Beavers Take on Utes in Weekend Series
Let’s Play Ball:
The Beavers continue Pac-12 play this weekend as they welcome the Utah Utes for a home series at the OSU Softball Complex.
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.
Know Your History:
The Beavers have a 13-12 series history against the Utes, with the first game between the teams in 1983. Oregon State holds a 5-4 advantage against Utah since the Utes joined the Pac-12 conference.
A Look at Utah:
The Utes are coming off of a series victory over the California golden Bears, winning 8-6 and 12-10 before dropping the series finale 4-1. Katie Dickman leads the team in average (.440), runs score (35), doubles (14), triples (2), home runs (6), total bases (91), On-base percentage (.514) and slugging percentage (.728). As a team the Utes are hitting .281 with a .414 slugging percentage. Katie Donovan leads the pitchers, throwing 134 innings. She has a 2.51 ERA with a 10-6 record while holding opponents to a .227 batting average. The Utah pitchers have a 2.75 ERA overall with 199 strikeouts over 272 innings.
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 weekend series against Pac-12 opponents. She leads the Beavers with a .688 slugger percentage and 12 RBI in that stretch. She now has 19 career home runs and 62 RBI, in 73 career games.
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. Gilmore leads the team with a .393 average in 2015 and has already matched her 8 home runs from 2014. Her slugging percentage of .713 and 13 doubles also both lead the team.
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. Hitting .355 on the year, good for second on the team, Noland holds a team leading .303 batting average during Pac-12 play.
Transferring In:
After bringing in CJ Chirichigno and Kori Nishitomi for the 2014 season, the Beavers added another group of impressive transfers for 2015. Sammi Noland and Hannah Akamine both transferred from four-year schools while Bev Miller and Mikela Manewa join the team from the Junior College route. The Foursome has proven to be vital to the Beavers in 2015. The three hitters have accounted for 30 percent of the runs and 34 percent of the hits for the offense in 2015.
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 38 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.
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.
Miller In the Circle:
Bev Miller has been the go-to arm for the Beavers in 2015, appearing in 27 games, starting 29 and completing 21 of those starts. She holds a 3.23 ERA and an 15-9 record. She has thrown 156 of the total 229.1 innings pitched for the Beavers. Miller has 97 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .250 batting average. She’s thrown three shutouts on the year, including a no-hitter Feb. 26 against UC Santa Barbara.
Akamine Earns Pac-12 Player of the Week After Beavers Sweep at Fresno State Tournament:
Hannah Akamine was named Pac-12 player of the week after spearheadin0g 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
Keep it Fresh: Oregon State welcomes 6 freshmen to the team, with hitters Alysha Everett, McKenna Arriola, Lovie Lopez and Gina Bond, along with utility 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.
