Long Beach State is coming off a tough weekend in SLO, and now stand at 24-17 and 5-4 in the Big West.  They look to get back in the win column as they open the second half of Big West Conference action by playing host to UC Santa Barbara, April 18-19. The two teams will square off in a doubleheader beginning at 1:04 p.m. on Saturday, before closing out the series with a single game on Sunday at 1 pm.

LBSU-UCSB DOUBLEHEADER ON ESPNU
Long Beach State’s doubleheader against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, April 18, will be televised live on ESPNU. Cara Capuano will handle the play-by-play duties, while Jessica Mendoza will be the analyst.

SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
UC Santa Barbara sits at 21-18 overall and 4-5 in Big West action after taking two of three in its series against Cal State Northridge. The Gauchos swept Saturday’s doubleheader, winning 7-6 and 6-0, before dropping the finale by a 4-2 margin on Wednesday afternoon.

Christine Ramos, who has compiled 56 hits on the season, owns a team- and league-leading .403 batting average. Tiffany Wright, meanwhile, has provided the power for UCSB as she is tops on the squad with 29 RBI and four home runs.

Krista Cobb has anchored the Gaucho pitching staff with a 14-6 record, 1.98 ERA and 79 strikeouts.

THE SERIES
Dating back to 1981, Long Beach State leads in its all-time series with UC Santa Barbara by a 68-31-1 count. The two teams met earlier in the season at the Campbell-Cartier Classic in San Diego where the Gauchos topped the 49ers, 8-3, in eight innings. In last year’s Big West series, The Beach took two of three at UCSB. LBSU owns a 34-14-1 home record against UC Santa Barbara.

AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
Several 49ers rank among the NCAA leaders through games of April 12. Junior Ashley Weber is third in the nation with 0.46 sacrifice hits per game and ranks 14th on the toughest to strike out list (.033 strikeout average), while senior Jennifer Griffin is eighth in walks per outing (0.90/game). On the defensive end, freshman Taylor Petty is tied for 27th with a 1.25 ERA. As a team, The Beach also ranks among the top 40 in the country with a .969 fielding percentage.

SOWDER NEARS 100TH WIN
In her third season at the helm of the Long Beach State softball program, Kim Sowder has posted an impressive 92-59 (.609) overall record, putting her just eight victories away from the 100-win milestone. If Sowder, who became the 49ers’ fourth head coach in 2007, accomplishes the feat this year, it would mark the fastest a coach has reached the century mark in program history. She would also join Pete Manarino as the only other LBSU softball head coach to notch at least 100 career wins.

DOMINATING THE BIG WEST
Sophomore pitcher Brooke Turner has been dominant in the Big West as she owns a 15-2 league record in her one-plus year career at The Beach. After posting an unblemished 12-0 mark as a freshman, Turner started the 2009 season at 3-0 before suffering her first conference losses at Cal Poly last weekend.

The Buena Park, Calif., native picked up her ninth career BWC Pitcher of the Week award on April 6 after going 2-0 with 12 strikeouts in a series sweep over Cal State Northridge. Turner has already stamped her name in the 49er career record books, ranking fifth in strikeouts (347), eighth in shutouts (22) and ninth in wins (40).

UP NEXT
Long Beach State will close out its regular season home schedule next weekend when it welcomes Cal State Fullerton to the 49er Softball Complex, April 25-26. The two teams will square off in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday before closing out the series with a single game on Sunday 1 pm.

Report By LBSU Sports Information Department