49ers Host Titans For Weekend Series
Beach Swept at Cal Poly, Return Home to Face CS Fullerton
April 11, 2007
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| 2007 Long Beach State Softball | | Overall Record: 18-20 | | Big West Record: 2-4 | This Week:
Saturday, April 13 vs. CS Fullerton (2) 1 pm
Sunday, April 14 vs. CS Fullerton 1 pm |
FIRST PITCH: Long Beach State (18-20, 2-4 Big West) will host Cal State Fullerton this Saturday and Sunday in a Big West Conference series at the 49er Softball Complex ... Both teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday with the first game beginning at 1 pm and the second starting approxmately at 3 pm, then concluding with a single game on Sunday at 1 pm.
SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON: The Titans have won seven straight games and come into this weekend with an overall record of 24-15 and a Big West record of 6-0 ... CSUF is currently tied for first place in the Big West with Cal Poly as the Titans swept all three games from Cal State Northridge last weekend in Fullerton ... the Titans outscored the Matadors 19-11 in the three game series ... CSUF has posted wins over several ranked teams including then No. 4-ranked Northwestern (2-0) and then No. 8-ranked Stanford (1-0) ... the Titans have batted for a .259 average on the season, led by Ashley Van Boxmeer (.347) ... Candice Baker has guided the pitching staff with a 14-8 record and a 2.09 ERA, while Brooke Weekley (6-3) checks in with a 1.98 ERA.
SERIES RECORDS: Long Beach State trails Cal State Fullerton, 40-65, in the all-time series that dates back to the 1981 season ... the Titans won the series last year in Fullerton taking two-of-three from the 49ers ... CSUF won the first two games by the scores of 9-1 and 16-0, before The Beach salvaged the the final game of the series, defeating Fullerton 5-1 ... the 49ers home record against the Titans is 14-32, which includes current home field, the 49er Softball Complex and former home field, Mayfair Park ... The Beach is 8-12 versus Fullerton at the 49er Softball Complex and 6-20 at Mayfair Park.
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. ... Cal State Fullerton Head Coach Michelle Gromacki is in her eighth season with the Titans and has a record of 272-136 (.667).
LAST WEEK'S RECAP: The Beach traveled to Cal Poly last weekend and was swept by the Mustangs ... the 49ers fell 3-1 and 6-1 in a doubleheader on Friday afternoon ... Jessica Beaver and Panita Thanatharn each went 2-for-3 in game two ... the Mustangs held the 49ers scoreless in the series finale as they went on to win 3-0 on Saturday ... Bridgette Pagano (12-8) went the distance allowing one earned run on eight hits while striking out five ... the 49ers registered eight hits but couldn't put up any runs on the board ... Beaver had two hits including her sixth double of the season and Brooke LeSage added two hits as well.
OFFENSIVE NUMBERS: The Beach has a .265 batting average on the season ... four 49ers are batting over .300, led by Lacy Tyler (.376) ... Jessica Beaver leads the team with six homeruns and 30 RBI, while Tyler leads the 49ers with 38 hits and nine doubles ... the pitching staff has a 3.46 ERA, led by Bridgette Pagano (12 wins, 2.13 ERA).
THANATHARN EXCELS ON AND OFF THE FIELD: Senior Panita Thanatharn (Chino Hills) was named one of 20 finalists for softball's Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for her achievements on and off the field ... Thanatharn enters the week third on the team in hitting (.314) after being told she may never play again after a collision at the plate during the start of her sophomore season ... she received the school's Todd Hart Courage Award in October 2003 ... an academic all-star and academic all-conference selection, Thanatharn received her degree in Kinesiology and is now working towards her Master's.
PAGANO NOTCHES SPOT IN 49ER HISTORY: Freshman Bridgette Pagano (Temecula, CA) became the 20th pitcher in Long Beach State history to throw a no-hitter as she led the 49ers to a 7-0 game one victory over non-conference foe Brown Univrsity (Mar. 27)... Pagano was selected Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week (Mar. 12) for her performance at the Long Beach Invitational (Mar. 9-11) as she went 3-0 on the weekend, picking up wins over Canisius, Southern Utah and Eastern Kentucky ... against the Canisius Golden Griffins she gave up three hits and struck out five in a complete game shutout win, then followed that up with another three-hit gem to go along with a career-high seven strikeouts in the 2-1 win over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds ... after pitching 1.1 innings of scoreless relief against No.12-ranked UCLA, Pagano wrapped up her week with another complete game shutout against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels ... she scattered five hits to go along with three strikeouts for her eighth win of the season.
HOME SWEET HOME: The 49ers made their on-campus debut on Mar. 13, at the 49er Softball Complex with a victory against Miami (OH) as it marked the sixth consecutive home opening win for The Beach ... 49ers last lost their home opener was back in 2001 as Loyola Marymount defeated LBSU, 3-0 ... the 49ers opened the 2007 campaign with 19 games on the road before coming home to their former home, Mayfair Park in Lakewood, CA, to host the Long Beach Invitational ... 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 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.
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.
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 begin a six-game road trip next weekend when they travel to UC Riverside for a three-game series on Saturday, April 21 and Sunday, April 22 ... first pitch will take place at 12 pm on both days.
2007 Roster
2007 Schedule
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