Letourneau pitches her way into 1999 Hall
of Fame Class
By Eric Boyum
Daily Forty-Niner
When a pitcher is so dominant in a softball
game that she holds a team to no hits or walks, it is uncommon.
It is even rarer when it happens twice
in a season, let alone in the same week.
This is just one feat that pitcher Mary
Letourneau accomplished during her four seasons with the 49ers softball
team.
Letourneau was inducted into the Long Beach
State Athletic Hall of Fame as part of this year's class.
Her role as the 49ers' ace helped lead
the team to four consecutive College World Series appearances from 1990-94.
"I was lucky," Letourneau said. "I came
in as a freshman at the right time Ö we had some great teams."
Letourneau was named to the second All-American
team in 1990.
She is just one of three 49er softball
players to be named an All-American.
She holds Long Beach State's all-time record
for innings pitched with 826.2, as well as games pitched with 131 and 92
complete games.
Letourneau is second all-time in career
shutouts with 37, as well as career wins with 64 and she is third in strikeouts
with 324.
"God gave me an ability to pitch and I
tried the best that I could on the field always," Letourneau said.
Her career earned-run average stands at
under a run per game allowed at 0.87.
She won 21 games in 1990 on a team that
won 48 games and finished ranked No. 4 in the nation.
She collected regional honors for her performance
that year and was an All-West Region pick.
She was also named a first-team All-Big
West Conference member.
Letourneau allowed less than a half a run
per game in 1990 and finished with an ERA of 0.46.
She led the team with 244.1 innings pitched
that year and collected four saves.
However, she will be remembered most for
pitching a perfect game against San Diego State on April 3.
Then, after a day's rest, she came back
and pitched another perfect game against UC Santa Barbara on April 5.
Her name is also etched in the LBSU record
book, placed fifth all-time for most strikeouts in a single game.
She struck out 10 batters in a game twice
that year, once against California and once against the University of Nevada,
Las Vegas.
Now married with three children, Letourneau
said she is still truly blessed.
Every Monday the Daily Forty-Niner
will feature one of eight members of the 49er Athletic Hall of Fame 1999
Class.
Eric Boyum is the sports editor of
the Daily Forty-Niner. |
![[news]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/news.gif){kind=icon}
![[opinion]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/opinion.gif){kind=icon}
![[Sports]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/sports.gif){kind=icon}