Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Travel to Cal Poly
4/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
49ers Travel to Cal Poly This Weekend
SCOUTING CAL POLY: Cal Poly is 27-9 overall and 3-0 in the Big West Conference coming into this weekend against the 49ers ... the Mustangs have won 15 of their last 18 contests and currently stand in first place along with Cal State Fullerton in the Big West standings ... the Mustangs finished with a weekend sweep at UC Riverside to open their conference schedule last weekend ... Cal Poly is hitting .309 as a team with five players hitting over .300, led by Lisa Modglin (.517) ... Modglin leads the Big West in numerous categories, highlighted by her 15 homeruns on the season ... Modglin earned Big West Player of the Week honors three consecutive times this year (Feb. 26, Mar. 5, Mar. 12) ... Jenna Maiden leads the pitching staff with an 8-3 record and a 1.97 ERA ... Robyn Kontra is 7-2 with a 1.70 ERA and a team-leading 69 strikeouts ... Emily Hively is a perfect 7-0 on the year with a 1.75 ERA and Helen Pena rounds out the Mustang staff with a 5-4 record and a 1.78 ERA. SERIES RECORDS: Long Beach State leads the series with Cal Poly, 29-8 ... the 49ers took two-of-three from the Mustangs last year in Long Beach ... LBSU has a 12-4 road record at Cal Poly and have won the last nine series between the two teams. 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 Poly Head Coach Jenny Condon is entering her third season with the Mustangs ... she has a record of 62-39 with Cal Poly. LAST WEEK'S RECAP: The Beach won two-of-three from Cal State Northridge at the 49er Softball Complex as both teams opened the Big West Conference schedule last weekend ... in game one, the Matadors defeated the 49ers, 2-0 ... Bridgette Pagano went the distance allowing one earned run on six hits ... Brooke LeSage had the lone hit for LBSU ... in game two, the 49ers came away with a 1-0 victory as Kelly Cross earned the win allowing only one hit while striking out seven in 7.0 innings ... in the series finale, The Beach took a 5-3 victory over CSUN behind five strong innings from Pagano who struck out four as she improved her record to 12-6 on the year ... Kourtnee Gervasi had two RBI and Lacy Tyler and Jessica Beaver each had two hits a piece. 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... 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 host cross-town rival Cal State Fullerton in a three game series on Saturday, Apr. 14 and Sunday, Apr. 15 at the 49er softball complex ... first pitch will take place at 1 pm on both days. |
