Softball: award re-cap and NCAA tournament preview

After completing a stellar 2011 regular season, Long Beach State now has the hardware to back it up.

Big West Awards

The headliner for LBSU was Erin Jones-Wesley, who is only the second pitcher (teammate Brooke Turner was the first) ever to be named both Big West Pitcher of the Year and BW Freshman Pitcher of the Year. Jones-Wesley posted a stat line of 22 wins (led BW), 1.45 ERA (led BW) and 163 strikeouts in 183.2 innings pitched.

Jones-Wesley joins senior third baseman Liz Javier (.325 batting average, 2 HR, 25 RBI), and freshman outfielder Hannah De Gaetano (.328 batting average, 2 HR, 17 RBI) on the All Big West First team.

Long Beach State had three representatives on Second Team All Big West: senior first baseman Christina Schallig (.344 batting average in league games, 4 HR, 17 RBI), sophomore second baseman Nalani St. Germain (.320 batting average, 8 HR, 29 RBI), and freshman designated player Sarah Carrasco (.328 batting average, 2 HR, 20 RBI)

Pitchers Taylor Petty and Brooke Turner earned honorable mention all Big West accolades.

NCAA Tournament 

Post season play will kick off for LBSU softball on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in a rematch with San Diego State. Long Beach will play in the Tempe, Ariz. regional with host team and No. 1 overall seed Arizona State. North Dakota State is the other team in the regional.

All games in the Tempe regional will be broadcast on ESPNU.

For NCAA Tourney softball updates, be sure to stay tuned to LongBeachState.com as well as LBSU's social media outlets:


facebook.com/LBSUathletics
twitter.com/LBSUathletics

NCAA Softball has their own social media outlets that will also be updating constantly about the tournament:

facebook.com/ncaawcws

twitter.com/ncaasoftball
hashtag: #wcws

2011 Softball Seniors

As Long Beach State softball readies for their final series of the year, we had a chat with the four seniors from the 2011 team.

LBSU Breast Cancer Awareness Recap

This year Long Beach State hosted our first ever Breast Cancer Awareness Day on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at the softball and baseball games. The event was a huge success as over 1,290 dollars were raised to help fight breast cancer.

The baseball game saw the Dirtbags host the University of California, Riverside. 138 raffle tickets were sold at the event for the opportunity to win one of four different packages.
The first package contained:
1 Autographed Dirtbag Jersey
1 Dirtbag Hat
1 Long Beach Beanie

The second package contained:
1 Autographed Black Dirtbag Jersey
1 Dirtbag Hat
1 Long Beach Beanie

The third and fourth packages contained:
1 Autographed Dirtbag T-shirt
1 Dirtbag Hat 1 Long Beach Beanie
1 Breast Cancer Awareness Baseball

Through the raffle tickets $690.00 dollars were raised.

The softball team hosted UC Davis. Carrie Lovelady threw out the first pitch, she is Christina Schallig's mom, and a proud two year breast cancer survivor. The team took the field wearing pink visors, shoe laces, and headbands as Erin Jones-Wesley threw a complete game, one-hit shutout for the first game. In the second game, Nalani St. Germain hit a walk off homer to complete the sweep of UC Davis with a 2-1 victory. Over $600.00 dollars were raised at the softball games through ticket sales and raffle tickets to benefit the Love/Avon Army of Women.

This Week At Long Beach State (4/4/2011)

Welcome back from spring break students and fans, do we ever have a busy week for you to get back in the Black and Gold swing of things. There are a total of ten home sporting events this week for Long Beach State across four different sports.

Tuesday
It all gets started Tuesday with the Dirtbags vs. San Diego State Aztecs @ Blair Field, 6:30 p.m.

The Dirtbags come home after a series win against Pacific in the opening weekend of Big West Play, and will face an Aztecs club in mid-week action that comes limping in with a 9-19 record, having most recently lost two out of three to Oral Roberts. SDSU is 2-4 in midweek games.

Wednesday 
Men's Volleyball vs. UC Irvine @ Walter Pyramid, 7:00 p.m.

The Black and Blue Rivalry Series is on once again at the Pyramid with LBSU men's volleyball taking on the rival Anteaters. The 'Eaters and 49ers are ranked No. 4 and 5 respectively in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll. The two squads split their previous two matches earlier in the year, with Long Beach coming out on top Jan. 7, 3-1 at the UCSB Elephant Bar Tournament. UCI earned their own 3-1 victory over LB State Feb. 16 at Bren.

Friday
Women's Tennis vs. Oregon Ducks @ Rhodes Tennis Center, 2:00 p.m.
The 49ers and Ducks will take a break from conference play and battle on the hard court. Oregon is 7-11 on the year, and have lost their last five matches. LBSU holds a 13-5 record overall, most recently winning two out of three matches during a Mid-West Road Trip.

Dirtbags vs. UC Davis Aggies @ Blair Field, 6:30 p.m.
Big West play continues for the Dirtbags, taking on Davis in a weekend series. Long Beach State won their series this past weekend against Pacific, and were only denied a sweep of the Tigers because of a three run rally in the ninth of game three. Davis was swept by Fullerton this past weekend, as they were outscored by the Titans 25-2

Saturday
Women's Tennis vs. Cal Poly Mustangs @ Rhodes Tennis Center, 11:00 a.m.
Beach Tennis will tangle with ranked Big West foe Cal Poly in a crucial match for both teams.

Softball vs. Cal State Northridge @ 49er Softball Complex, 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.
49er softball returns to Long Beach for a Big West showdown with the Matadors. CSUN are 13-20 overall on the year while LBSU boasts a 23-12 record, going 11-3 at home. Erin Jones-Wesley will look to continue her dominant freshman campaign in game 1.

Dirtbags vs. UC Davis Aggies @ Blair Field, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday night should see a packed Blair Field for Troy Tulowitzki bobblehead night. The first 1,500 fans at Blair will receive a replica of the former Dirtbag and now major leaguer. Come early to insure you can take Tulo home with you.

Men's Volleyball vs. UC San Diego Tritons @ Walter Pyramid, 7:00 p.m.
49ers host another MPSF foe Saturday night in the 'Mid.

Sunday
Softball vs. Cal State Northridge @ 49er Softball Complex, 1:00 p.m.

Dirtbags vs. UC Davis @ Blair Field, 1:00 p.m.

Baseball and softball wrap their weekend series with day games on Sunday. 


Hope to see you at the games this week, Go Beach!

Big West Pitcher of the Week: Erin Jones-Wesley 3-21-2011

Freshman phenom Erin Jones-Wesley continues to roll, as she picked up her third Big West Pitcher of the week award following a week of going 2-0 with an 0.47 ERA for the 49ers last week, including throwing a one-hitter in a 1-0 win over Illinois.

Here is a video interview with the young pitcher following another complete game shutout that she handed the Ohio Bobcats on March 23 in mid week action.

Big West Pitcher of the Week: Erin Jones-Wesley 2-28-2011

Another week, another Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week award for freshman phenom Erin Jones-Wesley. This past weekend in Palms Springs, Erin pitched three outstanding games; her first coming in an eight inning, five hit, one run (unearned) performance against Utah in which Long Beach State won 5-1. 

Erin then added taking down a top 10 team to her young resume, throwing a complete game, six strikeout performance against No. 6 ranked Oklahoma in route to a 2-1 victory for the 49ers over the Sooners.

Erin wrapped her weekend with a solid performance against Oklahoma State, but the 49ers fell 5-3.

This impressive weekend brings Erin's season stats to a 5-1 record with an ERA of 1.59.

The Black and Gold Insider caught up with Erin before she and them head off to San Diego to face another stacked tournament field.

Black and Gold Insider: You had another great weekend on the mound, what has been the key to your early success?

 

Erin Jones-Wesley: I think I have been successful so far because of the smart pitch selection chosen by my coaches, the great defense and offense my team has supported me with, and the connection I have with both catchers that allows me to feel confident with each pitch of the game.

Do you think your first outing where you pitched a complete game shutout helped boost your confidence and carry over to the other starts you have made so far?

Erin Jones-Wesley: Pitching a shut out in my first college outing definitely helped me believe I can do it, but I don’t really look at past games for confidence; in softball you really have to take it one pitch at a time. Softball is a really humbling sport, a person can be really hot one day, and the next day go 0 for 4 or pitch a bad game and get taken out. I’ve learned to never live through the past, and just to look forward to the future.

What's your favorite part of traveling to the different tournaments and getting to hangout with your teammates?

Erin Jones-Wesley: My favorite part of traveling would have to be the actual traveling part, sitting on a bus for long periods of time may seem terribly boring, but we all find a way to make it entertaining. The other freshmen and I get really silly and just talk in different accents and give everyone on the team and our coaching staff funny names. Oh, and of course, eating with the team. I love food!

What music do you like to listen to before you pitch?

Erin Jones-Wesley: It really just depends on my mood; sometimes I can just put my iPod on shuffle and just let anything play, which can range from: country to hip-hop to pop to songs performed by the cast of the TV show Glee. If I feel the need to really get pumped up though I play “I Made It” by Kevin Rudolf or “Successful” by Drake.

Who's the funniest girl on your team?

Erin Jones-Wesley: Everyone really has their funny moments, but I think the one person who makes everyone laugh if Christina Schallig without a doubt.

Are you excited for March Madness?

Erin Jones-Wesley: I usually stick to just watching the NBA, but I’ll be more excited if our basketball team goes through a few rounds! The only college basketball team I watch, or am interested in is Long Beach State. GO BEACH!

Big West Athlete of the Week- Megan Denio

Softball left fielder, Megan Denio, was awarded Big West Athlete of the Week honors for her performance in the Louiseville Slugger Desert Classic. Denio brought the team to a 2-3 record, and hit her first career home run. Her home run happened to be a grand slam, as she set the school record for most RBI in a single game with six.

Big West Pitcher of the Week: Erin Jones-Wesley 2-14-2011

Talk about a debut. After word came that Long Beach State starter Brooke Turner would not be ready to open the season because of injury, freshman Erin Jones-Wesley was asked to fill in the All-American's shoes and did she ever respond.

Erin took the hill in Saturday afternoon's game against Boise State, throwing a complete game shutout while striking out eight batters. Sunday, she was called upon to deliver again, facing off with the same Boise State team and delievered an eerily similar performance, again shutting out the Broncos and striking out eight batters.

The Big West Conference took notice of this outstanding debut, tabbing Jones-Wesley as their softball pitcher of the week.

The Black and Gold Insider caught up with Erin and asked about her big debut.