
Oregon State Opens 2019 Season at Kajikawa Classic
February 06, 2019 | Softball
The Beavers will compete in five games in Tempe, Ariz. to begin the season.
THIS WEEK:
• Oregon State returns to the field in 2019 with a trip to Tempe, Ariz., to compete in the 2019 Kajikawa Classic.
• This will mark the ninth trip to the desert that the Beavers have taken in the last 10 years.
• Opponents include members from the Big Sky, Big West, Mid-American, Southeastern and Western Atlantic conferences.
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Friday, February 8
Oregon State vs. CSUN - 11:30 p.m. PT
TSC Field 2, Tempe, Ariz.
Oregon State vs. Weber State - 2 p.m. PT
TSC Field 2, Tempe, Ariz.
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Saturday, February 9
Oregon State vs. Seattle - 8:30 a.m. PT
Farrington Stadium, Tempe, Ariz. – Pac-12 Networks
Oregon State vs. Missouri - 1:30 p.m. PT
TSC Field 1, Tempe, Ariz.
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Sunday, February 10
Oregon State vs. Western Michigan - 8 a.m.
TSC FIeld 1, Tempe, Ariz.
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FOLLOW THE BEAVS:
• Oregon State's contest against Seattle will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Oregon, Pac-12 Arizona and Pac-12 Now with Anne Marie Anderson and Amanda Freed on the call.
• Live stats will be available this weekend through Statbroadcaster.com
• Links to live stats and video will be available on the softball schedule page at OSUBeavers.com
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TICKETS ON SALE NOW:
• Tickets for Oregon State's 12-home games are on sale now at BeaverTickets.com/softball.
• Season tickets are available for $50 for adults and $30 for youth and seniors. Single game tickets can be purchased at $7 for adults and $5 for youth.
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2019 SCHEDULE:
• The non-conference portion of Oregon State's 2019 schedule features a gauntlet of games over the course of five-tournaments and two non-conference games.
• OSU opens the season with the Kajikawa Classic for the ninth time in 10 years. Missouri is the only opponent to make a 2018 NCAA Regional appearance out-of-five.
• The Stacy Winsberg Tournament in Long Beach, Calif. features two 2018 NCAA Regional teams, Long Beach State and Ole Miss.
• The Beavers will head to Norman, Okla. to face 2018 WCWS participant, Oklahoma, and NCAA Regional qualifier Louisiana in a four-game bout on March 1-2.
• Oregon State will also make appearances at the UOP Libby Matson Tournament and LMU Tournament before finishing out the non-conference schedule with a double-header at Portland State.
• The conference portion features six opponents that made varying finishes in the 2018 NCAA Tournament:
   - Cal - made it to regionals.
   - Arizona - ended 2018 in the super regionals.
   - Arizona State, UCLA and Oregon - made the WCWS.
   - Washington - 2018 WCWS Runner-Up.
• In total, Oregon State will face 11 opponents from the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
• 14 opponents finished with a top-100 RPI in 2018, 10 opponents had a top-50 RPI, eight had a top-25 RPI and five had a top-10 RPI.
• Oregon State will face nine opponents ranked/receiving votes on the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll and 11 opponents ranked/receiving votes on teh USA Today/NFCA Coaches preseason poll.
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2018 YEAR IN REVIEW:
• Oregon State finished the 2018 season with a 30-28 record and a NCAA Regional berth for the third-consecutive season.
• The Beavers dropped the first game of the regional to Wisconsin, 9-3, before making a comeback by taking down Middle Tennessee, 4-0, and Wisconsin, 5-1. The Beavers bowed out of the regional with a loss to No. 12 Alabama.
• OSU landed three 2019 returners to the All-Pac-12 Teams as Mariah Mazon earned a spot on the third team and Camryn Ybarra earned All-Defensive honors. Both of them, along with Missy Nunes earned All-Freshman honors.
• Mazon led the charge for the Beavers in the circle pitching 191.0 innings, struck out 141 batters and finishing the season with a 2.90 ERA.
• Meehra Nelson finished her junior campaign pitching 153.2 innings in 31 appearances while striking out 127 batters and holding the lowest ERA for the Beavers, 2.51.
• Jessica Garcia ended the year with a .297 average on 55 hits, three doubles and two triples. Garcia added 20 runs for the Beavers and stole 11 bases.
• Shelby Weeks finished 2018 with a .290 average while scoring the most runs for OSU (30).
• Nunes leads OSU returns with 20 RBIs, eight doubles and six homeruns. She also holds a .412 slugging percentage with a .250 batting average.
• Ybarra started in 53 games as a freshman, all at second base adding a .226 batting average with 14 RBIs, five doubles and three homeruns while adding a .977 fielding percentage.
• Three Beavers etched their way into the OSU Single-Season records during the 2018 campaign: Weeks ranks first in stolen bases (22), Nunes is tied for fifth for most hit-by-pitch (12) and Mazon tied for fifth for most saves (5).
• Weeks and Garcia cemented themselves into OSU's Career records a combined six times following the 2018 season. Weeks ranks sixth in batting average (.331), tied for eighth in runs scored (102), tenth in singles (140) and fourth in stolen bases (43). Garcia is tied for eighth in triples (8) and sixth in stolen bases (34).
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2019 OUTLOOK:
• The Beavers were picked to tie for fifth in the Pac-12 Preseason Poll along with receiving votes from both the ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA Coaches preseason polls.
• Along with Garcia, Mazon, Nelson, Nunes, Weeks and Ybarra, the Beavers return 13 total letterwinners and seven starters from 2018.
• Kayleen Shafer returns to her spot behind the plate as she caught 49 games in 2018 and ended with a .983 fielding percentage.
• Michelle Sass saw extended action in 2018 with time in 47 games, making 39 starts in either the outfield or at second base.
• Nerissa Eason also returns to the circle for her junior season after making 17 appearances with 10 starts, compiling 27 strikeouts in 51.1 innings pitched for a 2-0 record.
• Oregon State will have plenty of depth on the bench as Chance Burden, Sara Lillie and Fallon Molnar all return with playing time in 2018.
• Eight newcomers will grace the roster as Karla Calderon, Abby Fischer, Payton Goodrich, Frankie Hammoude, Bailey McLaughlin, Izzy Owen, Ashton Phillips and Maia Rader join the 2018 squad.
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COACHING PROFILES:
• Head coach Laura Berg hung up her cleats after nearly 20-years of playing softball and spent a year with the LAPD in 2010-11 before returning to the game as an assistant coach for the 2012 season at Oregon State.
• Berg enters her seventh season at the helm of the Oregon State program, recording four NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Berg holds a 166-156-1 overall record and is 45-94 in Pac-12 play.
• Associate head coach Marcie Green also has experience with law enforcement. Green studied criminology at Fresno State and spent five years as a prison guard at Corcoran State Prison in California following graduation before starting to coach.
• Assistant coach Eric Leyba joins the staff after stints with the Northwest Bullets and being the head coach at Churchill High School for the past 15 years.
• Volunteer Assistant Coach Hannah Akamine is also new to the coaching staff, but not the Orange and Black. Akamine played for Berg and Green in 2015 as the starting catcher for the Beavers.
• Heather Smith also returns for her 18th season as Director of Operations.
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NCAA TOURNAMENT:
• The 2018 season marked the fourth time the Beavers reached the NCAA Tournament under the direction of head coach Laura Berg, as well as the 13th time in program history.
• The Beavers are 30-22 all-time in their 13 tournament appearances following two wins and two losses at the Tuscaloosa Regional in 2018.
• The last time OSU won a regional was in 2006 when it played Nevada and No. 19 Baylor twice. OSU went on to play in the Women's College World Series that year.
• Berg and former head coach Kirk Walker (1995-2012) are the only head coaches in program history to reach the NCAA Tournament.
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KNOW WHAT IT TAKES:
• Oregon State's coaching staff is no stranger when it comes to the NCAA Tournament and WCWS.
• Both Berg and Green played at Fresno State in the '90s and gained plenty of experience in the path to the WCWS.
• Coach Berg played from 1994-95 and 1997-98 making it to the WCWS three times and won the national championship in '98.
• Coach Green played from 1990-93 and appeared in three WCWS, including a runner-up finish in 1990.
• Volunteer assistant coach Hannah Akamine made the WCWS as the catcher for Tennessee in its 2013 runner-up finish.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
For more information on the Oregon State softball team, visit OSUBeavers.com or follow the team @BeaverSoftball on Twitter and Instagram.
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
• Oregon State returns to the field in 2019 with a trip to Tempe, Ariz., to compete in the 2019 Kajikawa Classic.
• This will mark the ninth trip to the desert that the Beavers have taken in the last 10 years.
• Opponents include members from the Big Sky, Big West, Mid-American, Southeastern and Western Atlantic conferences.
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Friday, February 8
Oregon State vs. CSUN - 11:30 p.m. PT
TSC Field 2, Tempe, Ariz.
Oregon State vs. Weber State - 2 p.m. PT
TSC Field 2, Tempe, Ariz.
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Saturday, February 9
Oregon State vs. Seattle - 8:30 a.m. PT
Farrington Stadium, Tempe, Ariz. – Pac-12 Networks
Oregon State vs. Missouri - 1:30 p.m. PT
TSC Field 1, Tempe, Ariz.
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Sunday, February 10
Oregon State vs. Western Michigan - 8 a.m.
TSC FIeld 1, Tempe, Ariz.
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FOLLOW THE BEAVS:
• Oregon State's contest against Seattle will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Oregon, Pac-12 Arizona and Pac-12 Now with Anne Marie Anderson and Amanda Freed on the call.
• Live stats will be available this weekend through Statbroadcaster.com
• Links to live stats and video will be available on the softball schedule page at OSUBeavers.com
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TICKETS ON SALE NOW:
• Tickets for Oregon State's 12-home games are on sale now at BeaverTickets.com/softball.
• Season tickets are available for $50 for adults and $30 for youth and seniors. Single game tickets can be purchased at $7 for adults and $5 for youth.
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2019 SCHEDULE:
• The non-conference portion of Oregon State's 2019 schedule features a gauntlet of games over the course of five-tournaments and two non-conference games.
• OSU opens the season with the Kajikawa Classic for the ninth time in 10 years. Missouri is the only opponent to make a 2018 NCAA Regional appearance out-of-five.
• The Stacy Winsberg Tournament in Long Beach, Calif. features two 2018 NCAA Regional teams, Long Beach State and Ole Miss.
• The Beavers will head to Norman, Okla. to face 2018 WCWS participant, Oklahoma, and NCAA Regional qualifier Louisiana in a four-game bout on March 1-2.
• Oregon State will also make appearances at the UOP Libby Matson Tournament and LMU Tournament before finishing out the non-conference schedule with a double-header at Portland State.
• The conference portion features six opponents that made varying finishes in the 2018 NCAA Tournament:
   - Cal - made it to regionals.
   - Arizona - ended 2018 in the super regionals.
   - Arizona State, UCLA and Oregon - made the WCWS.
   - Washington - 2018 WCWS Runner-Up.
• In total, Oregon State will face 11 opponents from the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
• 14 opponents finished with a top-100 RPI in 2018, 10 opponents had a top-50 RPI, eight had a top-25 RPI and five had a top-10 RPI.
• Oregon State will face nine opponents ranked/receiving votes on the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll and 11 opponents ranked/receiving votes on teh USA Today/NFCA Coaches preseason poll.
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2018 YEAR IN REVIEW:
• Oregon State finished the 2018 season with a 30-28 record and a NCAA Regional berth for the third-consecutive season.
• The Beavers dropped the first game of the regional to Wisconsin, 9-3, before making a comeback by taking down Middle Tennessee, 4-0, and Wisconsin, 5-1. The Beavers bowed out of the regional with a loss to No. 12 Alabama.
• OSU landed three 2019 returners to the All-Pac-12 Teams as Mariah Mazon earned a spot on the third team and Camryn Ybarra earned All-Defensive honors. Both of them, along with Missy Nunes earned All-Freshman honors.
• Mazon led the charge for the Beavers in the circle pitching 191.0 innings, struck out 141 batters and finishing the season with a 2.90 ERA.
• Meehra Nelson finished her junior campaign pitching 153.2 innings in 31 appearances while striking out 127 batters and holding the lowest ERA for the Beavers, 2.51.
• Jessica Garcia ended the year with a .297 average on 55 hits, three doubles and two triples. Garcia added 20 runs for the Beavers and stole 11 bases.
• Shelby Weeks finished 2018 with a .290 average while scoring the most runs for OSU (30).
• Nunes leads OSU returns with 20 RBIs, eight doubles and six homeruns. She also holds a .412 slugging percentage with a .250 batting average.
• Ybarra started in 53 games as a freshman, all at second base adding a .226 batting average with 14 RBIs, five doubles and three homeruns while adding a .977 fielding percentage.
• Three Beavers etched their way into the OSU Single-Season records during the 2018 campaign: Weeks ranks first in stolen bases (22), Nunes is tied for fifth for most hit-by-pitch (12) and Mazon tied for fifth for most saves (5).
• Weeks and Garcia cemented themselves into OSU's Career records a combined six times following the 2018 season. Weeks ranks sixth in batting average (.331), tied for eighth in runs scored (102), tenth in singles (140) and fourth in stolen bases (43). Garcia is tied for eighth in triples (8) and sixth in stolen bases (34).
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2019 OUTLOOK:
• The Beavers were picked to tie for fifth in the Pac-12 Preseason Poll along with receiving votes from both the ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA Coaches preseason polls.
• Along with Garcia, Mazon, Nelson, Nunes, Weeks and Ybarra, the Beavers return 13 total letterwinners and seven starters from 2018.
• Kayleen Shafer returns to her spot behind the plate as she caught 49 games in 2018 and ended with a .983 fielding percentage.
• Michelle Sass saw extended action in 2018 with time in 47 games, making 39 starts in either the outfield or at second base.
• Nerissa Eason also returns to the circle for her junior season after making 17 appearances with 10 starts, compiling 27 strikeouts in 51.1 innings pitched for a 2-0 record.
• Oregon State will have plenty of depth on the bench as Chance Burden, Sara Lillie and Fallon Molnar all return with playing time in 2018.
• Eight newcomers will grace the roster as Karla Calderon, Abby Fischer, Payton Goodrich, Frankie Hammoude, Bailey McLaughlin, Izzy Owen, Ashton Phillips and Maia Rader join the 2018 squad.
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COACHING PROFILES:
• Head coach Laura Berg hung up her cleats after nearly 20-years of playing softball and spent a year with the LAPD in 2010-11 before returning to the game as an assistant coach for the 2012 season at Oregon State.
• Berg enters her seventh season at the helm of the Oregon State program, recording four NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Berg holds a 166-156-1 overall record and is 45-94 in Pac-12 play.
• Associate head coach Marcie Green also has experience with law enforcement. Green studied criminology at Fresno State and spent five years as a prison guard at Corcoran State Prison in California following graduation before starting to coach.
• Assistant coach Eric Leyba joins the staff after stints with the Northwest Bullets and being the head coach at Churchill High School for the past 15 years.
• Volunteer Assistant Coach Hannah Akamine is also new to the coaching staff, but not the Orange and Black. Akamine played for Berg and Green in 2015 as the starting catcher for the Beavers.
• Heather Smith also returns for her 18th season as Director of Operations.
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NCAA TOURNAMENT:
• The 2018 season marked the fourth time the Beavers reached the NCAA Tournament under the direction of head coach Laura Berg, as well as the 13th time in program history.
• The Beavers are 30-22 all-time in their 13 tournament appearances following two wins and two losses at the Tuscaloosa Regional in 2018.
• The last time OSU won a regional was in 2006 when it played Nevada and No. 19 Baylor twice. OSU went on to play in the Women's College World Series that year.
• Berg and former head coach Kirk Walker (1995-2012) are the only head coaches in program history to reach the NCAA Tournament.
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KNOW WHAT IT TAKES:
• Oregon State's coaching staff is no stranger when it comes to the NCAA Tournament and WCWS.
• Both Berg and Green played at Fresno State in the '90s and gained plenty of experience in the path to the WCWS.
• Coach Berg played from 1994-95 and 1997-98 making it to the WCWS three times and won the national championship in '98.
• Coach Green played from 1990-93 and appeared in three WCWS, including a runner-up finish in 1990.
• Volunteer assistant coach Hannah Akamine made the WCWS as the catcher for Tennessee in its 2013 runner-up finish.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
For more information on the Oregon State softball team, visit OSUBeavers.com or follow the team @BeaverSoftball on Twitter and Instagram.
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
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