Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Host Annual Long Beach Invitational
3/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
49ers Home For the Weekend
SCOUTING THE FIELD: Canisius has a record of 10-2 and is on a two game winning streak as they came away with a pair of victories against Army and Longwood in the George Washington Invitational in Washington D.C. ... Cameron Norton is batting .421 with five runs, eight hits and 10 RBI in seven games started for the Golden Griffins, she also has one double and a triple with one homerun ... Juliette Bowers comes into this weekend with a 2-1 record and a 2.06 ERA in 17 innings as she has struckout 18 with 10 runs, 15 hits and five earned runs ... Eastern Kentucky is 5-7 as the Colonels lost to Marshall, 10-1, in Huntington, WV. ... Shyenne Hussey is batting .579 in 12 games with 22 hits, five homeruns and 13 RBI ... Kelsey Anderson is 3-4 with a 3.83 ERA .. Southern Utah has a record of 10-10 as the Thunderbirds went 2-3 at last weekend's UNLV tournament ... Marci Pratt is batting is batting a .359 in 20 games with 21 runs, 23 hits and leads the team with seven homeruns ... Kristina Brooks is 5-6 with a 4.44 ERA in nine games started ... No. 12 UCLA is 15-6 and riding a three game winning streak as the Bruins went 4-1 last weekend in their tournament in Westwood ... Krista Colburn leads the Bruins as she's batting a .439 in 21 games with 22 runs and 29 hits ... Angelica Selden is 8-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 12 games started. SERIES RECORDS: Long Beach State leads the series with Canisius, 4-0, as the teams last met in 2004 in Long Beach ... the 49ers swept both games from the Golden Griffins with scores of 1-0 and 7-0 ... The Beach leads the series with Southern Utah, 5-0, as both teams met last year in Long Beach and the 49ers sweeping both games with scores of 5-0 and 8-3 ... Long Beach State trails UCLA, 8-60, in its series history as both teams recently met last weekend in Westwood as the 49ers lost to the Bruins 11-0 ... The Beach holds a 2-0 advantage with Eastern Kentucky as they last met in 1996 in Santa Barbara, CA., as the 49ers took both games from the Colonels with scores of 11-3 and 3-1. 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. ... Canisius Head Coach Mike Rapp is in his 28th year with the Golden Griffins and has a record of … Eastern Kentucky Head Coach Jane Worthington is in her 15th year with the Colonels and accumulated a record of 400-356 ... Southern Utah Head Coach Jodi Jackson is in her third year and has a record of 57-57-1 with the Thunderbirds … UCLA Head Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez is in her first year at the Bruin helm. HOME SWEET HOME: The 49ers make their home debut, sort of, at this weekend's Long Beach Invitational at Mayfair Park in Lakewood ... Mayfair Park served as the home field for the 49ers for 13 seasons (1981-94) before the team moved to their permanent on campus field ... the 49ers opened the 2007 campaign with 19 games on the road before coming home to host their own tournament ... The Beach will finally make their campus debut at the 49er Softball Complex on Mar. 14, when they host Miami (OH). 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. 49ERS WIN TWO AT UCLA TOURNAMENT: On a tough opening day at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament in Westwood, The Beach dropped a close one to No. 19 Florida 3-2, and then fell to host No. 12 UCLA 11-0 in five innings... Brooke LeSage went 2-for-3 vs. Florida, while Panita Thanatharn recorded the 49ers lone hit vs. UCLA... The Beach fared better on day two as Bridgette Pagano picked up her fourth win of the season against No. 25 Illinois State... Pagano held the Redbirds scoreless in 4.1 innings of relief... Trailing 4-0, the 49ers came back to tie the game up in the fifth inning, and Whitney Radcliff scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by Thanatharn in the seventh... Illinois State got their revenge against the 49ers as they came back to defeat The Beach 8-5 on the final day of the tournament... The 49ers bounced back to defeat Loyola-Chicago 6-0 in the nightcap... Pagano picked up another win as she tossed a two-hit shutout striking out five, while Jessica Beaver blasted a three-run homerun in the fourth inning to help lift the 49ers to the victory... The 49ers finished the weekend at 2-3, putting their overall record at 6-13. 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 on Wednesday, Mar. 13 as they host Miami (OH) at the 49er Softball Complex at 2 p.m. |
