The sounds of spring will be in full effect for Big West softball this weekend as the league's nine teams start the 26th quest for the league championship and NCAA Tournament berths.
CENTURY CLUB
Cal State Fullerton is already in a class of its own in Big West history with eight league titles, 20 NCAA appearances and a national title as a member of the conference, but a milestone the Titans are set to hit this season may shine above them all. With 20 wins this year, CSF will be the first team in league history to get to 1,000 victories. The Titans are 86 wins ahead of second place Long Beach State in conference lore and also need just one more win for their 1,200th DI victory.
‘09 POSTSEASON TRIO GARNERS PRESEASON ATTENTION
The three teams that were postseason entries out of the Big West last season, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State, have been getting some preseason love in three different polls. Starting in the Big West, Cal Poly is at the top but only six points separates the trio from one another. Meanwhile on a national level, the Mustangs appear in the receiving votes category of the NFCA/USA Today and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls, CSF is garnering consideration for a ranking in the NFCA/USA Today poll and LBSU is receiving votes in the ESPN.Com/USA Softball ranking ledger. Not to be outdone by the ‘09 postseason Big West clubs are the Matadors of Cal State Northridge. CSUN is receiving votes in the NFCA/USA Today poll and claiming a first place vote in the Big West preseason poll.
BE THE BEST? PLAY THE BEST
The Big West Conference has never shied away from playing the premier teams in the country and 2010 is no different. Gracing Big West team schedules this season are such clubs as defending national champion Washington, Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State, Oklahoma, California, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Northwestern, Tennessee, DePaul, Louisville, North Carolina, Fresno State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Fresno State. That would be 17 of the 25 teams ranked in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball and NFCA/USA Today preseason polls.
CAHN CAN DO IT
Cal Poly’s Anna Cahn probably needs the ice bath more than her teammates after the game thanks to her duties both in the circle and at the plate. The 2009 Big West Pitcher of the Year won 28 games and pitched 252.2 innings a year ago, but she also claimed first team All-Big west honors as a utility player after batting .338 with six homers and 41 RBI. Only a junior, Cahn could find herself all over the Big West record books by the end of her already sterling career.
TWO ON PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
The Top 50 Watch List for the 2010 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year includes two Big West players as Cal Poly’s Anna Cahn and Long Beach State’s Brooke Turner were included in the 9th annual preseason list released by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA). Cahn made the list for the first time, while Turner was named to illustrious ledger for the second time in her three-year career.
SOWDER HOLDING HER OWN
When Kim Sowder took over the Long Beach State program prior to the 2007 season, no one could have expected how close her first three years would compare to the man she took over for, legendary coach Pete Manarino. Sowder has won 103 games overall and posted a .683 winning percentage in conference play, while Manarino had 119 overall wins and a .687 win percentage in Big West games. They both also won a Big West Coach of the Year award within their first three seasons, while Manarino has the edge in NCAA appearances, 3-2.
NEW (OLD) VOICE IN THE DUGOUT
Cal State Northridge has a new voice at the helm of the program as associate coach Roni Sparrey takes over. Sparrey is a veteran of Big West battles as she played and coached at Cal Poly before joining the CSUN coaching staff prior to the 2007 season. In her three seasons as an assistant with CSUN, the Matador defense has posted an average fielding percentage of .966 and has finished among the top fielding teams in the Big West Conference and Division I. Sparrey also helped the 2009 Matadors lead the Big West in stolen bases, finishing the year with 62 stolen bases. She has also overseen several Matadors receive All-Big West Conference honors, ranging from First Team awards to Conference Freshman of the Year honors.
UCSB LOOKS FOR SOME HISTORY
With eight conference wins this season, the Gauchos will become just the fifth program in Big West history to reach the 250-win plateau in conference contests. Getting to eight Big West wins hasn’t been an issue for UCSB of late as the program has won at least that many contests in seven of the previous eight seasons.
HEY DON’T WE KNOW YOU?
Big West softball fans will not only see the stars of tomorrow on the field, but some of the brightest from yesteryear in the dugout as a number of former stars are coaches at Big West schools. Cal State Fullerton has an alum at the helm in Michelle Gromacki as well as former Pacific star Michelle Anunciation, Cal State Northridge has a pair of former Cal Poly standouts in Roni Sparrey and Sarah Iwata and an alum in Kia Fennell, while Long Beach State is under the tutelage of former 49er great Kim Sowder. UC Riverside has LBSU alum Franny Morlet on its staff as well as former Highlander Cassie Greenawalt. UC Santa Barbara counts on the services of former great Christine Ramos, while Pacific has a former UC Davis Aggie on its staff in Jessica Hancock as well as a Tiger alum in Lizzie Hagen.
THIS MIGHT BE HARD...
Pacific had been one of the league’s most consistent clubs prior to its current string of back-to-back losing seasons. The Tigers had a winning record in 12 consecutive seasons, the third-longest plus-.500 run in Big West history. The Tigers’ quest to get back to the upper echelon of the Big West will certainly have its challenges in both non-conference and league play. The club plays nine teams ranked in the NFCA top 25 preseason poll and seven others that appear in the receiving votes category.
ANOTHER SEASON, ANOTHER COACHING MILESTONE FOR GROMACKI
A year ago, Cal State Fullerton head coach Michelle Gromacki became just the fourth coach in league history to win 350+ overall games and 150+conference outings during Big West membership. This season, Gromacki might not only lead the Titans to its 1,000th win as a member of the conference, but the 11th-year coach is also just 33 wins from 400 for her career.
SOMEONE ELSE WILL WIN IT...MAYBE?
Long Beach State has had a monopoly on the Freshman Pitcher of the Year award of late as three current 49ers have claimed the honor. This season might finally break that trend as no freshman on the LBSU roster is listed as a full-time pitcher. Just because the 49ers may not win the freshman pitching award, doesn’t mean they’re out of the running for the Pitcher of the Year race. An LBSU player has won at least a piece of one of the two Big West pitching awards every year since 2004.