Oregon State Softball Headed to Auburn Regional
May 16, 2016 | Softball
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Following one of the program's most successful regular seasons in the past decade, the Oregon State softball team earned a berth to the 2016 NCAA Tournament and will compete in the Auburn Regional, as announced by the NCAA on Sunday night.
The Beavers (30-18-1) will open postseason play at Jane B. Moore Field on Friday, May 20 with a 1:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. CT) matchup with USC Upstate (42-13). The winner will play the victor of the 4 p.m. PT (6 p.m. CT) game between host Auburn (49-9) and Jacksonville State (41-15), with first pitch in the winner's bracket set for 11:30 a.m. PT (1:30 p.m. CT) on Saturday, May 21. The losing teams will play an elimination game at 2 p.m. PT (4 p.m. CT), also on Saturday, May 21.
Oregon State returns to the tournament for the first time since 2013 and for the second time during the Laura Berg era. The Beavers have been under the guidance of Berg for all three regional appearances since a berth in 2007, as Berg served as an assistant coach for the 2012 regional squad before being promoted the following season.
“It's great that all of our players get to see the fruits of their labor,” Berg said. “These ladies have been working so hard since our team retreat in September. It's fun to see them get rewarded for that hard work. Each team in our regional is very good. There's a reason why they're in the postseason. We know Auburn is the top seed there, so that gives a little bit of a chip on our shoulder. We want to be the No. 1 seed, so we'll go there and play like it.”
Oregon State closed out its regular season with a 30-18-1 overall record and a 9-14 mark in conference play. The Beavers' winning percentage of .622 is the highest winning percentage the program has had at the end of a regular season since 2007 (.650, 39-21 record).
2016 marks the 11th season in school history in which Oregon State has received an NCAA Tournament bid. The Beavers are set to play in a regional in Auburn, Ala. for the first time.
Oregon State entered this weekend with a top-25 RPI, hoisted by five wins over top-25 RPI opponents, including Oklahoma (RPI No. 4), Washington (RPI No. 6), UCLA (RPI No. 14), Kentucky (RPI No. 16) and Arizona (RPI No. 21). Each of those teams earned national seeds, with the exception of Arizona.
The Beavers have fielded a considerably young squad throughout the 2016 season. Freshman outfielders Shelby Weeks and Jessica Garcia have started every game this season, while freshman catcher Kayleen Shafer started 45 of 49 regular season games. Right-hander Meehra Nelson, the only Pac-12 player to be selected as a finalist for the Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I National Freshman of the Year, made appearances in 40 games and was the starting pitcher for 23.
Nelson, who set the single-season school record for saves (7) this season, leads all Pac-12 freshmen in strikeouts (196), innings pitched (160.2), batting average against (.193), batters struck out looking (64), appearances and saves. She paces all Pac-12 pitchers in the latter three categories. Weeks ranks second on the team with a .345 batting average, while Shafer ranks third on the team with five home runs and Garcia places third in the Pac-12 with three triples.
Adding to the Beavers' abundant young talent are sophomore outfielder Lovie Lopez, who ranks third in the Pac-12 with 13 doubles, as well as sophomore shortstop McKenna Arriola, who was a member of the 2015 USA Junior National Team and leads the team with a .370 batting average this season.
Providing leadership in the lineup are redshirt junior first baseman Natalie Hampton, who has 48 RBI this season on .342 hitting after setting the school RBI record (50) in 2013, as well as senior second baseman Mikela Manewa, who will potentially be the seventh player in program history to play National Pro Fastpitch softball after being selected by the Scrap Yard Dawgs. RHP Bev Miller, who has been recognized by the Oregon Sports Awards for both athletic and off-the-field accomplishments, is 13-10 with a 3.34 ERA and a team-high 25 starts in her senior season.
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.
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