By snoadmin
Long Beach State head coach Kim Sowder has every reason to be excited about 2009.
Her 49ers softball team is the run-away favorite to win the Big West Conference title, receiving seven of eight first-place votes in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The ‘Niners also enter the season at No. 20 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll and No. 24 in the USA Today/NFCA rankings.
“Being picked to win the conference is a compliment to our returning players,” Sowder said.
The most notable of those returning players has to be All-American pitcher Brooke Turner. The sophomore hurler was recently named to the USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List, which includes 50 candidates.
Turner appeared in 34 games for the ‘Niners last season on her way to a 27-6 mark and 0.80 ERA. She also holds the school’s single-season records in wins (27), shutouts (17) and strikeouts (237).
But despite the record-shattering freshman season, do not think for a moment that Turner is content with last season’s NCAA Regional appearance, which ended with a 5-2 loss to Iowa.
“I want to get stronger as a pitcher and do even bigger things than last year,” she said.
Teammate Jennifer Griffin, one of the senior leaders on the squad, said she feels the team is capable of more than what last year’s postseason outing might suggest. Griffin led LBSU last season with a .336 batting average.
A Super Regional appearance, at the very least, seems to be a target on the players’ minds.
“Our goal is to push ourselves even further,” Griffin said. “We need to come out and show that we’re better than what we showed.”
The road to the Big West title runs through Long Beach but challengers like Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara could be looking to derail those hopes.
“Santa Barbara has really good hitting, and Fullerton is a scrappy team, so we have to stay on top and play Beach softball,” Turner said. “We need to focus on what we can control and not what the other teams are doing.”
Before Big West play begins, however, Sowder feels the team still has some tinkering to do with the lineups.
“We’re focused on the preseason right now,” Sowder said. “We have four new positions to fill and our players are trying to get comfortable playing next to each other.”
One of the positions that will see a new face this year will be at shortstop, where the 49ers hope to replace the offensive production of Jessica Beaver, who is the school’s all-time career leader in RBI. Junior Ashley Levine is expected to take over the shortstop duties.
Another noticeable void from last season will be at catcher, with the departure of Brooke LeSage. A trio of juniors — Kristen Pocock, Brandy Reyes and Brittney Sandell — are expected to challenge for the position.
Alongside Turner, junior Bridgette Pagano and senior Kelly Cross return to the pitcher’s circle, and will be joined by freshman Taylor Petty, who Sowder has high hopes for.
“She’s a smart and mature pitcher,” Sowder said. “She’ll see some time early on.”
Personnel issues aside, a daunting non-conference schedule is expected to test the 49ers early on.
LBSU will face the defending national champion Arizona State Sun Devils, ranked No. 2 in the USA Today/NFCA preseason poll, from March 20-21. Other Pacific-10 Conference opponents on the slate will be No. 4 UCLA, No. 11 Stanford and No. 21 Washington.
“Nobody expects us to win because those teams are from the Pac-10, but I feel like we have every chance of winning,” Griffin said.
The non-conference gauntlet also includes No. 14 Fresno State and No. 25 San Diego State.
The 2009 campaign kicks off tomorrow at the Cathedral City Kickoff when LBSU faces the No. 22 Georgia Lady Bulldogs and the Southern Illinois Salukis in a morning-afternoon doubleheader starting at 10 a.m.
“I’m excited about playing the big teams and having the chance to beat teams ranked above us,” Turner said. “We’re ready to go.”
Opening Day Lineup
Tentative batting order
1) Danielle Linke (INF/OF)
2) Ashley Weber (OF)
3) Jennifer Griffin (INF)
4) Brandy Reyes (C)
5) Jonae Perez (INF)
6) Kristen Pocock (C/DP)
7) Ashley Levine (INF)
8) Jodi Nakawatase (INF)
9) Brianna Goad (OF)
Starting pitcher
Brooke Turner
2009 Big West Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Team (1st place votes) Points
1. Long Beach State (7) 63
2. Cal State Fullerton 49
t-3. UC Santa Barbara (1) 45
t-3. Cal Poly 45
5. Pacific 28
6. UC Davis 26
7. Cal State Northridge 21
8. UC Riverside 11
