Beavers Head to San Diego
Let’s Play Ball:
The Oregon State softball team (26-25, 6-18 Pac-12) closes out its regular season this week when it heads south to take on San Diego State (35-18, 18-6 Mountain West) in a nonconference two-game set. Game one will be played Friday at 6 p.m. with Saturday’s game slated to start at noon.
Follow Along:
Live video for both of this weekend’s games will be available online via the Mountain West Network. A link to the live stream, as well as to live stats, can be found on the schedule page of OSUBeavers.com. Updates for all thing Oregon State softball can be found on twitter @OregonStateSB.
Give Me Gilmore:
Senior Dani Gilmore is close to wrapping up one of the best careers in Oregon State history, and her outstanding play has continued this season as she is leading the team with a .366 batting average and 10 home runs, while continuing to do outstanding defensive work in center field. The senior is slugging a team-best .665 through 51 games this season, and is tied for third in Oregon State history with 16 doubles already this year. Gilmore needs just one more double to tie the all-time record.
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 .344. Gilmore moved into the Oregon State career lead with 171 career runs earlier this year, and is one of 10 players in OSU history to reach the 200 career hit mark. Gilmore has also built on her impressive walks total, extending her control of second all-time with 126. Gilmore sits sixth in OSU history with 38 career doubles and is tied for third with 35 career home runs.
Everetting:
Freshman Alysha Everett has been on a tear over the last few weekends, hitting .343 over the Beavers’ last 11 games. All 12 of Everett’s hits during that span have been base knocks, and her knack for getting on base has helped her move up to the second spot in the batting order.
Manewa Mashing:
Junior Mikela Manewa has been hitting the ball well over the last few weeks, hitting .344 with five homers this season. The Kapolei, Hawaii, native has also stolen six bases on the year, and has scored 34 runs.
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 14 pitches this season, tying the third-highest total in school history. Akamine sits five short of the OSU record. The top three spots on the Oregon State all-time list are held by Desiree Beltran (2011-13).
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 six 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.
Keeping it Fresh:
Three Oregon State freshman have earned valuable playing time this season, becoming consistent features of the Beavers’ starting lineup. Alysha Everett has batted .326 while starting 27 games as OSU’s designated player. McKenna Arriola has started every game at shortstop, and leads the team with seven steals. Left fielder Lovie Lopez hit a grand slam and a triple against Washington last week, and has made 45 starts.
ARRIOLA GOES INTERNATIONAL:
McKenna Arriola has been named to the USA Junior National team for competition this summer. The freshman joins a group of 10 Pac-12 players that will part of this year’s roster. The team will participate in training camp in early June, before heading to Irvine, Calif. for the World Cup of Softball, which begins on June 29. Arriola is not the only Beaver with international experience, as Dani Gilmore also competed for the Philippines last summer, and head coach Laura Berg has continued her illustrious international career on the field by serving as an assistant coach for Team USA.
Slamming Sammi:
Sammi Noland has made a splash in her first year with the Beavers. The transfer is tied for second on the team with eight home runs and leads the team with 40 RBI. She is hitting .316 on the year, good for fourth on the team.
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.
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.
