Softball Hosts DAM Cancer Series
Let’s Play Ball:
The Beavers welcome the Wildcats of Arizona for a 3 game series this weekend. With games Thursday, April 2 and Friday, April 3 both starting at 3 p.m. and the series finale on Saturday set for a noon start. The weekend with be the annual DAM Cancer series for OSU softball.
The annual DAM Cancer series is sponsored by the Corvallis Clinic. The Corvallis Clinic Foundation’s Project H.E.R. stands for Help, Enlightenment, and Resources. The program provides awareness, education, and support for all women – from the time of a breast cancer diagnosis through survivorship. If you know someone who could benefit from Project H.E.R. contact the Corvallis Clinic or visit their website at www.corvallisclinic.com.
Follow Along:
You can find live updates for all Oregon State games this season on twitter @OregonStateSB. Live stats will also be available at osubeavers.com.
TV - Pac-12 Network:
All three games this weekend will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
A Look at Arizona:
The Wildcats enter the weekend with a 28-9 record overall and a 3-3 record in Pac-12 play. They are hitting .366 as a team with a .596 slugging percentage along with a 39-for-39 stolen base record. Kellie Fox leads the team with a .411 average, followed by Chelsea Suitos with a .400 average. Katiyana Mauga leads the team with 15 home runs and a .846 Slugging percentage. Chelsea Goodacre is not far behind Mauga with 13 homers and a .734 slugging percentage. Suitos leads the team with a perfect 12-for-12 stolen base record, while Ashleigh Hughes and Eva Watson both have a 7-for-7 record entering the weekend. In the circle the Wildcats have a 3.53 ERA, with Michelle Floyd leading the way at 2.70 over 114 innings. Floyd leads the team with a 16-5 record. The pitching staff has held opponents to a .257 batting average and a .384 slugging percentage, only allowing 59 extra base hits over 910 at-bats.
Know Your History:
The Beavers have a 15-91 series history against Arizona, with a 3-3 record under coach Berg. The Beavers took all 3 games in 2013, the last time the teams played in Corvallis.
Last Week - Beavers Close Against #17 Cal All Weekend, Take Series Finale
The series at Cal last weekend was close in all three games, with each game being decided by either 1 or 2 runs. Cal took the first game 3-1 and the second game 3-2, but OSU took the series fianle by the score of 3-1.
It’s Hampton Time: Redshirt sophomore Natalie Hampton is picking up where she left off in 2013. After missing the 2014 season and the start of 2015, the Antelope, Calif. native has home runs in each of the last three Pac-12 weekends. She leads the Beavers with a .708 slugger percentage and 10 RBI over her first 70 games of her career. She now has 18 career home runs and 60 RBI, with her historic freshman season of 15 homers and 50 RBI.
Give Me Gilmore:
Senior Dani Gilmore looks to continue her fantastic collegiate career this season after hitting .409 with 8 home runs, 38 runs and 40 RBIs in 2014. The .409 average was the fourth highest single season total in school history. The West Hills, Calif., native leads the team with a .411 average in 2015 and has already hit seven home runs. Her slugging percentage of .723 and 12 doubles also both lead the team.
Slamming Sammi:
Sammi Noland has made a splash in her first year with the Beavers. The transfer is tied for the team lead with seven home runs and leads the team with 33 RBI. Noland leads the team with a .360 batting average in Pac-12 play.
GilMORE:
Gilmore is already making her way into the Oregon State career record books. She entered the season with a .336 career batting average, good for fifth in school history, but has already improved that number. With 124 career runs to begin the 2015 season, Gilmore needed 29 run to take sole ownership of the top spot, passing Cambria Miranda (2005-08) at 152, Gilmore has already scored 37 runs on the years and now holds the top spot. Gilmore hit 27 homers in her first three seasons, putting her tied for eighth all time at OSU, She also has 30 stolen bases in her career, putting her tied for 8th all time.
Gilmore in Oregon State’s Career Records:
Miller In the Circle:
Bev Miller has been the go-to arm for the Beavers in 2015, appearing in 27 games, starting 22 and completing 20 of those starts. She holds a 3.22 ERA and an 15-8 record. She has thrown 147.2 of the total 210.1 innings pitched for the Beavers. Miller has 90 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .248 batting average. She’s thrown three shutouts on the year, including a no-hitter Feb. 26 against UC Santa Barbara. She’s earned 249 ground outs while getting 93 fly outs.
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 55 RBI in 95 chances. The team is 118-for-350 with runners in scoring position. The team has a .329 batting average (97-for-295) with two outs to go along with 87 2-out-RBI. Sammi Noland leads the team with 19 2-out-RBI while Dani Gilmore has 12. They also start the inning strong, holding a .401 on base percentage (85-for-212) 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-March1. 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
Transferring In: The Beavers welcome a number of transfer for the 2015 season. Junior college transfers Bev Miller and Mikela Manewa have both already made an impact on the team. Along with Miller and Manewa the team also adds Hannah Akamine and Sammi Noland. The team has had back-to-back years of successful transfers, with the 2014 season bringing CJ Chirichigno, Kori Nishitomi and Melanie Dembinski, who all played significant roles for the Beavers that year.
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. Arriola and Lopez have played every game for the Beavers in the first 6 weeks with Arriola batting either first or second in the order and playing shortstop.
