49er
women chase away Tigers
By
Patrick Creaven
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
Michelle Turner has been one of the most dominating pitchers for the Long Beach
State softball team, but all year, Head Coach Pete Man-arino has been searching
for a suitable second pitcher to complement Turner. Manarino’s search
might have ended.
Lacy Tyler had her best outing of the season Saturday, pitching five and one-third
innings, giving up one hit and no runs.
Turner was her usual self, pitching a complete game two-hit shutout, to lead
the The Beach in a pair of 1-0 wins, over visiting Pacific, on Saturday’s
double-header. The 49ers completed the sweep with a 7-4 win Sunday. With the
three victories, LBSU’s record is 26-18 and 11-4 in Big West.
“
I told the girls that we’re right there, and we have a shot at wining
the conference championship,” Manarino said. He led
LBSU to Big West titles in 2004 and 2005. “We just have to continue to
play the way we did today: hard, doing the little things, not making mistakes,
and getting great pitching.”
In the second game of the double-header, Manarino handed the ball to Tyler,
after she had a strong performance in relief last week against Riverside.
Tyler didn’t disappoint, retiring the first nine Pacific batters she
faced, and other than a single in the fourth inning and a walk in the sixth,
Tyler was perfect.
“
As the year has gone on I have gained more and more confidence pitching,” Tyler
said.
Tyler also played a role in the only run scored in the game. She reached base
on a two-out infield single then advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored
when Melanie McCauley grounded a single through the middle.
Turner relieved Tyler with one out in the sixth inning, and retired five of
the six batters she faced, to pick up her first save of the year.
In the first game, Turner was hard to hit and shut-down the Tigers. The first
seven Pacific outs of the game were strikeouts and Turner finished the game
with nine strikeouts.
Pacific’s pitcher, Alyce Jorgenson, kept pace with Turner for five innings,
but The Beach finally broke up the scoreless tie in the sixth.
Tiffanie Wedell and Jessica Beaver led off the inning with singles. After a
popup to the second baseman, Jonae Perez grounded a ball towards second base
and got a fortunate bounce past the second baseman. The ball squirted into
center field, and Wedell was able to score.
Turner finished the game by retiring Pacific in order in the seventh, to earn
her 21st win of the season. She now ranks sixth all-time in most wins in a
single season for LBSU, and moved up to fourth all-time in strikeouts in a
season for The Beach.
Turner was named Big West Pitcher of the Week for the sixth time this year.
Sunday was the last home game for the women and a ceremony honoring seniors
McCauley and Wedell started off the game. Turner earned her 22nd win of the
season and Jonae Perez went 4-for-4 with three RBIs.
“
It was a nice way to finish for the seniors,” Manarino said. “They
have been good athletes and students.”
The 49ers are on the road this weekend to play at UC Davis for a three game
series.
|
