Oregon State Set for Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

THIS WEEK:
• RV/RV Oregon State makes the first journey of the year to California for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic Thursday through Sunday. Every game will be streamed through FloSoftball this weekend.
• Head coach Laura Berg will be splitting her time between Oregon State and Team USA this weekend. Any game that Team USA plays that OSU doesn't have a conflicting game, Berg will be serving her assistant role with Team USA.

Thursday, February 20
Oregon State vs. Mississippi State - 10:30 a.m.
Fenway, Cathedral City, Calif.
Oregon State vs. Idaho State - 1:00 p.m.
Yankee, Cathedral City, Calif.

Friday, February 21
Oregon State vs. Missouri - 10:30 a.m.
Des Moines, Cathedral City, Calif.

Saturday, February 22
Oregon State vs. Long Beach State - 2:30 p.m.
Des Moines, Cathedral City, Calif.
Oregon State vs. UC Riverside - 7:30 p.m.
Des Moines, Cathedral City, Calif.

Sunday, February 23
Oregon State vs. Cal State Fullerton - 11:30 a.m.
Yankee, Cathedral City, Calif.

FOLLOW THE BEAVS:
• Live stats will be available this weekend through Statbroadcaster.com
• Links to live stats will be available on the softball schedule page at OSUBeavers.com
• Each game this weekend will be streamed through FloSoftball for a fee.
• Follow @BeaverSoftball on Twitter for the most up-to-date news on all things Beaver Softball.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW:
• Tickets for Oregon State's 14-home games are on sale now at BeaverTickets.com/softball.
• Season tickets are available for $50 for adults and $30 for youth and seniors. Single game tickets can be purchased at $7 for adults and $5 for youth.
• Tickets for the Oregon State vs. the USA National Softball Team in Hillsboro, Ore. on March 17 at Ron Tonkin Field can be purchased today on the Hillsboro Hops website.

MIGHTY MAZON:
• Junior Mariah Mazon is dominated both in the circle and at the plate for the Beavers.
• Last weekend against Houston, Mazon threw her second career no-hitter while striking out seven batters through 5.0 innings of work and only threw 69 pitches through the 15 batters she faced.
• On the season, Mazon maintains a 1.38 ERA with a 4-2 record. She has appeared in eight games making six starts while pitching five complete games with two shutouts and two saves.
• At-the-plate, Mazon leads the team with a .600 BA, 15 hits - including four doubles and one home run - seven RBI and three runs scored.
• She also leads the team in slugging pct. (.880) and on-base pct. (.633).

NUNES KNOWS:
• Junior Missy Nunes has started all nine games this season for the Beavers - eight in right field and one at third base.
• Nunes is batting .400 with 12 hits this season - including one double and two home runs.
• Nunes hit her second home run of the season for a three-run shot over the left-field fence against Dayton on Feb. 14
• Nunes has six RBI with six runs scored.

FRESHMAN FOCUS:
• Xiao Gin and Grace Messmer have secured their spot in the Beaver's lineup being the starting second baseman and shortstop, respectively. The two also hold the top two spots in the batting order.
• Gin is batting .286 with eight hits, four runs scored and three RBI. She also leads the Beavers with three stolen bases. Gin made 22 plate appearances before striking out for the first time. In her 28 total appearances, she has only struck out twice.
• Messmer maintains a .233 BA with seven hits and five runs scored.
• Val Pero has stepped up for Beavers as well becoming the starting catcher any time Trystan Melancon is in the circle. She has been the starting DP on three occasions.
• Pero is batting .316 with six hits - including one home run - and three runs scored.

SOPHOMORE SPLENDOR:
• Izzy Owen and Maia Rader are bringing their freshman success back for another year.
• Rader has started eight games for the Beavers at third base. She is batting .313 with five hits and two RBI.
• Owen has appeared in seven games making five starts in left field. She holds a .294 BA with five hits, two RBI and two runs scored.

FALLON FRENZY:
• Senior Fallon Molnar made her first collegiate start on Saturday against Houston as the designated player. She has appeared in five other games as a pinch hitter.
• Molnar is batting .500 on the season with four hits - including two home runs - with six RBI and three runs scored.

MAGNIFICENT MELANCON:
•, Grad-transfer Trystan Melancon provides a good compliment to Mazon in the circle.
• Melancon maintains a 0.76 ERA with a 3-0 record in four appearances with one complete game and one shutout.
• She has pitched 18.1 innings and has struck out 26 batters while limiting opponents to a .203 BA.
• She opened her career in the Orange and Black with 13 strikeouts against Southern Utah on Feb. 7.

COACHING PROFILES:
• Head coach Laura Berg hung up her cleats after nearly 20-years of playing softball and spent a year with the LAPD in 2010-11 before returning to the game as an assistant coach for the 2012 season at Oregon State.
• Berg enters her eighth season at the helm of the Oregon State program, recording four NCAA Tournament appearances. Find more about Berg on the last page of these notes.
• Associate head coach Marcie Green also has experience with law enforcement. Green studied criminology at Fresno State and spent five years as a prison guard at Corcoran State Prison in California following graduation before starting to coach. Green works primarily with the pitchers.
• Assistant coach Eric Leyba returns for his second season on staff working with the infielders and batters. Under his first season working with the infielders, Leyba coaches Hammoude and Rader to All-Freshman honors at first base and shortstop.
• Volunteer Assistant Coach Shelly Prochaska is new to the coaching staff, but not the Orange and Black. Prochaska played for former Beaver head coach Kirk Walker from 2000-03 before becoming an undergraduate assistant in 2004. Prochaska most recently served a stint as an assistant coach for the Sonoma State softball program during the 2018-19 season.
• Heather Smith also returns for her 19th season as Director of Operations.

NATIONAL SOFTBALL:
• Coach Berg is the most decorated USA Softball Olympic Athlete after joining the National Team in 1994. Berg won three gold medals for the United States (1996 - Atlanta, 2000 - Sydney, 2004 - Athens) and one silver (2008 - Beijing).
NCAA TOURNAMENT:
• Berg joined the Women's National Team coaching staff in 2012 and has served as an assistant before being named the head coach for the Junior WNT in 2017. Most recently, Berg was an assistant with the WNT that won Gold at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.
• On November 14, 2019, Berg was named an assistant to the 2020 WNT's coaching staff. She will join the Stars and Stripes on staff in the pursuit of another Olympic Gold Medal as softball makes a return at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
• Sophomore Frankie Hammoude made her National Team debut in the summer of 2019 after trying out and making the Junior Women's National Team.
• Hammoude helped the the JWNT to become the 2019 U-19 WBSC World Cup Champions after hitting a three-run home run to tie things up in the championship game against Japan. USA went on to capture the title.
• Freshman Grace Messmer was a member of the Junior National Canadian Team in the summer of 2019.
• Messmer helped Canada to a Bronze Medal finish at the WBSC World Cup after recording a sac fly against Australia.
• Freshman Xiao Gin is trying out for the Chinese National Team.
• Berg recently signed Tarni Stepto to the 2021 class. Stepto helped Australia qualify for the 2020 Olympics as a pitcher/hitter and was named one of 20 finalists for the Australian Olympic Team that will be announced later in June.

NCAA TOURNAMENT:
• The Beavers have reached the NCAA Tournament four times under the direction of head coach Laura Berg. As a program, OSU has made a postseason appearance 13 times.
• The Beavers are 30-22 all-time in their 13 tournament appearances following two wins and two losses at the Tuscaloosa Regional in 2018.
• The last time OSU won a regional was in 2006 when it played Nevada and No. 19 Baylor twice. OSU went on to play in the Women's College World Series that year.
• Berg and former head coach Kirk Walker (1995-2012) are the only head coaches in program history to reach the NCAA Tournament.

KNOW WHAT IT TAKES:
• Oregon State's coaching staff is no stranger when it comes to the NCAA Tournament and WCWS.
• Both Berg and Green played at Fresno State in the '90s and gained plenty of experience in the path to the WCWS.
• Coach Berg played from 1994-95 and 1997-98 making it to the WCWS three times and won the national championship in '98.
• Coach Green played from 1990-93 and appeared in three WCWS, including a runner-up finish in 1990.
• Volunteer assistant coach Shelly Prochaska made a NCAA Regional appearance in all four seasons at Oregon State.

For more information on the Oregon State softball team, visit OSUBeavers.com or follow the team @BeaverSoftball on Twitter and Instagram.

OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).

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Players Mentioned

Xiao Gin

Frankie Hammoude

Mariah Mazon

Trystan Melancon

Grace Messmer

Fallon Molnar

Missy Nunes

Izzy Owen

Val Pero

Maia Rader