I’m looking at the final Long Beach State softball stats of the regular season and I’ve come to this conclusion: Maybe there is such thing as too many options.
For LBSU head coach Kim Sowder, the options to put in the pitcher’s circle are sophomore Brooke Turner and freshman Taylor Petty.
The 49ers will open the NCAA Regionals against host and No. 2-seeded UCLA Friday at Easton Stadium in Westwood. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Conventional wisdom says to go with Turner, the Big West Conference second-team selection who shut down the Bruins in a 2-1 victory earlier this season and held them hitless for the first 5 1/3 innings. She finished the regular season 17-11 with a 2.34 ERA, team-high 145 strikeouts and three one-hitters.
But then there’s the thought of a UCLA lineup preparing to make adjustments, so in comes the strategy of putting a fresh arm in the circle.
Petty, who earned a first-team Big West selection and co-Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors, owns the hot hand. The 5-foot-5 right-hander went 15-4 with a conference-best 1.41 ERA, 15 complete games and four shutouts.
In the final series of the regular season, Petty picked up a pair of complete-game victories over Pacific and posted 18 strikeouts in her 15 innings while recording a 0.93 ERA. In the process, she picked up her first career Big West Pitcher of the Week award.
“We haven’t made a decision yet,” Sowder said Wednesday morning.
Coin flip, anyone?
X-factor
That’s what pitcher/first baseman Megan Langenfeld might be for UCLA.
Unable to play in the regular season against the 49ers due to injury, Langenfeld could be in the circle — or at the very least in the batter’s box — for head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, who also hasn’t made a decision on a starting pitcher.
“We’re pretty familiar with her and some of our players have played with her,” Sowder said.
Langenfeld hit .344 with six home runs and 26 RBIs at the plate. In the circle, the 5-foot-6 junior sported a 14-1 record in 27 appearances (10 starts) with a 0.93 ERA.
Also in Inouye-Perez’s arsenal is Donna Kerr, who was 18-6 with 221 strikeouts in 159 1/3 innings and a 2.55 ERA this season. She allowed two runs on four hits over six innings in a losing effort against the ‘Niners.
“Anytime you’ve had success against a team it gives you confidence,” Sowder said about the regional field. “But we have great respect for all the teams.”
LBSU also owns an 8-0, mercy-rule victory over Fresno State, which will play UNLV in Friday’s first game at 1 p.m.
Sowder on UNLV
Thinking back to the first meeting against Rebels coaches Pete Manarino and Panita Thanatharn, Sowder admitted it wasn’t easy getting used to.
“Being on the same team for so many years, it was a little uncomfortable. I love Pete and Panita,” Sowder said.
Manarino is a LBSU Hall of Famer and spent 23 years as the 49ers’ head coach, while Thanatharn played for both Manarino and Sowder before becoming an assistant coach at UNLV.