Softball Team Rewards Its Coach’s Faith

Pete Manarino never lost faith, although he certainly had reason to.

He didn’t lose it after a 7-11 start, or six consecutive losses. Not after lack of timely hitting and lackluster defense. Not even after watching the Long Beach State softball team play every bit like the relatively inexperienced bunch it is.

But Manarino believed. Not only because he had no other choice, but because he saw the potential.

As it turned out, Manarino was right all along. The 49ers rewarded their coach for his unwavering support, winning the Big West Conference championship--the first in the program’s history.

Long Beach plays California in the NCAA regionals at 5 p.m. today at Fresno State. Manarino sees no reason to start thinking differently now.

“It’s a tough regional, probably the toughest along with [Cal State Fullerton], but I like our chances,” said Manarino, in his 13th season. “This group never really has been in a playoff-type atmosphere, Fresno isn’t an easy place to play and they’re expecting crowds of 3,000 to 4,000, which is a lot for softball.

“But the Big West is such a tough conference that it prepares you really well for the tough games.”

Manarino deserves at least some of the credit for preparing Long Beach. After that horrid opening-season stretch, Long Beach finished 28-9.

The 49ers are 35-20, 23-9 in the Big West. They won the conference title by four games.

Manarino doesn’t care to over-analyze, choosing to simply revel in the success.

“This is certainly one of my most special teams,” said Manarino, who will be coaching in his ninth regional. “We started so slowly, the six losses in a row, and then all of a sudden we turn it around like we did. The team chemistry has just been great.”

The bond was formed two seasons ago, when the 49ers struggled to a 32-31 record. They missed the playoffs for the second season in a row after eight consecutive appearances. Of course, last season’s problems weren’t mysteries to Manarino.

“We started eight freshmen,” he said.

They usually played that way, often pushing Manarino’s nerves to the brink with, well, mistakes.

“Naturally, there were some tough times,” he said. “Last year was a very tough year for all of us.”

He didn’t believe this season would be a repeat. However, at least early on, the 49ers were proving him wrong.

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Arms race: Pitching is among the keys to the 49ers.

Amy Miner, Tammy Dietrich and Marie O’Beck (Mater Dei) form the conference’s most successful staff.

“Our pitching has been so good,” Manarino said. “They lead on the field with their character as well as their talent.”

Miner (15-6, 1.24 earned-run average) leads the Big West in ERA. Dietrich (12-11, 1.28) is second in ERA, and led for much of the season. O’Beck (7-3, 2.07) has been solid as a starter and reliever.

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Good sign: Give Bill Shumard, 49er interim athletic director, recently signed baseball Coach Dave Snow to a five-year contract extension, keeping him at Long Beach through the 2001 season.

On the surface, the signing seems like a no-brainer. After all, Snow has won five Big West titles in eight seasons at Long Beach, including this one. And then there are those five conference coach-of-the-year awards, including one this season, and an NCAA coaching award.

But after the loss of the school’s basketball coach and athletic director, keeping Snow became all the more important. Shumard did what he had to.

49er Notes

Tom Lewis, a former standout at Mater Dei, and Jeff Estis have been hired as full-time men’s basketball assistants, finally completing the staff of new 49er Coach Wayne Morgan. Lewis, who spent three years as an assistant at Mater Dei, played at Pepperdine. Estis served as an assistant to Morgan at Syracuse last season. Matt Hart, one of two full-time men’s basketball assistants under former Coach Seth Greenberg, has been reassigned to another position on campus to fulfill his contract that runs through September.