 18 hits and five homeruns. SERIES RECORDS: Long Beach State trails Florida 0-1, as both teams last met in 2005 at the Long Beach Invitational ... the Gators won the game 5-0 ... UCLA leads a commanding 59-8 in its all-time series with The Beach ... the 49ers and Bruins played each other last year in the NCAA Regionals in Westwood as UCLA came away with a 5-0 victory ... Long Beach State leads the series with Illinois State 3-0, as both teams last played each other in the 1994 Texas A&M Tournament ... this will be the first meeting between Loyola Chicago and Long Beach State. THE COACHES: Long Beach State Head Coach Kim Sowder begins her first year as a head collegiate coach ... she previously served as an assistant coach for the past 12 seasons under Pete Manarino ... Sowder also played at LBSU for four years (1989-92) as a shortstop, garnering All-America and All-Big West honors ... during her playing career, Sowder helped the 49ers to three (1990-92) of their five trips to the NCAA College World Series in Oklahoma City, OK. ... Florida Head Coach Tim Walton is in his second year with the Gators and has a record of 43-25 … Illinois State Head Coach Melinda Fischer is in her 22nd year and has a 680-466-3 record with the Redbirds … Loyola Chicago Head Coach Yvette Healy is in her third year with the Ramblers and has a 38-78 record … UCLA Head Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez is in her first year at the Bruin helm as long time head coach Sue Enquist retired in January. THE BEACH PICKED THIRD IN BIG WEST: Long Beach State was picked to finish third in the the annual preseason Big West Conference coaches poll conducted on Jan. 24 ... the 49ers received 33 points as Cal Poly was selected second with 35 points and conference favorite Cal State Fullerton received 48 points and six first place votes. BIG WEST RANKED AMONG THE BEST: In the first USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll, Long Beach State received 15 votes for a ranking of 33rd and fellow conference member Cal State Fullerton received 54 votes for a ranking of 27th. POST-SEASON SUCCESS: Since 1986, the 49ers have made 17 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and participated in five NCAA College World Series ... The Beach has compiled a record 21-28 in post-season play and a 5-10 record in their five trips to Oklahoma City. HOME SWEET HOME: The 49ers will play their next 17 games on the road this season before coming home to host their own tournament, the Long Beach Invitational (Mar. 9-11) at Mayfair Park in Lakewood, CA. ... The Beach will finally make their campus debut at the 49er Softball Complex on Mar. 14, when they host Miami (OH). BEAVER LEADS 49ER OFFENSE: Junior Jessica Beaver (Hemet) leads the 49er offense with four HR, 13 RBI, and a slugging percentage of .652… she is hitting .348 on the season with 16 hits… went 2-for-5 with two RBI and two doubles in the 49ers 10-2 win over Siena College (Feb. 24) at the Aztec Invitational… hit a walk-off two-run homerun to give the 49ers a 4-3 victory over the Nevada Wolfpack (Feb. 18) at the Softball by the Beach Invitational and hit .563 (9-for-16) with 2 RBI and six runs scored on the weekend (Feb. 16-18). PAGANO EARNS THIRD WIN OF SEASON: Freshman Bridgette Pagano (Temecula) has recorded three of the 49ers four wins in the circle… she has notched 28 strikeouts in 44.2 innings pitched with an ERA of 2.82… tossed a five-inning two-hit shutout in the 49ers 8-0 win over Northern Colorado (Feb. 16) striking out a season-high six batters… earned her third win of the season last week with a four-hit outing, striking out five against Siena College (Feb. 24). LAST SEASON: The 49ers finished the 2006 campaign at 31-22 and a second place finish (13-5) in the Big West ... The Beach made its fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance as they received an at-large berth into the UCLA regional ... The Beach were 1-2 in regional play last year as they defeated San Diego State, 1-0 in the first game and went on to play host team UCLA, losing 5-0 ... met SDSU again in the losers bracket and were eliminated by the Aztecs, 3-1 ... last season marked the fifth time that Long Beach State has played in a regional at UCLA , posting a 3-8 all-time record ... three 49ers were honored last year by the Big West Conference as Michelle Turner was selected as the 2006 Pitcher of the Year ... the honor marked the fourth straight season (five out of the last seven years) that a Pitcher of the Year has come from Long Beach State ... Turner was also a first-team all league selection as well ... Tiffanie Wedell and Sophomore Breezy Goad were both Honorable Mention selections as well. MANARINO RIDES INTO THE SUNSET: After guiding the Long Beach State Softball program for 23 years, long time Head Coach Pete Manarino announced his retirement following the 2006 campaign ... he finishes with an all-time record of 843-508, making him the all-time winningest head coach in Long Beach State Athletic history ... guided the 49ers to 151 victories the last four seasons ... named Big West Conference Coach of the Year (1986, 1997, 1999) five times, including back-to-back accolades in 2002 and 2003 ... finished with conference record of 403-225 as he claimed five conference championships ... participated in 17 NCAA Regionals and five trips to the NCAA College World Series. ON DECK: The Beach will be back in action next weekend as they'll host the Long Beach Invitational (Canisius, Eastern Kentucky, Notre Dame, Southern Utah & UCLA), Mar. 9-11, at Mayfair Park in Lakewood, CA. |
