Long Beach State University Athletics
No. 20 Softball Heads To Judy Garman Classic
3/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 18, 2008
Long Beach, Calif. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week: CSUF Judy Garman Classic
New Mexico Lobos (13-7, 0-0 MWC) vs.
No. 20 Long Beach State 49ers (20-8, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Florida State Seminoles (21-9, 0-0 ACC) vs.
No. 20 Long Beach State 49ers (20-8, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
No. 18 Washington Huskies (19-6-1, 0-0 Pac-10) vs.
No. 20 Long Beach State 49ers (20-8, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Friday, March 21
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
No. 14 Fresno State Bulldogs (23-5, 0-0 WAC) vs.
No. 20 Long Beach State 49ers (20-8, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Saturday, March 22
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
UNLV Rebels (19-13-1, 0-0 MWC) vs.
No. 20 Long Beach State 49ers (20-8, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Saturday, March 22
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Next Week: Big West Conference Opener
Location: Davis, Calif.
Somewhere Down In Fullerton
Long Beach State closes the non-conference half of their schedule this week as the 49ers participate in the highly-regarded Judy Garman Classic this week on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. Featuring eight ranked teams including No. 20 Long Beach State, the 16-team tournament will include five games for each participating team in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country. Long Beach State will play two of those ranked opponents, taking on No. 18 Washington and No. 14 Fresno State in two of their later games during the four-day event. Long Beach State's first game comes on Wednesday, March 19 when the 49ers face the New Mexico Lobos at 4:30 p.m.
Toppling The Top
Winning two more games against the top 25 last week, Long Beach State now has a 6-5 record against ranked opponents on the year, and has won six of their last seven after an 0-4 start. The 49ers found two more victims last week, defeating No. 23 San Diego State 1-0 before dropping No. 5 Texas A&M in their final game. Texas A&M tied Florida for the highest rank of an opponent when they played the 49ers, and Long Beach State won both games.
Week In Review
A perfect week for the Beach, as Long Beach State finished their time at the San Diego Classic with a 5-0 record. The 49ers started off the week with a 6-0 thrashing of Iowa State, and continued with wins over New Mexico State, Utah, No. 23 San Diego State and No. 5 Texas A&M. Lacy Tyler hit .438 while extending her hitting streak to seven games, and Brook LeSage led the team by driving in five runs, including both RBI in the team's 2-1 win over Texas A&M.
Joining The Ranks
Adding wins over No. 23 San Diego State and No. 5 Texas A&M was more than enough to place the 49ers in both polls this week. Long Beach State moved up to No. 20 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, where they hada entered last week, and joined the Top 25 in the NFCA coaches' poll, entering the ranks at No. 23. The 49ers will play two more ranked opponents this week at the Judy Garman Classic, and could continue to move up in the Top 25.
Terrific Turner
One of the bright spots for Long Beach State in 2008 has been the play of pitcher Brooke Turner. The sister of Michelle Turner, a former 49er and Big West Pitcher of the Year, Brooke has wasted no time rewriting the 49er record books. In her first start against San Diego, Turner set a school record with 15 strikeouts, and topped that record against No. 5 Florida, giving the 19-0 Gators their first loss with 16 punchouts. Again winning the Big West Pitcher of the Week award, Turner has picked up the honor every week that the 49ers have played. Not even halfway through the year, Turner has struck out 126 batters, pitched nine shutouts and owns a 13-3 record with a 0.44 ERA. In addition, she's had double-digit strikeouts five times this year, and was named the National Player of the Week on March 4.
And The Other Half Of The Battery
Calling most of those games has been Brooke LeSage, Long Beach State's senior catcher and batting leader through 28 games. LeSage is hitting .351 and reaching base at a .433 rate, leading the team in hitting and coming in second in OBP. Also dangerous on the basepaths, LeSage is leading the team in steals with six, proving she can move after getting on first. In her career, LeSage ranks in the LBSU top 10 in walks, and has seven this season to go with five bean balls.
The Record Books
With six seniors on the 2008 squad, a number of records are under assault in the career categories. Jessica Beaver took sole possession of third place on the RBI list this weekend, and is rapidly tracking down Jessica Smith for the school record. She also ranks second in home runs, passing Smith with her 17th homer earlier in the year. Jonae Perez and Whitney Radcliff are both in the top 10 in career batting average at the moment, as those marks shift quickly. Brooke LeSage and Lacy Tyler are climbing up the walks list, and both Beaver and Tyler each are climbing up the runs scored and doubles lists. Rounding out the list, Brooke Turner entered the Top 10 single-season strikeout marks and will try to reach her sister's 2006 mark of 187 along with the school record of 191 set by Michelle Cervenka.
This And That
Long Beach State has walked nearly twice as much as their opponents this season ... led by Jennifer Griffin with 19 walks, the 49ers have earned a free pass 82 times while only giving out 49 ... Turner has more shutouts (9) than earned runs (7) through half of the season ... In Kim Sowder's second season, the 49ers have had a huge turnaround in their non-conference record ... with one tournament to play, the 49ers already have 3 more wins that last year's ball club, and are 12 games over .500 instead of 1 game under.
