SOWDER READY T0 MARCH HER LONG BEACH STATE TROOPS ON THE ROAD BACK TO THE WCWS

Two decades ago, that would be 1990 to 1992; Long Beach State softball coach Kim Sowder had a standing invite to the Women’s College World series. Instant offense because of tremendous speed (all-time stolen base leader with 50) and among the career leaders in defense with assists (243 in her senior year), Sowder – then a single woman (Kim Kostyk) – willed her ‘Niner teams to the pinnacle. For the 25 years before she took over as the first female head coach of the team, guys like George Paris ran the program and then her remarkable mentor Pete Manarino.

Friday, the journey begins again for Kim and her team, this time when it travels to the campus of Arizona State to play San Diego State in the first game of the NCAA Tempe Regional. The Aztecs (32-19) earned the No. 3 seed in the double-elimination regional and will face second-seeded Beach gals (37-16) at 2:30pm and then will just watch as regional host and No. 1 overall seed Arizona State (50-6) and North Dakota State (30-25) will meet in the 5:00pm. Both games and those that follow on Saturday will be broadcast live on ESPNU with Cara Capuano (play-by-play) and Michelle Smith (color) on the call.

SDSU is a very confident entry who earned its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament and seventh in 11 seasons by being picked as an at-large selection but with wins earlier this season over North Dakota State (3-2 on Feb. 11) and Long Beach State (3-0 on March 3). Expect Bailey Micetich, 1.868 6 ERA, 19-11 and 14 complete games to go for the Aztecs and facing Big West Pitcher of the Year, freshman sensation Erin Jones-Wesley who has 22 wins and 1.45 ERA with 18 complete games. Oh yes, she has occasional at bats and leads the team with a .364 average.

This year’s national tournament features 64 teams, with four teams participating at 16 regional sites in a double-elimination tournament. The regional winners will advance to super regional competition for a best-of-three series from May 26-29 at eight campus sites. The remaining eight teams will advance to the Women’s College World Series (WCWS), an eight-team, double-elimination tournament with the championship final being a best-of-three series. The WCWS will be conducted June 2-8 at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, a town the Coach Sowder is familiar with.