No. 23 OSU Softball Opens Pac-12 Play at Utah
March 18, 2016 | Softball
No. 25/23 Oregon State Beavers (20-4-1)
at Utah Utes (18-8)
Dumke Family Softball Stadium
Salt Lake City, Utah
Saturday | Noon PT
Sunday | Noon PT
Monday | 11 a.m. PT
Coverage: Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The 23rd-ranked Oregon State softball team is set to open its 2016 Pac-12 schedule this weekend, as the Beavers travel to Salt Lake City, Utah to face the Utah Utes in a three-game conference series.
Oregon State (20-4-1) and Utah (18-9) will hold the entirety of their three-game conference set at the Dumke Family Softball Stadium. Each game on Saturday and Sunday will begin at noon PT (1 p.m. MT), while first pitch for Monday's game is slated for 11 a.m. PT (noon MT).
Oregon State looks to continue its strong start to the season with a solid start to conference play. The Beavers also look to return the favor from last season, as they dropped the series to the Utes last season in Corvallis. Utah owns a 15-13 edge in the all-time series.
Notably, this matchup pits two of the Pac-12's top pitching staffs, as the Beavers lead the conference in team ERA (2.16). The Utes place third in the league in team era with a mark of 2.27.
This weekend also marks only the second time this season that Oregon State will play true road games. The Beavers defeated CSUN, 1-0, in their only other road game thus far this season. Utah is 2-1 in games played at Dumke Family Softball Stadium this season.
Utah will stream all three games live and will provide live stats throughout the weekend series. Links for the live streams and live stats will be posted as they are available, and can be accessed through the 2016 softball schedule page on OSUBeavers.com.
Leading Off
- In each of the past three seasons under head coach Laura Berg, Oregon State has set a new record for team batting average, matching the 2006 mark with a .280 team batting average in 2013 before breaking the record in consecutive seasons, hitting .287 as a team in 2014 and .298 in 2015. As a team this season, Oregon State has hit .346, the 18th-highest team batting average in the nation.
- Freshman right-hander Meehra Nelson has opened her career at Oregon State with authority, as she has gone 11-2 with three saves to open her collegiate career and currently has the nation's ninth-highest wins total. She ranks 10th nationally in strikeouts (112), and is either tied for the lead or leads the Pac-12 in several significant statistical categories, including strikeouts, wins, saves and innings pitched (93.0).
- Redshirt junior Natalie Hampton has the nation's No. 8 and Pac-12's No. 2 RBI (34) total and is batting .395 with six home runs and six doubles. Hampton hit .550 (11-for-20) with three home runs and 15 RBI at the DeMarini Desert Classic, and leads the team in home runs, RBI and total bases (44).
- Sophomore shortstop McKenna Arriola leads the team in batting average (.417), hits (35), stolen bases (10) and on-base percentage (.490) from the leadoff spot. Sophomore outfielder Lovie Lopez paces the club in doubles (8, tied for Pac-12 lead), as well as in HBP (5) and runs scored (21). Freshman outfielder Jessica Garcia is tops on the squad in walks (12) and has nine stolen bases with one of four team triples.
Student-Athlete Profile
No. 21 Dacia Sykes
Sophomore Utility Player
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nev.
Last Schools: C. of Southern Nevada/Arbor View HS
- Undecided on her major
- The daughter of Michelle and Roy Sykes
- One of her hobbies outside of softball is photography
- Favorite athlete is Yasiel Puig
- Favorite sport to attend outside of softball is baseball
- Before games, tapes her wrist and writes names on the tape that have passed away but were impactful on her
Beavers in the Polls
- Oregon State is ranked in the national polls for the third straight week, and for the first time this season, is ranked in both polls.
- OSU checks into the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll at No. 23 this week, moving up one spot from No. 24 last week. The Beavers entered the USA Today/NFCA Division I Poll for the first time this season with a No. 25 ranking this week.
- The Beavers entered the national rankings a pair of weeks ags following its 14-2 start to the season, entering the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll tied at No. 22. It marked the first time they were ranked since April 2, 2013, when they were ranked at No. 24 in the USA Today/NFCA poll.
- Oregon State is also ranked in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll for the first time since May 13, 2012, where the Beavers were ranked at No. 24.
Caution: The Bats Are Hot
- According to the NCAA, Oregon State is one of the top offensive teams in the nation in terms of team statistical rankings through 25 games.
- As a team, Oregon State is ranked within the top-25 nationally in batting average (18th - .346), doubles per game (10th – 1.88, 47 total), slugging percentage (22nd - .518), on-base percentage (21st - .426) and runs scored per game (19th - 6.72, 168 total). Notably, the Beavers are also ranked 49th in stolen bases per game (1.60, 40-of-46 total).
- Individually, redshirt junior first baseman/designated player Natalie Hampton ranks eighth in the nation in RBI (34) and 14th in RBI per game (1.36).
Full Nelson
- Freshman right-hander Meehra Nelson is off to a stellar start to her freshman career, currently sitting at 11-2 with a trio of saves, a 1.99 ERA and 112 strikeouts.
- Through 19 appearances and 13 starts this season, Nelson is ranked ninth in the nation in wins and ranks 10th in the country in strikeouts. The Simi Valley, Calif. native leads the Pac-12 in each of those categories, as well as in saves and innings pitched (93.0).
- Following the hot start to her collegiate career, Nelson was named Pac-12 Softball Freshman of the Week on Wednesday, Feb. 17, and Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday, March 1. Nelson is the one of only two Pac-12 players through five weeks (Taylor McQuillin, Arizona) to receive multiple weekly honors.
- Following the Beavers' win over Kentucky in her first collegiate start, Nelson won helped her case for the first Pac-12 FOW award of the season with wins in starts against each of CSUN and New Mexico in respective complete-game outings. The freshman held CSUN to a pair of runs on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts, and capped the weekend by limiting New Mexico to a single run on two hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts.
Return of a Record-Setting Offense
- The Beavers return six lineup regulars from a 2015 squad that lit up multiple lists in Oregon State's all-time school record books. As a team last season, Oregon State set the school record for batting average, had the second-most runs scored and RBI in program history, and the fourth-most doubles and walks.
- Oregon State returns many of the players chiefly responsible for those team, as Mikela Manewa placed second on the team in batting average (.338), RBI (37) and walks (26) last year, while McKenna Arriola finished second in runs scored (39) and Sammi Noland led the team in RBI (40) and placed second in doubles (9).
- Under head coach Laura Berg, Oregon State has made many other entries in the all-time record books in previous seasons, including in batting average twice (.287 in 2014 - 2nd all-time; 280 in 2013 – 3rd all-time), runs scored (227 in 2013 – 5th all-time), RBI (245 in 2013 – 5th all-time), walks (179 in 2013 – 5th all-time), home runs (52 in 2013 – 4th all-time) and triples (14 in 2014 – 5th all-time).
2015 Team in All-Time Program Records
1st – Batting Average (.298; broke record of .287 from 2014)
2nd – Runs Scored (300; record is 301 in 2012)
2nd – Runs Batted In (265; record is 269 in 2012)
4th – Doubles (74; record is 88 in 2003)
4th – Walks (182; record is 204 in 1999)
What the Beavers Brought Back
- In each of the past three seasons under head coach Laura Berg, Oregon State has set a new record for team batting average, matching the 2006 mark with a .280 team batting average in 2013 before breaking the record in consecutive seasons, hitting .287 as a team in 2014 and .298 in 2015.
- The Beavers return six lineup regulars from the 2015 team, including senior infielder Mikela Manewa, who finished the season hitting .338, as well as redshirt junior infielder Natalie Hampton, who owns OSU's single-season RBI record (50 in 2013), and senior catcher Sammi Noland, who led the Beavers in RBI in 2015 (40) and is OSU's top returning leader in home runs (8).
- In the circle, ace right-hander Bev Miller returns for her senior season after posting a 15-13 record in 2015 with a 3.64 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 194.1 innings pitched.
- Forming a deep staff along with Miller are junior south paw Taylor Cotton, who tossed 49.1 innings last season, as well as newcomer Meehra Nelson, who joined the Beavers after finishing high school with a 0.96 ERA.
Looking Ahead
- Following the trip to Utah, Oregon State will host California in the first softball games played this season in The Best College Town in the Pac-12. The series will span from Thursday, March 24 through Saturday, March 26 at the OSU Softball Complex, and each game of the series will be televised live by the Pac-12 Networks.
- The series opens on Thursday at 3 p.m. PT. First pitch is set for the same time on Friday, and the series will wrap up on Saturday with a 12:30 p.m. PT matchup.
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For more information on the Oregon State softball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/OregonStateSB, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateSB or on Instagram at Instagram.com/OregonStateSB.
