Beavers Travel to No. 10 Washington for Weekend Series

THE WEEKEND

• The Beavers will continue Pac-12 Conference action this weekend on the road, at No. 10 Washington.

• Oregon State will face the Huskies in a three-game series starting on Friday evening at 5 p.m.

• The two teams will also play Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., and finish Sunday night starting at 5 p.m.

• The series will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks with Elise Woodward and Danielle Lawrie serving as talent.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Following this weekend's action, the Beavers will return to Corvallis and host No. 9/12 UCLA for a three-game series.

• All three games will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks with game one starting on Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m.

• The series will continue on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m., before concluding on Saturday at 2 p.m.

• All three games will be played at the OSU Softball Complex.

BEAVERS AT GLANCE

• The Beavers recorded their first conference win in Tempe with a 5-4 comeback victory over No. 21/24 Arizona State on March 27.

• OSU is ranked No. 52 in the RPI this week.

• Redshirt senior, Natalie Hampton is tied with school recorded holder, Terrah Beyster (1997-00), in RBI with 143.

• 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).

• Junior Alysha Everett had a career day against UNLV last week, going 3-for-3 from the dish and driving in a career-high five RBIs in a 9-0 win.

• This weekend will be the sixth ranked opponent the Beavers will face this season, including the fifth straight weekend playing such opponent.

SERIES HISTORY

• Washington holds a 59-20 all-time record against Oregon State.

• The Beavers picked up a 3-2 victory last season in Corvallis when the Huskies were ranked No. 10.

• Oregon State has won at least one game in each of the last two series.

• The Beavers' 2015 win against then-ranked No. 20 Washington snapped a two season sweep.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

• The Huskies are 27-8 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-12 after dropping the first two games of the series against No. 13 UCLA.

• UW is 1-5 in its last two Pac-12 series after being swept by Arizona during the end of March, including being shutout twice.

• Washington is ranked No. 10 in both the NFCA/USA Today and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls this week. The Huskies were ranked 13th in the preseason polls.

• Entering the week, the Huskies boasts the nations eighth highest batting average, with a .341 and the sixth best slugging percentage with a .530 mark.

• Sophomore Morganne Flores ranks second in the Pac-12 and 14th in the nation in RBIs with 39 so far this season.

• Head coach for the Huskies is Heather Tarr in her 12th 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 126-116-1 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 tied for the Oregon State's career runs batted in record.

• The Antelope, Calif., native has blasted 143 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 just one RBI to pass recorded holder Tarrah Beyster (1999-00) who finished her career with 143.

CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE

• The Oregon State softball team got things done off the field and in the classroom during the fall and winter terms.

• The Beavers recorded a team GPA of 3.12 over the fall, including 13 student-athletes with a 3.0 GPA or better.

• During the most recent winter term, the team finished with a 3.10 GPA and 12 student-athletes above a 3.0.

COTTON SHRINKS ERA

• Lefty-pitcher Taylor Cotton has done some major shrinking to here ERA over her college career.

• The senior started her career playing for Cal and posting a 8.54 ERA in 13 appearances before transferring.

• Since at OSU, she has improved her average from a 7.52 as a sophomore to a 6.30 as a junior.

• This season she has carrying a 2.40 ERA and a 6-4 record. She has pitched just as many innings in 2017 than she did total her first three years in the circle.

BERG NAMED HEAD COACH OF JWNT

• Head coach Laura Berg will continue her legacy with the USA National Softball team, but this time with the junior team.

• Head coach Berg will be the leader of the 2017 Junior Women's National Team and will lead the 17-player roster this summer.

• Berg has prior experience with the juniors, being an assistant coach in 2012. Since then, she has had her hand in helping train the national team.

• Coach Berg will see a familiar face this weekend in Seattle, as freshman Sis Bates plays infield for the Huskies and is also part of the JWNT.

For more information on the Oregon State softball team, follow the team's official Twitter and Instagram accounts at @BeaverSoftball or by Facebook at /BeaverSoftball.

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Beavers Travel to No. 10 Washington for Weekend Series

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Taylor Cotton

Alysha Everett

Natalie Hampton

Sammi Noland

Beavers Travel to No. 10 Washington for Weekend Series

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Taylor Cotton

Alysha Everett

Natalie Hampton

Sammi Noland

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