Friday, May 18
Oregon State vs. Louisville - 1:30 p.m. PDT
No. 9 seed Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan - 4 p.m. PDT
ALL GAMES WILL BE PLAYED AT ALUMNI FIELD
-ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN-
Tournament is double elimination and will run through May 20
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- Radio broadcast will air on KTHH (990 AM) as well as on for FREE through Beaver Nation Online
- Follow the five Beaver seniors on their quest for a national championship through daily blogs -
BEAVERS IN NCAA REGIONAL ACTION: Oregon State is making its ninth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament and is looking to advance to the College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., for the second straight year. The Beavers reached the NCAA WCWS for the first time in program history in 2006. OSU has a 23-14 all-time Regional Tournament record. The Beavers have reached the tournament championship game in six appearances (1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006).
BACK TO MICHIGAN: Oregon State’s five seniors - , , , and - all competed in the Ann Arbor Regional as freshman in 2004. The Beavers battled severe thunderstorms and “tornadic conditions” in their quest for a berth in the Women’s College World Series. Along the way, Oregon State defeated Monica Abbott’s Tennessee team and fought their way through the loser’s bracket to face host Michigan in the championship. Beaver first baseman hit a seventh inning home run to break a scoreless tie and force a decisive championship contest against the Wolverines. The teams started the second game of the day with OSU’s Kelly Petersen hitting a first inning home run before the contest was called because of weather. When the teams returned to action the following day, Michigan rallied back to earn a 5-2 victory and garner a berth in the WCWS.
BEAVERS AGAINST THE FIELD: Here is a quick breakdown of Oregon State’s record against the tournament field:
-Oregon State has faced first round opponent University of Louisville on just one previous occasion with the Cardinals earning a 5-2 victory on Feb. 12, 2004 at the UNLV Desert Classic. Louisville enters postseason play with a 36-23 record. The Cardinals defeated Notre Dame to claim the BIG EAST Conference Tournament title on May 12. Four players on the team are batting over .300 with Audrey Rendon’s .370 (80-for-216) clip from the plate leading the way. Louisville uses a three pitcher rotation with Kristen Wadwell, Kassie Stanfill and Catherine Bishop all seeing significant playing time.
-Oregon State holds a 1-5 all-time record against No. 9 seed and tournament host University of Michigan (43-11). The Beavers and Wolverines last met in the deciding championship game of the 2004 Ann Arbor Regional. Michigan earned a 5-2 victory to garner a berth in the NCAA Women’s College World Series.
-Oregon State has never faced Eastern Michigan (27-20).
PAC-10 POSTSEASON: All eight Pacific-10 Conference teams reached the 2007 NCAA Regional Tournament - marking the ninth straight season that at least seven of the eight conference teams reached the postseason. In 2006, seven squads advanced to the Super Regional round, with four teams (Oregon State, Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA) advancing to the Women’s College World Series. Last year marked the 23rd time in 25 years that the Pac-10 sent at least one team to the WCWS championship game. The Pac-10 has won 18 NCAA softball championships since 1982 - more than any other conference.
ONE MORE FOR 40: Oregon State needs just one victory to register a 40-win season. The Beavers have recorded 40 or more wins in seven of the last eight years.
KEEP THE BATS ALIVE: Oregon State rides a three-game winning streak into Friday’s NCAA Regional Tournament game against University of Louisville. Over the past three outings, the Beavers scored 27 runs and tallied 31 hits.
WHAT TO WATCH: Senior - Oregon State’s all-time leader in hits, singles, and stolen bases - is closing in on three more all-time marks. Here is where Longfellow stands heading into postseason play.
-Needs seven at-bats to break the school record of 770, held by (2003-06)
-Needs seven runs scored to break the school record of 141, held by (2003-06)
-Needs six sacrifices to break the school record of 52, held by Linda Delaney (1981-85)
POSTSEASON DOMINANCE: Oregon State senior has made 14 pitching appearances in postseason play. McGowan boasts a career 8-5 postseason record with 101 strikeouts in 89.2 innings of work. The 6-2 hurler pitched all 57.1 innings of last season’s postseason run and berth in the Women’s College World Series. Junior utility player has also excelled in her first two postseason appearances. Miranda holds a .419 (18-for-43) batting average and has scored 11 runs in 13 postseason games.
THEY ARE JUST SO GOOD: Junior is the only player in Oregon State history to score 40 or more runs in back-to-back seasons. Miranda finished the 2006 campaign with a school record 52 runs and enters the week with 47 runs scored on the year. Senior has tallied 50 or more hits in all four years of her career. Longfellow matched the Oregon State single game record for hits after a perfect 4-for-4 effort from the plate against No. 16 Stanford on May 12. She also tied the school single game record with four runs scored against the Cardinal and earned her first career Pac-10 Player of the Week honors.
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 460-345-3 and a 101-199 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.
