Beavers Host BYU, UNLV for Quartet of Games this Weekend

THE WEEKEND

• The Beavers will take a break from Pac-12 action this weekend with four non-conference matchups.

• Oregon State host BYU and UNLV for a pair of games each at the OSU Softball Complex.

• The Beavers will play the Cougars Friday and Saturday, before playing the Rebels on Saturday during game two of the doubleheader and closing the weekend Sunday.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Following this weekend's non-conference action, the Beavers will return to Pac-12 play traveling to No. 8 Washington for a there-game series.

• All three games will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks with game one starting on Friday night at 5 p.m.

• The series will continue on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., before concluding on Sunday night at 5 p.m.

• All three games will be played at the Husky Softball Stadium.

BEAVERS AT GLANCE

• The Beavers recorded their first conference win last weekend with a 5-4 comeback victory over No. 21/24 Arizona State.

• OSU is ranked No. 59 in RPI in this week's rankings.

• Redshirt senior, Natalie Hampton, is on two RBI shy of setting the school record. She sits at 142 ribbies entering the weekend.

• Senior, Taylor Cotton picked up Pitcher of the Week honors March 7 after recording a pair of wins at the San Diego Classic, including throwing a no-hitter against Miami (Ohio).

SERIES HISTORY

• Oregon State holds a 10-3 all-time record against Brigham Young.

• The Beavers suffered a 14-5 loss in 2015 in the last matchup.

• OSU picked up its last win in the 2013 season with a 7-3 victory.

• UNLV holds a 10-7 all-time record against Oregon State.

• The last time the two met was in the 2014 season and the Beavs split a two-game series at UNLV.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS

• The Cougars are 21-9 overall and have not started their West Coast Conference schedule.

• BYU will play Oregon on Thursday night before playing Oregon State Friday and Saturday.

• The Cougars are 2-3 against Pac-12 schools entering the weekend with wins against Washington and Utah.

• BYU is ranked 25th in this week's NFCA/UCA Today poll and receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.

• BYU has three wins over ranked opponents so far this season.

• McKenna Bull earned her fourth WCC Pitcher of the Week honor and was the sixth time BYU has won the honor this season.

• Bull picked up a win against Dartmouth to become BYU's Career wins leader with 92 victories.

• Head coach for the Cougars is Gordon Eakin in his 15th season.

SCOUTING THE REBELS

• The Rebels are 19-13 overall and 2-4 in the Mountain West Conference.

• UNLV picked up a 3-2 victory on Wednesday night against Dixie State.

• The Rebels are 0-1 against Pac-12 teams with a 4-2 loss to Oregon.

• The 19-13 start to the season is the best for head coach Lisa Dodd.

• The start is also the team's best redcord through 32 games since they started 20-11 in 2010.

• During the season, the Rebels have pulled off five come-from-behind victories, including one walk-off homer.

• The Rebels are lead by Brianna Gatlin in the box with a .355 batting average and hitting 11 extra-base hits and 14 RBI.

• Morgan Ettinger looks to be the Rebels ace, throwing 110 innings with 17 starts and 10 complete games.

• Head coach for the Rebels is Lisa Dodd in her 5th season.

COTTON PITCHER OF THE WEEK

• Senior Taylor Cotton was named the Pitcher of the Week on March 7, after recording a pair of wins at the San Diego Classic.

• Cotton recorded her first career no-hitter against Miami (Ohio) and another shutout against San Diego over the weekend.

• She finished with a 0.86 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings.

FOLLOW BERG

• Head coach Laura Berg is in her fifth season.

• Has guided the Beavers to two NCAA Tournament appearances.

• Holds a 124-113-1 overall record and 29-70 in Pac-12 games.

SWISS ARMY KNIFE

• Sammi Noland has been named a "Swiss Army Knife" by head coach Laura Berg for the many different positions she has started.

• The red-shirt senior has started in five different positions in her three years as a Beaver.

• The transfer from Nebraska has started at third, short and second so far this season. In the past, she started games in right field and catcher.

• Even though she has played five positions, she has only committed nine errors in her career.

RBI RECORD

• Red-shirt senior, Natalie Hampton is two RBI away from setting Oregon State's career runs batted in record.

• The Antelope, Calif., native has blasted 142 ribbies so far in her career.

• She started her career setting the single-season RBI record with 50 as a freshman and matched her recorded again as a red-shirt junior.

• She needs two RBI to pass recorded holder Tarrah Beyster who finished her career with 143.

Beavers Host BYU, UNLV for Quartet of Games this Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Taylor Cotton

Natalie Hampton

Sammi Noland

Beavers Host BYU, UNLV for Quartet of Games this Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Taylor Cotton

Natalie Hampton

Sammi Noland

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