Beavers Start Pac-12 Schedule Friday

THE WEEKEND

• The Beavers will begin Pac-12 Conference action this weekend, hosting No. 5/4 Arizona Wildcats at the OSU Softball Complex.

• Oregon State will face Arizona in a three-game series starting on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m.

• The two teams will also play Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., and Sunday morning starting at 11 a.m.

• Keep an eye on osubeavers.com/sb or @BeaversSoftball on Twitter for possible schedule or time changes or postponements.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Following this weekend's Pac-12 opener, the Beavers will head to the desert for a series at Arizona State.

• The Beavers will play Saturday at 2 p.m., Sunday night at 7 p.m., and Monday at 1 p.m.

• The three-game series will take place at the Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

• The Wildcats will start the Pac-12 season 26-1 while carrying an 11-game winning streak.

• Arizona is ranked fifth in this week's NFCA/USA Today poll and fourth in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.

• UA is one of four Pac-12 teams in the top-10 in this week's NFCA poll.

•The Wildcats defeated No. 9 Oklahoma last Tuesday in walk-off fashion for their third victory over a ranked opponent this season.

• Arizona's lone loss was to No. 1 ranked Florida State.

• UA's one loss is the fewest since entering Pac-10 play 36-1 in 2004.

• The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 220-25, including hitting more home runs (38) than their opponents have total runs (25).

• Arizona has not allowed more than three runs in a game this season.

• The Wildcats are scoring an average of 2.37 runs in the first inning.

• Arizona has had six different players receive Pac-12 weekly awards.

• UA has two pitchers ranked in the top 10 in ERA. Danielle O'Toole and Taylor McQuillin both carry a 0.65 ERA, which also leads the Pac-12.

• Michelle Floyd threw a perfect game in her first start of the season against Hartford.

• Mo Mercado leads the Wildcats, batting .440, while Dejah Mulipola follows with a .438 average.

• Head coach for the Wildcats is Mike Candrea in his 36th season.

SERIES HISTORY

• Arizona holds a 96-16 all-time record against Oregon State.

• The Beavers have lost eight of the last nine games against Arizona.

• Oregon State has won two series against the Wildcats coming back in the 2005 in Phoenix and in 2013 in Corvallis.

• Laura Burg is 4-8 against Arizona with her last win in the series last year with a 2-1 upset victory when the Wildcats were ranked No. 18.

• The 2016 win snapped a seven-game skid for Berg in the series and was the fifth upset of the season.

• The Wildcats hold a 40-7 record when playing at the OSU Softball Complex; the Beavers last win at home was in 2013 when they swept them.

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 121-106-1 overall record and 28-65 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 still holds a .966 fielding percentage.

RBI RECORD

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

• The Antelope, Calif., native has blasted 138 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 six RBI to pass recorded holder Tarrah Beyster who finished her career with 143.

SOCIAL MEDIA
• Follow the Oregon State softball team on Twitter and Instagram at @BeaverSoftball and Facebook at /BeaverSoftball.

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Cotton

Natalie Hampton

Sammi Noland