It’s been a tough season for the Long Beach State softball team, and after it went 1-4 in the San Diego Classic over the weekend, things don’t seem to be getting any easier.
The 49ers (7-15) have now lost ten of their last eleven games and aren’t living up to expectations that had them pegged as the preseason favorite to win the Big West Conference.
After opening the San Diego Classic with an extra-innings win over Nevada, the Niners lost games to Utah State, BYU, Charlotte and San Diego State.
The main problem for the 49ers has been their inability to produce runs. In 22 games this season, Long Beach State has scored two or fewer runs in 16 of them. The pitching efforts of sophomore Erin Jones-Wesley (7-7), sophomore Christian Carbajal (0-4) and freshman Amanda Hansen (0-4) have been good enough to keep games close early, but one or two rough innings later in the game have made it impossible for the 49ers to come back.
That isn’t to say Long Beach State doesn’t have a good team though.
“We’ve gotten a little frustrated, but I still really like this team,” LBSU head coach Kim Sowder said last week.
In the first two weeks of the season, Big West Player of the Week awards went to 49er hitters Hannah De Gaetano and Leilani Tupua-Tautalatasi. In addition to that, leadoff hitter Cya Neal and cleanup hitter Ashlynn Booker each have batting averages well over .300.
The 49ers have also been without one of their top pitchers, senior Taylor Petty. After winning an honorable mention spot on the 2011 All-Big West team despite pitching with a torn labrum, Petty has missed every game this season due to a case of pneumonia. She was able to return to practice Tuesday last week but her status is still day-to-day.
Long Beach State has certainly experienced some setbacks in this young season, but its quest to reach the NCAA tournament is still alive. The 49ers will do their best to turn things around this weekend when they host the Long Beach State Invitational.