CORVALLIS, Ore. – Wrapping up the nonconference slate, the Oregon State softball team will venture to southern California once more to participate in the Judi Garman Classic this weekend, hosted by Cal State Fullerton.
Opponent Day/Time Stats/Stream
Michigan March 1/9:30 a.m. Statbroadcast/None
Long Beach State March 2/10 a.m. Statbroadcast/None
San Jose State March 2/3 p.m. Statbroadcast/None
Weber State March 3/9 a.m. Statbroadcast/None
Cal State Fullerton March 3/11:15 a.m. Statbroadcast/ESPN+
Leading Off
• Oregon State heads to southern California for the final time this season, appearing in the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton.
• The Beavs will meet Michigan, Long Beach State, San Jose State, Weber State and Cal State Fullerton, the hosts.
• We’ll have a rematch with Michigan, who met in the week one finale in the USF-Rawlings Invitational in Tampa
• The Wolverines will be the fourth matchup with a Big Ten opponent in ’24, following ones against Wisconsin and Northwestern.
• OSU will make two more trips to California this season, but to the Bay Area for a series against California and the Pac-12 Tournament, hosted by Stanford.
By the Numbers
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: This is the third consecutive trip to California for the Beavers. In the previous two weeks, they played in Fresno and Cathedral City.
3: Ellie Garcia and Sarah Haendiges have tossed three complete games apiece so far this season.
4: This is the Beavers’ fourth and final out-of-conference trip before they return to Kelly Field and begin Pac-12 play.
5: OSU had two five-run innings in the first weekend: the neutral win over Bethune-Cookman and the road win against South Florida.
13: Eliana Gottlieb leads the team at the dish thanks to a trio of two-hit games this season, including a four-hit day in Tampa (2/10 vs. ILST and at USF).
16: Upon completion of the Judi Garman Classic, Oregon State will have played 16 consecutive games in the state of California.
Finishing the California Swing in Fresno
• For the third weekend in a row, the Oregon State softball team will play in California, and partake in southern California for the second consecutive weekend at the Judi Garman Classic.
• Oregon State will not play in the Golden State next until wrapping up Pac-12 play at California in May.
The Opposition
• Oregon State will meet Michigan for the 11th time (and second this season) in a series the Wolverines lead by a 9-1 margin.
• OSU and Long Beach State will play for the 17th time in history and the seventh time under the direction of Berg.
• The Beavers and San Jose State will meet for the first time since 2016 in a series that OSU leads by a 12-3 margin.
• Meeting for the second year in a row and seventh time overall, the Beavs will meet Weber State in a series that’s split evenly.
• Leading the host Titans by a 14-11 margin, OSU and Cal State Fullerton will meet for the second consecutive year after the 2023 edition of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
Busy Beavers on the Basepaths
• Oregon State has swiped a lot of bases so far in 2024.
• As a team, the Beavs are 14-of-15 (93.3%) in chances with Kiki Escobar and Madi Simon both being a perfect 3-for-3.
• Nine different student-athletes have stolen at least one base.
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.
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)
