CORVALLIS, Ore. – Following the first of three consecutive weekends in California, the Oregon State softball team will return to the Golden State for six at the always-competitive Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City.
Opponent Day/Time Stats/Stream
Wisconsin Feb. 22/11:30 a.m. StatBroadcast/FloSoftball
Bethune-Cookman Feb. 22/2:30 p.m. StatBroadcast/FloSoftball
UCF Feb. 23/8:30 p.m. StatBroadcast/FloSoftball
Notre Dame Feb. 24/Noon StatBroadcast/FloSoftball
Tennessee Feb. 24/2:30 p.m. StatBroadcast/FloSoftball
Northwestern Feb. 25/9 a.m. StatBroadcast/FloSoftball
Leading Off
• Oregon State heads to southern California for the first of two consecutive weekend trips for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
• The Beavs will meet Wisconsin, Bethune-Cookman, UCF, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Northwestern in Cathedral City this week.
•OSU bested Bethune-Cookman by a 9-1 margin in a run-rule shortened win in the season opener.
•We’ll have a rematch of the 2022 NCAA Knoxville, Tenn. Regional when the Beavs and Tennessee Lady Vols meet on the 24th.
• Wisconsin and Northwestern will mark the second and third opponents from the Big Ten, respectively, so far in 2024. OSU met Michigan in the finale of the USF Invitational two weeks ago.
By the Numbers
2: This is the second of three consecutive trips to California. Last week, OSU competed in the Fresno State Invitational and will be in Fullerton next week.
2: OSU had two – Madi Simon (Puerto Rico; silver) and Grace Messmer (Canada; bronze) – medal in the fall’s Pan-American games in Chile.
3: Garcia was one of three in the Pac-12 to have an unblemished 0.00 ERA after the opening weekend.
5: OSU had two five-run innings in the first weekend: in the neutral win over Bethune-Cookman and the road win at USF.
15.2: Garcia went 15.2 frames of action before yielding her first run of the season. The streak snapped in the sixth against Saint Mary’s (Calif.).
16: The Beavers are in the midst of playing 16 consecutive games in the Pacific Time Zone. In the final month-plus of the season, they’ll have 19 straight in PT.
21: Logan Hulon (11) and Ellie Garcia (10) combined to retire 21 by strikes in the first weekend of ’24.
Making Our Way To The Mary Nutter
• The Beavers will be participating in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic again, continuing in the tournament since the 2004 season.
• Oregon State has taken part in the event in each season of the Berg era.
The Opposition
• Oregon State will face a bevy of tough opponents in Cathedral City
• OSU will face Wisconsin for the 12th time in history and first time since 2018. The Beavs are 3-1 over the Badgers under the direction of Coach Berg.
• The Beavers and Bethune-Cookman will meet for the second time this season. OSU took a 9-1 win in the season opener.
• Oregon State and UCF will meet for the second time ever and first since the 2012 campaign, a
2-1 OSU win in San Diego.
• The Beavs and Notre Dame will meet for the ninth time in history and first since a 3-2 OSU win in 2012. OSU also leads the series by a 6-2 margin.
• Oregon State and Tennessee will meet for the fifth time since 2022, where the Beavs and Lady Vols met in the Nutter Classic and again in the Knoxville, Tenn. regional. Tennessee holds a slim 8-7series lead but the Beavs have taken three of the last four.
• The Lady Vols mark the second SEC opponent for Oregon State in 2024, joining Florida. Last year, the Beavs met LSU and Missouri in Baton Rouge, La. and Cathedral City, respectively.
• Meeting for the 27th time and fourth in the Berg era, OSU and Northwestern will meet for the first time since 2016.
Sister, Sister (x2)
•The Beavs have two pairs of sisters on the team: Abby and Paige Doerr of Coburg, Ore., and Deja and Tiara Westbrook of Arcadia, Calif.
Select Few Sisters
• Both Doerrs collected a hit in the 7-1 win at South Florida. The Coburg natives are one of just four sets of sisters in Division I softball to both have hits in the same game this season.
• Paige’s third inning double down the right field line was the first of her collegiate career, which also came in her debut. One at-bat later, she crossed home for the first time off Savanah Whatley’ssingle.
We Know a Few From Fresno State
• Coach Berg starred for the Bulldogs as a student-athlete, leading Fresno State to a national championship from three WCWS trips.
• Coach Green also played a big role for FS in her playing days. She went to the WCWS three times and finished as a national runner-up before joining the staff as an assistant.
Tough Tests Early and Often
• Off Softball America‘s preseason poll, OSU has 17 games against seven schools in the initial top 25. The Beavers will play: #2 Tennessee, #4 Stanford (3), #10 UCLA (3), #13 Utah (3), #16 Oregon (3), #22 Washington (3) and #24 Florida.
Beaver Staff Notes
• Beaver fans will see a mix of familiar and new faces inside the dugout this season.
• Marcie Green makes her return to Oregon State where she will lead the pitching staff. She was previously in Corvallis from 2013-2022 where she capped it off with a trip to the Women’s CollegeWorld Series in her final season.
• Working primarily with the fielders and hitters, Matt Lisle joins Berg’s staff with years of experience in college softball, baseball and even Major League Baseball.
• Starting his journey from student manager in 2018, Dominic Garcia enters his first year as a member of the coaching staff. The Beaver alumnus worked his way up to head student manager to video coordinator last season and will oversee player development, technology and data.
• Entering her third year with the program is Sarah Hoechlin, who serves as the Director of Operations. The OSU alumna spent two years as a student manager before a stint with the Corvallis Knights.
Nine New Faces Join the Dam
• The Beavers welcomed nine new student-athletes, two transfers and seven freshmen.
• Hulon (Texas) and Deja Westbrook (Cal Baptist) came via the transfer portal to Corvallis.
• Alysa Del Val, Doerr, Leah Mays, Kaylee Oh, Taverli Tennant, Tiara Westbrook and Ashley Wolfe all are freshmen.
Softball America Accolades
• Kiki Escobar was tabbed by the publication as the sixth-best second baseman in their preseason rankings.
• In their Top 100 List, she was ranked 95th while Sarah Haendiges placed a few spots ahead at 87th.
OUR MISSIONOregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS)
