Long Beach State 49ers
Overall Rank: #36
Conference Rank: #2 Big West
The 49ers finished last season with their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2014, but were a quick out after going 1-2 at Oregon's regional. Long Beach State was a good team on the road last season, some would say even better than a home team, going 11-4 in road contests. This year's squad should be a better one, as many underclassmen got a chance last year and showed their worth. The 49ers have only four seniors on the 2017 roster, so they'll be looking for that experience gained last year to come through in a big way.
2016: 33-22, 12-9
2016 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Kim Sowder
Key Departed Players:
Darian Tautalafua, INF, .350 BA, 16 HR, 57 RBI, 35 BB, 38 R
Alley Perkins, UTL, .338 BA, 49 H, 30 R
Haley Tobler, UTL, 44 H, 9 2B, 5 HR, 30 RBI
Key Returning Players:
Julia Lombardi, INF, .310 BA, 10 2B, 53 H, 5 HR
Tierra Falo, INF, .289 BA, 33 H, 5 2B, 4 HR
LT Torres, INF, .289 BA, 26 R, 50 H, 8 2B
Christina Clermont, P, 23-12, 2.37 ERA, 230.1 IP, 205 K
Projection:
The 49ers only lost four seniors from last year's team, but unfortunately for them, two of them were the team's best hitters in Darian Tautalafua and Alley Perkins. Tautalafua set six Long Beach State records including most career home runs (53), RBI (176), walks (116) and runs scored (138). She also set season-records with 16 home runs and 57 RBI last year. LBSU will have the services of Christina Clermont, who made the First Team All-Big West list after becoming only the second player in school history with over 200 strikeouts. Julia Lombardi was named to the conference's second team. Her sister, Lauren Lombardi, will be making her return after taking a medical redshirt after injuring her knee in the first game of the 2016 season. Lauren Lombardi was named to the All-Big West First Team in 2015 after knocking in 52 RBI, which was second in the conference and at the time seventh in conference history. One freshman to keep an eye for is Aniesa Maulupe, who finished her prep career with 39 home runs. The 49ers have quite the nonconference slate with Washington, Texas A&M, LSU, Stanford, Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, Florida, UCLA and Michigan, among others.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Softball Tournament
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