Friday, April 20
No. 13 Oregon State (33-13; 5-3) vs. No. 3 Arizona (31-8; 7-1) - 7 p.m.
(Hillenbrand Stadium - Tucson, AZ)
Saturday, April 21
No. 13 Oregon State vs. No. 7 Arizona State (39-10; 5-3) - 7 p.m.
(Farrington Stadium - Tempe, AZ)
Sunday, April 22
No. 13 Oregon State vs. No. 7 Arizona State - 1 p.m.
(Farrington Stadium - Tempe, AZ)
TV TIME: Two of Oregon State’s three games this week will be televised nationally. Friday’s game at University of Arizona will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on FSN with Cara Capuano and Angie Mentink making the call. The game will air on FSN Northwest cable channel 34 on Sunday at 4 p.m. ESPN2 will air Sunday’s 1 p.m. match-up with Arizona State live with Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza (sister of former Beaver second baseman Alana Mendoza (2002-05)) providing the commentary.
BEAVER NATION ONLINE: Friday’s game between Arizona and Oregon State can be viewed live via the internet and Beaver Nation Online. Both the Wildcats and Beavers partner with XOS Technology for web-hosting and audio/visual service. The feed will be courtesy of Arizona’s stadium video.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES REMATCH: This week’s games between Oregon State and the Arizona schools pit the Beavers against both of their opponents in the 2006 NCAA Women’s College World Series. The Beavers dropped a 3-2 9-inning decision to the eventual national champion Wildcats in the June 1 WCWS opener. Oregon State returned to WCWS action only to be eliminated from competition after suffering a 3-1 loss to Arizona State on June 3.
SUCCESS IN THE CIRCLE: Oregon State senior pitcher holds a 3-3 all-time record in games against University of Arizona - as a team, OSU has only 10 wins in the 82-game series history against the Wildcats.
SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT: Oregon State’s senior class of , , , and became the first group of Beaver seniors to record at least one victory in four straight seasons against the storied UCLA softball program. OSU’s 7-0 victory against the Bruins on April 13 was the largest margin of victory for Oregon State against UCLA in the 80-game series history and marked the ninth time that the Beavers came out on top.
IN THE CLASSROOM; ON THE FIELD; IN THE COMMUNITY: Oregon State senior pitcher is currently one of 20 finalists for the nation’s premier award for NCAA senior student athletes - the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. The award recognizes those athletes that excel on the field of play, in the classroom, and in the community. McElroy currently leads the Beavers with a 1.41 ERA and holds an 11-6 overall record. An honor student in the College of Business, the Los Angeles native is actively involved in a number of community service projects, including working with major league baseball’s RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) program.
SETTING THE STANDARD: Oregon State senior pitcher has broken three career pitching records already this season - Wins, Shutouts, and Strikeouts. McGowan became OSU’s all-time wins and shutouts leader on April 1 after a 6-0 victory over University of California. The Reno, NV, native broke the strikeouts record in Oregon State’s commanding 7-0 victory over No. 14 UCLA on April 13. The 6-2 hurler enters the week with 95 career victories, 35 shutouts, and 813 strikeouts.
MIA’S COUNTDOWN CONTINUES: Oregon State senior shortstop needs just five hits to break the Beavers’ all-time record of 225 held by Jodi Chmielewski (1996-99). Longfellow also needs only five more singles to break Chmielewski’s record of 176. The 5-1 speedster already holds the OSU school record for stolen bases (52) and ranks second all-time in runs scored (126) and sacrifice hits (43).
“C” DOES IT ALL: Oregon State junior utility player leads the Beavers with 40 RBI (currently 5th place on the single season charts) and 39 runs scored (currently tied for 5th on the single season charts). Miranda also leads the team in batting average (.348), hits (49), doubles (9), triples (6), home runs (8), slugging percentage (.667) and on-base percentage (.446).
BEST PITCHING AND BEST DEFENSE IN THE PAC-10: Oregon State enters the week leading the Pacific-10 Conference in fielding percentage (.978) and ERA (1.47). The Beavers rank 3rd in the nation for fielding percentage and 13th in the country for ERA.
BASEPATH DOMINANCE: Oregon State has 74 stolen bases on the season - a new program record, breaking the old mark of 70 swipes set in 2005. The Beavers have 12 different players on the roster with at least one stolen base on the year and senior leads the team with 16 swipes in 17 attempts. Johnson’s 16 steals on the season rank in a tie for 2nd place in the OSU record book - fellow senior holds the single season stolen bases record with 18, set in 2005.
THE WORD ON WALKER: Head coach is in his 13th season at the helm for the Beavers. Walker, a graduate of UCLA, has turned around Oregon State’s softball program to make it a contender on a national scale. Walker has led the Beavers to eight consecutive NCAA Regional Tournament appearances and guided the squad to its first ever berth in the NCAA Women’s College World Series in 2006. The winningest coach in program history, Walker, has an overall coaching record of 454-337-3 and a 96-192 mark in the Pacific-10 Conference. Walker guided the 2005 Beavers to a share of the Pacific-10 Conference title and earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career. Walker and his staff were honored as the Speedline Pacific Region Coaching Staff of the Year after their efforts in 2005. He earned his 400th career victory last season when Oregon State rallied for a 2-1 8-inning win against BYU in the home opener on Mar. 25, 2006. Walker was selected as one of just 12 coaches named to the USA Softball National Team Coaches Pool, and serves as an assistant coach for the USA Elite Team. Prior to his arrival at Oregon State, Walker spent 11 seasons at national powerhouse UCLA as a manager and assistant coach. During his time in Westwood, the Bruins won six NCAA titles and made 10 appearances in the College World Series.
