Home stretch • Michelle Turner makes contact with the ball (above). Breezy Goad celebrates with teammates (top). The 49ers play at UC Santa Barbara this weekend for the last regular season series. Photos courtesy Matt Brown


Softball conference standings remain close until the end


By Kim Oswell
Online Forty-Niner
Sports Editor


After taking two out of three games at UC Davis last weekend, the 49er women’s softball team will play its last regular season series against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos this weekend. The women hold a record of 28-19 and 11-4 in the Big West Conference.

This weekend marks a turning point for the Big West Conference Title because the CS Fullerton Titans hold the same conference record and could tie Long Beach State for the title. The Titans play UC Riverside this weekend and if LBSU and CSUF both win all its games, they will be named Co-Big West Champions. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is not far behind the two teams at only two games back with a record of 25-22 and 9-6 in conference.

The three-game series for LBSU begins Friday against the Gauchos who swept UC Riverside last weekend.

The 49er women have been productive this season by putting up numbers when the team needed it the most. The 49ers are 17-2 when leading after four innings thanks to timely pitching and offensive rallies.

LBSU star Michelle Turner is a candidate for Big West Pitcher of the Year and has been the Big West Pitcher of the Week six times this season. Turner leads the 49ers with four homeruns and 24 RBIs with a collective .246 batting average and 13 doubles. Turner has walked only 17 batters this season with 170 strikeouts in the circle and holds a 23-9 record, rounding off a 1.56 ERA. Turner has dominated in league play with a record of 10-1 and kept opposing batters to only a .188 average.

Senior Tiffanie Wedell has been an offensive force with a .259 batting average and 17 RBIs. She is ranked No. 10 in the Big West for stolen base attempts with 8-for-9. Wedell also had two five-game hitting streaks during the season.

LBSU center fielder Breezy Goad holds a .258 batting average and has scored a team-high 27 runs. She is ranked No. 6 in the Big West for stolen base attempts with 9-for-13.

Sophomore Jonae Perez leads the team in batting with an overall .310 average and .400 average in conference play.

The 49ers have a young squad, but will say farewell to graduating seniors Wedell and Melanie McCauley at the end of the season.
This weekend’s series will prove to be a turning point in the outcome of the Big West Conference standings.

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