Beavers Head South to Take on Sun Devils
Let’s Play Ball:
The Oregon State softball team (23-17, 4-11 Pac-12) heads south this week for a series against No. 21/21 Arizona State (27-15, 5-6) in Tempe. The teams will open the weekend with a Friday evening game, which will begin at 7 p.m. That contest will be followed by another 7 p.m. contest on Saturday and a noon game on Sunday.
Follow Along:
All three of this weekend’s games will be streamed live online. You can find a link to the video feed on the schedule page of OSUBeavers.com, as well as a link to live stats. For updates on all things Oregon State softball, follow us on twitter @OregonStateSB.
Last Year vs. The Sun Devils:
Oregon State earned its biggest series win of last season against No. 5/7 Arizona State. The Beavers opened the weekend with a 3-2 win over the Sun Devils, before taking a 3-1 victory in the series’ rubber game. Kori Nishitomi posted an outstanding weekend, going 6-for-10 with a home run, a triple and three runs scored.
Manewa Mashing:
Junior Mikela Manewa has been hitting the ball well over the last few weeks, going 7-for-18 to record a .389 batting average over the past two series. The Kapolei, Hawaii, native has also hit two home runs and stolen a pair of bases over that stretch. Overall, Manewa is hitting .345 in her debut season with the Beavers, after transferring in from the College of Southern Nevada in the fall. She has hit five home runs this season, and is leading the team with 20 walks.
Taking One For The Team:
Senior catcher Hannah Akamine is making her way into the Oregon State record book in a painful category, having been hit by 13 pitches this season, the fourth-highest total in school history. Akamine has been plunked more times than any player in the conference, and sits six short of the OSU record. The top three spots on the Oregon State all-time list are held by Desiree Beltran (2011-13).
It’s Hampton Time:
After missing all of the 2014 season and the start of the 2015 campaign due to injury, resdhirt sophomore Natalie Hampton is getting back to her hitting ways this season. Hampton has four home runs and 14 RBI in 18 games this year, and will look to add to those numbers this week in Tempe.
Give Me Gilmore:
Senior Dani Gilmore has continued her fantastic collegiate career this season, leading the team with a .369 batting average and eight home runs, while continuing to do outstanding defensive work in center field. The senior is slugging a team-best .669 through 40 games this season, and is tied for ninth in Oregon State history with 13 doubles already this year.
More Gilmore:
Gilmore has made her way into the Oregon State career record books, as she closes in on the end of her senior campaign. She entered the season with a .336 career batting average, good for fifth in school history, and has continued to improve that number, moving up to .343. Gilmore moved into the Oregon State career lead with 162 career runs earlier this year, and broke into the top-10 in hits this week at 198. She will aim to become the 10th hitter in school history with 200 career hits this weekend. Gilmore has also built on her impressive walks total, extending her control of second all-time with 117.
Miller Time:
Bev Miller has been the go-to arm for the Beavers in 2015, appearing in 30 games, starting 32 and completing 23 of those starts. Miller started all three games for Oregon State against Utah last weekend, completing two of them before pitching more than six innings on Sunday. She leads the Pac-12 with 176.1 innings pitched this season, and sits fourth in the conference with 115 strikeouts. Miller has a 3.41 ERA on the seeason, and has tallied 15 wins. She’s thrown three shutouts on the year, including a no-hitter Feb. 26 against UC Santa Barbara.
Transferring In:
Oregon State has brought in some valuable transfers over the past two seasons, as the Beaver coaching staff searches the nation for outstanding talent. OSU typically starts six players who have transferred into the program in the last two seasons, and four of the team’s five leaders in batting average are transfers (Manewa, Noland, Chirichigno and Akamine). Beaver ace Beverly Miller also transferred into the program this season, and leads the team in every meaningful pitching category.
Slamming Sammi:
Sammi Noland has made a splash in her first year with the Beavers. The transfer is second on the team with seven home runs and leads the team with 34 RBI. She is hitting .331 on the year, good for third on the team.
Big Time Offense
The Beavers have been able to put runs together in bunches this season. When OSU is able to put a runner on third and less than 2 outs they have 57 RBI in 99 chances. The team is 118-for-350 with runners in scoring position. The team has a .327 batting average (97-for-295) with two outs to go along with 87 2-out-RBI. Sammi Noland leads the team with 20 2-out-RBI while Dani Gilmore has 13. They also start the inning strong, holding a .389 on base percentage (98-for-252) with the lead off batter of an inning.
Akamine Named Pac-12 Player of the Week:
Hannah Akamine was named Pac-12 player of the week after spearheading the offensive efforts for the team when the Beavers took a 5-0 sweep at the Fresno State Louisville Slugger Bash Feb. 28-March 1. The senior hit 8-for-14 for a .571 batting average, scoring seven runs and driving in nine with two doubles and a home run. Akamine is hitting .368 with a .561 slugging percentage in her first year with Oregon State. The transfer from Tennessee has now been named a player of the week for the SEC and the Pac-12.
Quick Start:
The Beavers are slated to play 54 games during the 2015 season. The team played nearly half of those games (25) in the first five weeks of the season. They had six games during the opening weekend at Kajikawa and then five games a week for the following three weeks while playing at San Diego State, Mary Nutter, and Fresno State. The team then played four games at Hawaii. The Beavers finished the 25 game non-conference schedule with a 19-6 record. The Beavers scored 187 runs while holding opponents to 106. The Beavers slugged .509, with 48 doubles, 4 triples and 23 home runs while opponents were held to a .366 slugging percentage.
It Aint Easy:
Oregon State faces a tough slate yet again in 2015. The Beavers will play 24 games against 11 opponents that played in the 2014 tournament, including Wisconsin in the first week of the season, two games against North Dakota State and facing Pac-12 foes Arizona, and UCLA in Corvallis and ASU, Oregon and Washington on the road.
Do Some (Pac-12) Networking:
Oregon State will have 13 games televised on Pac-12 Networks this season, the same number that they had a year ago. Oregon State will make its 2015 TV debut on March 14, when it takes on Oregon in Eugene. The second two games in the series will be televised, as the two squads will go head-to-head March 13-15
Keep it Fresh:
Oregon State welcomes 6 freshmen to the team, with hitters Alysha Everett, McKenna Arriola, Lovie Lopez and Gina Bond, along with uility player Heidi Hall and pitcher Rainey Dyreson.
