Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers open Big West Conference softball season at Pacific
3/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 29, 2011
LONG BEACH, Calif. -
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LONG BEACH STATE OPENS CONFERENCE PLAY WITH THREE GAMES AT PACIFIC: Long Beach State kicks off Big West Conference play this weekend when the 49ers travel to Pacific for three games against the Tigers. LBSU and UOP will play a doubleheader Saturday with the first game starting at noon, while meeting in a single game Sunday at noon.
49ERS TAKE FIVE-GAME WINNING STREAK TO STOCKTON: Long Beach State has won five games in a row heading to this weekend's conference opener at Pacific. LBSU beat Illinois in its final game at the Judi Garman Tournament in Fullerton, and then swept doubleheaders with Ohio and Canisius at home last week.
JONES-WESLEY EARNS FOURTH BIG WEST CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONOR: Freshman Erin Jones-Wesley added another weekly award to her accomplishment this week when she was named the Big West Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week for the fourth time this season. The Alta Loma, Calif., native won the award after going 2-0 with her first career save, a 0.00 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Jones-Wesley opened the week with a complete-game shutout of Ohio in a 3-0 win in the first game of a doubleheader, finishing with seven strikeouts while allowing just four hits. She picked up her first career save in the nightcap of the doubleheader, retiring both hitters she faced and allowing no runs to score after inheriting a one-out bases loaded situation. Two days later she blanked Canisius 4-0, allowing five hits while striking out four. Jones-Wesley claimed her first career POW on Feb. 14 after blanking Boise State 2-0 twice during the LBSU Round Robin and then claimed the second one on Feb. 28 after the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs where she beat then-No. 6 Oklahoma. Her third weekly award came after she beat DePaul allowing just one run in a 2-1 victory on March 18 and then threw a one-hitter in a 1-0 win over Illinois on March 20.
LBSU PLAYERS EARN SEVEN BIG WEST WEEKLY HONORS TO DATE: In addition to the four pitcher of the week honors won by Erin Jones-Wesley this season, three other Long Beach State players have claimed Big West pitcher or player of the week honors. Senior Brooke Turner earned pitcher of the week accolades on March 7 after going 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in the Campbell/Cartier Tournament in San Diego. Megan Denio won player of the week honors after hitting .467 with a home run and six RBI in the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas, and Nalani St. Germain was the player of the week on March 7 after hitting .643 with a home run and four RBI at the Campbell/Cartier Tournament. TURNER CLIMBING RECORD BOOKS: Senior Brooke Turner enters this week's games ranked among Long Beach State's career leaders in six pitching categories. The Buena Park product is already second in strikeouts and wins. She needs just 46 more strikeouts to pass Meredith Cervenka (2002-05) for the all-time lead. Turner has had at least 127 Ks in each of her first three seasons at LBSU. She moved into a tie for second in wins with 65 against Ohio last week with Stacy Van Essen (1991-94). She needs 14 more to pass Cervenka for the all-time lead. Turner also ranks fifth in shutouts, sixth in appearances, seventh in complete games and eighth in innings pitched.
PETTY RANKS AMONG ALL-TIME LEADERS IN TWO CATEGORIES, CLOSING IN ON OTHERS: Junior Taylor Petty is also among the school's all-time leaders in two categories and is closing in on the top 10 in a number of others. Petty heads into this week's games sixth in strikeouts and fifth in saves. She needs 18 strikeouts to pass Kristi Fox (1998-00) for fifth and 22 to pass Lindsey Knoff (2001-04) for fourth. Petty picked up the third save of her career against DePaul on March 18 and needs to get two more to pass Knoff for fourth all-time.
ST. GERMAIN MOVES INTO FIFTH IN CAREER HOME RUNS AT LONG BEACH STATE: Sophomore Nalani St. Germain hit the 14th home run of her career against Canisius last Friday moving her past Marcel Torres (2004-05) for fifth on the all-time home run list at Long Beach State. St. Germain needs to hit one more to tie Arleigh Thorp (2001-04) for fourth and three more to tie Jessica Smith (1992-02) for third on the all-time list. Lauren Johnson (2002-05) is the all-time leader with 24.
ST. GERMAIN'S SIX HOME RUNS THIS SEASON RANKS 10TH ALL-TIME AT LBSU: Nalani St. Germain hit her sixth home run of the season against Canisius last Friday allowing her to move into the top 10 in single-season home runs at Long Beach State for the second time in her career. St. Germaine is tied with Jessica Beaver (2008), Kristyn Frady (1995) and Stacy Van Essen (1994) for 10th on the list. She needs to hit one more home run to move into a tie for ninth with Colleen Burdick (2004). St. Germain is also tied for eighth all-time with her eight home runs last season. She tied Jennifer Griffin (2009), Danielle Linke (2009) and Arleigh Thorp (2003).
JONES-WESLEY THROWS 21ST NO-HITTER IN SCHOOL HISTORY; FOLLOWS WITH 22ND THE NEXT WEEK: Erin Jones-Wesley threw the 21st no-hitter in Long Beach State history leading the 49ers to a 7-1 win over No. 21 Baylor on March 5. Jones-Wesley struck out six and walked two in seven innings, while giving up a run in the third inning on a pair of fielding errors by the 49ers. The no-hitter was the first by a 49er since Bridgette Pagano tossed a no-hitter in a 7-0 win over Brown on March 27, 2007. It didn't take long for Jones-Wesley to make it two no-hitters in her career and 22 in school history. On March 13, Jones-Wesley threw a no-hitter while striking out a career-best 11 against Utah State in a 7-0 win. Jones-Wesley just missed her third career no-hitter in a 1-0 win over Illinois on March 20 when she gave up just a sixth-inning single to the Fighting Illini.
JONES-WESLEY'S TWO NO-HITTERS IN A SEASON IS ONE SHY OF SCHOOL RECORD: Erin Jones-Wesley's two no-hitters this season ties for the second most no-hitters in a single season at Long Beach State. Jones-Wesley has matched Sandy Winchester with two, one behind Meredith Cervenka's school record of three no-hitters in a season. Winchester was the first 49er to throw two no-hitters in the same season when she did it in 1986. Cervenka threw three no-hitters during the 2004 season.
JONES-WESLEY RANKS IN TIE FOR THIRD IN ALL-TIME NO-HITTERS AT LONG BEACH STATE: Erin Jones-Wesley has thrown two no-hitters in her short career at Long Beach State, but she already ranks in a tie for third in career no-hitters by a 49er. Jones-Wesley is tied with Lindsey Knoff (2001-04), Kristi Fox (1998-00), Stacy Van Essen (1991-94) and Diane Lewis (1885-86, 88-89) on the all-time list. Meredith Cervenka (2002-05) is the all-time leader with four no-hitters, while Sandy Winchester (1984-87) is second with three.
JONES-WESLEY'S 11 STRIKEOUTS AGAINST UTAH STATE RANKS NINTH ALL-TIME AT LBSU: Erin Jones-Wesley's 11 strikeouts against Utah State on March 13 is tied for the ninth most in school history. Jones-Wesley is one of 10 LBSU pitchers tied for ninth. Brooke Turner holds the school record with 16 strikeouts in a 2-1 win over Florida in 10 innings on Feb. 27, 2008. Turner is also second on the list with 15 strikeouts against San Diego on Feb. 9, 2008. Turner also ranks in a tie for third (13 strikeouts), a tie for fifth (12 strikeouts) and a tie with Jones-Wesley for ninth (three times) with 11 strikeouts. Taylor Petty also has struck out ll batters twice during her career.
SCHALLIG AND DENIO TIE SCHOOL RECORD FOR RBI IN A GAME: It's been more than 11 years since Jessica Smith drove in a school-record six runs in a game twice in less than a month. Since that time, six players had put up five RBI in a game but nobody had been able to tie or break Smith's record. That changed in Las Vegas when, not one, but two Long Beach State players tied the record with six RBI in a game. Christina Schallig was the first to tie the record when she had a pair of 3-run home runs in LBSU's 13-5 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. One day later, Megan Denio joined Schallig and Jones as the only three players in school history with six RBI in a game. Denio did it in an 11-0 win over Arkansas, which she capped with a grand slam, her first career home run. Smith originally set the record with six RBI at UC Santa Barbara on April 10, 1999, and then she tied it less than a month later with six RBI vs. New Mexico State on May 2, 1999.
SCHALLIG TIES SCHOOL RECORD WITH TWO HOME RUNS IN A GAME: Not only did Christina Schallig tie the Long Beach State record with six RBI in the 49ers win over Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, but the LBSU first baseman also tied the school record with two home runs in a game. Schallig became the 14th 49er to hit two homers in a game, and the first since Michelle Turner hit a pair of bombs against South Florida on March 5, 2006.
UNDERCLASSMEN MAKING BIG IMPACT ON 49ERS OFFENSE AND PITCHING STAFF: Freshmen and sophomores are playing a huge role in Long Beach State's success on the field so far this season. Seven of the 49ers top 10 hitters are either freshmen or sophomores, with underclassmen leading the team in batting average, at-bats, hits, triples, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage, hit-by-pitch, on-base percentage, sacrifice flies, sacrifice bunts, and stolen bases. On the mound, freshmen lead the 49ers in ERA, wins, appearances, starts, complete games, innings pitched, shutouts, strikeouts.
