OSU Softball Rakes in Nine Postseason Honors
May 19, 2016 | Softball
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Shortstop McKenna Arriola earned selections to the All-Pac-12 First Team and Pac-12 All-Defensive Team to highlight nine postseason honors awarded to the Oregon State softball team, as announced by the conference and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Thursday.
First baseman Natalie Hampton, outfielder Lovie Lopez and right-handed pitcher Meehra Nelson were each third-team selections. Nelson also named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team, as were outfielders Shelby Weeks and Jessica Garcia. Weeks added her second postseason award with an NFCA Pacific Region Third Team selection.
The Beavers' total of eight Pac-12 honorees ties for the most the program has earned in a single season (eight in 2012 and 2015). The Pac-12's postseason award winners are selected by the league's head coaches.
Arriola's play has been a key factor in the Beavers' surge back into the postseason, as she recorded a team-high .370 batting average in 49 starts from the leadoff spot in the lineup. Arriola ranks seventh in the Pac-12 with 11 stolen bases, and paces the Beavers in runs scored (34), hits (60) and on-base percentage (.443). A gold-medal winner with the USA Junior National Team, Arriola picks up her second conference honor in as many years after being named a 2015 Pac-12 All-Freshman Honorable Mention.
The West Hills, Calif. native is the third All-Pac-12 First Team honoree during current head coach Laura Berg's tenure, joining Dani Gilmore (2014) and Elizabeth Santana (2012), who was honored in Berg's only season as an assistant coach. Prior to Santana's selection in 2012, the Beavers had not received a first-team selection since 2007.
Hampton adds her third award in as many healthy seasons after earning an honorable mention in an injury-shortened 2015 season as well as a second-team selection in 2013, when she set the school single-season RBI record (50). The Antelope, Calif. native, who is hitting .342 this season, is giving chase to her own RBI record with a total of 48 in 2016.
Lopez has also been an RBI producer for the Beavers this season, driving in 31 on .301 hitting and four home runs. The Santa Fe Springs, Calif. native has 13 doubles this season, a total that ranks third in the Pac-12 and 10th in Oregon State's all-time single-season record book.
Nelson, from Simi Valley, Calif., went 16-8 with a school-record seven saves, a 2.96 ERA and 196 strikeouts, the most by any freshman in a power conference and second-most amongst all freshmen in the nation. Her strikeout total is the second-best in the conference, and eighth-best in a single-season in program history. Nelson leads all Pac-12 freshmen in saves, appearances (40), innings pitched (160.2), strikeouts, strikeouts looking (64) and batting average against (.193).
Rounding out Oregon State's all-conference honorees are Weeks and Garcia, who were each tabbed Pac-12 All-Freshman. Weeks ranked second on the team with a .345 batting average and drew a team-high 19 walks to rank second on the team with a .420 on-base percentage. Both freshman outfielders are adept at stealing bases, as Weeks tallied eight while Garcia swiped 11, the seventh-best total in the Pac-12. Garcia, who started all 49 games in center field this season, also ranked third in the Pac-12 with three triples.
Oregon State opens NCAA Tournament play in the Auburn Regional on Friday. Frist pitch for Friday's matchup with USC Upstate is set for 1:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. CT).
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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