49ers Begin 2007 Season In Tempe
New Head Coach Kim Sowder Begins First Year
February 6, 2007
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| 2007 Long Beach State Softball | | Overall Record: 0-0 | | Big West Record: 0-0 | This Week: At Kajikawa Classic, Tempe, Arizona
Friday, Feb. 9 vs. Oregon, 3:30 pm
Friday, Feb. 9 vs. Wisconsin, 5:30 pm
Saturday, Feb. 10 vs. Syracuse, 1 pm
Saturday, Feb. 10 vs. Texas, 3:30 pm
Sunday, Feb. 11 vs. Arizona State, 1 pm |
FIRST PITCH: The 2007 edition of Long Beach State Softball opens the new season this weekend at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, AZ. under new Head Coach Kim Sowder ... Sowder, who is in her 12th year with The Beach, previously served as an assistant/associate head coach, was promoted to the position after long time Head Coach Pete Manarino announced his retirement following the 2006 season after guiding the 49ers for 23 years ... The Beach comes into this weekend with 6 returning starters and 12 letterwinners that finished the 2006 campaign with a NCAA at-large berth at the UCLA Regional, a 31-22 mark and a second place finish in the Big West Conference ... "I'm extremely honored to have the opportunity to coach at my alma mater," said Sowder... "I'm excited for the opportunity to coach alongside so many great coaches here at Long Beach State. I want to continue the great winning tradition of Long Beach State softball, which was begun and nurtured by Pete Manarino. I believe we can contend not only for Big West Championships, but for National Championships. I want to get Long Beach State to the College Softball World Series."
SCOUTING THE FIELD: Tournament host Arizona State comes into this weekend ranked at No. 5 in the first USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll ... the Sun Devils finished last season at 53-15 and a fourth place finish in the Pacific 10 Conference ... ASU went 6-2 in last year's NCAA post-season action ... Texas is ranked at No. 17 in the USA Today/NFCA poll ... the Longhorns finished last season at 55-9 and captured the Big 12 Conference Championship ... Texas went on to the College World Series and finished third ... Oregon finished last season at 24-29 and a 4-17 mark in the Pac-10 ... Wisconsin closed out the 2006 season at 22-22 and 6-11 in the Big Ten Conference.
SERIES RECORDS: Long Beach State comes into the Kajikawa Classic having played all four opponents within the last seven years ... Arizona State leads the series with a 11-12 mark, having last met in 2002 in San Jose, CA., losing 1-0 ... The Beach leads Oregon 4-3, with the last meeting occurring in 2001 in San Jose with 2-7 loss to the Ducks ... Texas leads the series 2-3, with the last meeting with The Beach in 2005 in Fullerton, CA. with a 4-8 loss ... Wisconsin and Long Beach State are tied 1-1, as the last meeting also took place during the 2005 season in Palm Springs, CA., when the Badgers defeated The Beach, 1-0.
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. ... Arizona State Head Coach Clint Myers is in second year at ASU after finishing last season at 53-15 ... Myers has an overall head coaching record of 534-58 as he previously coached at Central Arizona College ... Texas Head Coach Connie Clark is in her 12th year with the Longhorns, compiling a record of 405-182-1 ... Clark is a 1987 graduate from Cal State Fullerton ... Wisconsin Head Coach Chandelle Schulte begins her second year as she guided the Badgers to a 22-22 mark last year
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).
PEREZ LOOKS TO CONTINUE OFFENSIVE ATTACK: Junior infielder/outfielder Jonae Perez looks to lead the 49ers in offense as she batted a .303 with 40 hits ... she also hit a .400 in conference play and a .421 on base percentage which ranked eighth in the Big West Conference … was selected as the 2005 Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year after hitting .363 in just 38 games, with 15 runs, six doubles, and 12 RBI … her .363 batting average was the second highest in a single-season in program history.
LEADER OF THE PACK: Senior outfielder Kourtnee Gervasi will be looked upon for her leadership as she leads the 49ers into the 2007 season ... Gervasi batted a .235 last year with 27 hits ... scored the game-winning run in the top of the sixth inning of the NCAA Regional vs. San Diego State on May 19… LBSU won 1-0 … Posted a .714 batting average (5-for-7 with two runs and an RBI) in the Pacific series (Apr. 29-30) ... Hit .500 at CS Northridge (3-for-6 with a run scored) on Apr. 6 ... Had a six-game hitting streak (Feb. 10-18) … Posted a .500 batting average for the week (Feb. 15-18) with a run and an RBI.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The 49ers will rely on two newcomers to help out in the circle, sophomore Kelly Cross and freshman Bridgette Pagano ... Cross, a transfer from the University of Illinois Chicago, played for one year for the Flames which went on to capture the 2006 Horizon League Championship ... Pagano pitched two perfect games as a senior at Temecula Valley High and had an 0.82 ERA and hit .380.
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: Next weekend, The Beach travels to Santa Barbara, CA., to take part in the four-team Softball by the Beach Tournament hosted by fellow Big West member UC Santa Barbara ... Other teams participating are Northern Colorado and Akron.
2007 Roster
2007 Schedule
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