Beavers Close the Regular-Season at Utah
CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Oregon State softball team will close the regular season with a four-game series at Utah, Thursday through Saturday.
Note: For all Pac-12 series, three of the four games will be included in the conference record. If all four games are played, the second game in the doubleheader will count as a non-conference game.
GAME INFORMATION
Oregon State at Utah
SITE: Dumke Family Softball Stadium - Salt Lake City, Utah
RECORD: Oregon State 18-24, 5-16 Pac-12; Utah 20-31, 2-19 Pac-12
SERIES RECORD: Utah leads, 20-19
Game One
DATE: Thursday, May 13
TIME: 5:00 PM PT
STATS: UtahUtes.com
STREAM: Pac-12 Networks
Game Two
DATE: Friday, May 14
TIME: 3:00 PM PT
STATS: UtahUtes.com
STREAM: Pac-12 Networks
Game Three
DATE: Friday, May 14
TIME: 5:30 PM PT
STATS: UtahUtes.com
STREAM: Pac-12 Networks
Game Four
DATE: Saturday, May 15
TIME: 11:00 AM PT
STATS: UtahUtes.com
STREAM: Pac-12 Networks
*records as of 5/10/21
Oregon State notes | Utah preview
The series against Utah will air live on Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Mountain, and Pac-12 Oregon with Krista Blunk on the call. Fans with subscriptions to the network can also watch the meet on Pac-12.com, or via the Pac-12 Now app.
ABOUT THE BEAVERS
• Before starting its conference series, Oregon State earned a 10-6 non-conference record. OSU now holds a 16-24 overall record with a 5-16 Pac-12 record.
• The Beavers opened the season with an undefeated weekend in the Los Angeles area (Feb. 12-14). They went on to garner a 3-5 record at the Wildcat Invitational (Feb. 26-28) and Colorado Classic (Mar. 5-7).
• For their first games at home, the Beavers defeated Sacramento State twice. Junior Mariah Mazon pitched for a perfect game before senior Trystan Melancon pitched her first no-hitter with OSU.
• Opening conference play with California at home, the Beavers won the series with a 3-1 record. On Friday, OSU won in a no-hitter shutout before splitting the doubleheader on Saturday and winning by one run on Sunday.
• After a full six weekends of conference play, the Beavers won the series against California, and have dropped the series against No. 9 Arizona (Mar. 26-28), No. 3 Oregon (Apr. 1-3), No. 6 Washington (Apr. 9-11), No. 2 UCLA (Apr. 16-18), and Stanford (Apr. 30-May 2). Though OSU fell in the overall series, the team was able to earn a win over the Ducks, the Huskies, and the Cardinal.
• Most recently, Oregon State took the series against No. 10 Arizona State (May 7-9). The team won both Friday and Sunday's games but dropped Saturday's contest.
• Sophomore Frankie Hammoude leads the team with a .347 batting average, a .694 slugging average, and a .445 on-base percentage.
• Hammoude, junior Mariah Mazon, and junior Missy Nunes have combined for over half of the team's 145 RBI and 38 home runs.
• Hammoude's 13 home runs are sixth in the conference. Nunes and Mazon follow with eight and five homers, respectively. The sophomore also leads the trio with 35 RBI with the juniors following with 22 (Mazon) and 21 (Nunes).
• In the field, Hammoude leads with 294 putouts while freshman Xiao Gin has assisted the most outs (71).
• Gin, Hammoude, junior Chance Burden, and freshman Grace Messmer have each played for multiple double-plays. Hammoude has played for eight with Gin (6), Messmer (3), and Burden (2) following. Five other Beavers have contributed to a double play.
ON THE MOUND
• Junior pitcher Mariah Mazon ranks third in the Pac-12 with 189 strikeouts. Of all the pitchers in the conference, Mazon has pitched for the most innings (189.0).
• Mazon has won 13 games for the Beavers while senior Trystan Melancon has tallied four wins and senior Nerissa Eason has won one game.
• Earning the team's first shutout of the season, Mazon also pitched her first no-hitter of the season against Utah State (2/13) before she pitched a perfect game in the Beavers' first game at home (3/12).
• Melancon followed Mazon's perfect game with a no-hitter during the home-opening doubleheader before Mazon pitched for the Beavers' fourth no-hitter of 2021 against California (3/19).
• On April 2, Mazon became the first pitcher of 2021 to hold the Ducks to just one run and the second to complete a win over Oregon this season (4/2).
• Most recently, Mazon added two complete games to her season with two wins, including one shutout, against No. 10 Arizona State (May 7, 9). During Saturday's contest (May 8), Eason started and did not allow one run in her four innings of play.
• In 189.0 innings pitched, Mazon has notched 189 strikeouts from 712 batters for a 2.19 ERA.
• Eason owns a 3.20 ERA with 38 strikeouts, from 199 batters, in 50.1 innings pitched.
• Melancon follows with 43 strikeouts, from 152 batters, in 39.1 innings pitched.
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
• The Beavers returned home for their final 2021 series at Kelly Field.
• In the three-game series against No. 10 Arizona State, Oregon State went 2-1 falling on Saturday and winning on Friday and Sunday.
• OSU opened the weekend with a 1-0 win on Friday. Sophomore Frankie Hammoude led the with only RBI in her first at bat during the first inning. Neither was able to score throughout the rest of the game. Though Hammoude tallied the only RBI, she did not contribute to the team's four hits of the game. Those came from junior pitcher Mariah Mazon, who also notched seven strikeouts in the complete-game shutout, freshman Charity Sevaatasi, freshman Grace Messmer, and freshman Xiao Gin.
• The Beavers fell in game two, on Saturday, 5-2. Sevaatasi hit a single in the fourth inning for an RBI as OSU scored the first run of the game but Arizona State came back to gain four runs in the fifth inning before adding another in the seventh. Freshman Madison Simon hit a sacrifice fly to bring Messmer in from third for Oregon State's second run. Messmer went three-for-three on the game, hitting three of the Beavers' seven hits. The other four came from Simon, junior Missy Nunes, Gin, and Sevaaetasi.
• Sunday's game was a true image of Beaver grit. The Sun Devils opened with an unearned run in the first before grabbing a second with a home run in the second. After a couple of innings of hits but no runs, the Beavers tied the score in the bottom of the sixth. Junior Morgan Allen hit a double for her final at bat at Kelly Field and her pinch-runner, sophomore Ashton Zeiher, eventually scored off a single by Hammoude. Redshirt-freshman Bailey McLaughlin hit a sacrifice fly to tie the score at the end of the sixth. The Sun Devils added another homer to take back the lead. Not giving up, the Beavers put two on base just before Hammoude notched a walk-off home run to win the game.
FIRST MARKS
Over the weekend:
• Both freshman Madison Simon and redshirt-freshman Bailey McLaughlin recorded their first sacrifice fly to award their team a run. Simon's was hit on Saturday while McLaughlin's served as OSU's second run on Sunday.
PAC-12 TEAM RANKINGS
Pitching:
• 4th; 273 strikeouts
• 4th; 6.77 strikeouts/seven innings
• 5th; 2.65 ERA
• 5th; 31 home runs allowed
Fielding:
• 4th; 847 putouts
• T-4th; 12 double-plays
PAC-12 INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Nerissa Eason
• 13th; 3.20 ERA
• 17th; 5.28 strikeouts/seven innings
Xiao Gin
• T-6th; 71 assists
• T-13th; 6 double-plays
• T-24th; 6 doubles
Frankie Hammoude
• 3rd; 294 putouts
• T-6th; 13 home runs
• 8th; .694 slugging percentage
• 11th; .445 on-base percentage
• T-11th; 8 double-plays
• 12th; .347 batting average
• T-12th; 35 RBI
• T-17th; 43 hits
Rylee Maston
• 22nd; 95 putouts
Mariah Mazon
• 1st; 189.0 innings pitched
• 3rd; 189 strikeouts
• 3rd; 17 complete games
• 7th; 13 wins
• 8th; 2.19 ERA
• T-9th; 1 save
• 10th; 7.00 strikeouts/seven innings
• T-22nd; 39 hits
• 23rd; 42 assists
• T-24th; 6 doubles
Bailey McLaughlin
• 23rd; 88 putouts
Grace Messmer
• T-12th; 63 assists
• T-19th; 4 double-plays
Missy Nunes
• 20th; 113 putouts
• T-23rd; 8 home runs
Charity Sevaaetasi
• T-6th; 9 doubles
OREGON STATE CAREER RECORDS
Frankie Hammoude
• Needs two home runs to tie Missy Nunes for 10th place (26).
Mariah Mazon
• Ranks 5th in strikeouts (626) … Needs 69 more to pass Tara Beyster (1997-2000) for fourth place.
• Ranks 6th in wins (52) … Needs three more to tie Joan Harvey (1982-85) for fifth place.
• Ranks 6th in complete games (68) … Needs four more to tie Monica Hoffman (2001-04) for fifth place.
• Ranks 7th in complete-game shutouts (17) … Needs 10 more to pass Crystal Draper (1999-2002) for sixth place.
Missy Nunes
• Ranks 10th in home runs (26) … Needs two more to pass Kelly Petersen (2002-05) for ninth place.
OREGON STATE SEASON RECORDS
Frankie Hammoude
• Ranks 5th in home runs (13); tied with two other seasons - Audrey Roderfield (2009) and Adrienne Alo (2005) … Needs one more to tie Audrey Roderfield's 2010 season for fourth place.
Mariah Mazon
• Needs three more strikeouts to tie Kelly Dyer (2008) and Crystal Draper (2001) for ninth place (192).
THE ROSTER
• Due to the shortened season of 2020, all members of the 2020 softball team have received another year of eligibility. Each of the members of the 2020 team has kept their athletic years from last season.
• All but one member of the senior class will be returning. Trystan Melancon, Fallon Molnar, and Nerissa Eason will play for Oregon State in 2021 while Karla Calderon graduated in 2020.
• All but two members, Paige Goodrich and Izzy Owen, of the rest of the team have chosen to return for the 2021 season.
• The fall of 2020 brought four new additions to the team: Charity Sevaaetasi, Jade Soto, Katie Hicks, and Madison Simon are all the newcomers for the 2021 season.
• Though 2020 was cut short, the Beavers were able to play 26 games. Four student-athletes - Xiao Gin, Mariah Mazon, Grace Messmer, and Missy Nunes - all started in all 26 games while Morgan Allen missed just one game and Ashton Zeiher and Maia Rader missed two games.
• 12 of the 16 returning softball players on the 2021 team competed in at least five games for the Beavers last season with six of those returning from 2019 seeing action in at least a third of the last full season's games.
• The Beavers have one player that hails from the state of Oregon, Ashton Zeiher (Scio), with one player that comes from outside the United States, Grace Messmer (British Columbia).
• California is the highest represented state on the 2021 Oregon State softball team with 13 student-athletes coming from the state to our south. Two players come from Washington with one student-athlete from Florida, Nevada, and Texas.
LAST SEASON
• Despite the 2020 season being cut short, the Beavers were able to play 26 games for a record of 17-9 record. The team was unable to start conference play before the season ended.
• Eight players participated in at least 75 percent of the games, with seven returning to the team in 2021. Mariah Mazon, Xiao Gin, Missy Nunes, and Grace Messmer started all 26 games with Morgan Allen starting 25 and Maia Rader and Ashton Zeiher starting 24.
• Nunes led the team with five home runs and 22 RBIs.
• Mazon and Fallon Molnar followed Nunes with four home runs. Mazon notched 15 RBIs while Molnar earned 11.
For those who competed regularly, Mazon's .377 batting average (29 hits, 77 at bats) led the 2020 squad.
• In the field, Morgan Allen led the team with 144 putouts while Nunes followed with 121.
• Allen and Grace Messmer both contributed to five double plays while Messmer led the team with 46 assists.
ON THE MOUND
• All four pitchers who saw action on the mound in 2020 will return for 2021.
• Mariah Mazon, returning to complete her junior season, was the leading pitcher in 2020. Mazon recorded a 1.18 ERA with 10 wins in 20 appearances.
• She pitched a total of 113 innings, 14 complete games, and six shutouts while striking out 130 batters.
• Mazon returns after being named to Softball America's All-America Third Team.
• Second to Mazon was Trystan Melancon, a graduate transfer from the University of Houston. With 11 appearances in 2020, Melancon notched a 1.81 ERA with five wins and three complete games. She earned one shutout and pitched for 67 strikeouts.
• Rounding out the 2020 pitching squad was freshman Xiao Gin and senior Nerissa Eason. Gin earned two wins with a 3.28 ERA and nine strikeouts while Eason pitched for a 1.75 ERA and three strikeouts.
A LOOK BACK AT 2019
• The Beavers finished the 2019 season with 26 wins and 19 losses with an 8-14 record in the Pac-12.
• Frankie Hammoude and Missy Nunes served as a large portion of Oregon State's offensive power, starting all 45 games on the season.
• Hammoude led the squad with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs. She earned 34 hits in 120 at bats for a .283 batting average.
• Missy Nunes followed Hammoude's lead with seven home runs and 27 RBIs. She earned 36 hits in 132 at bats for a .273 batting average.
• In the field, Hammoude led the team with 300 putouts while Nunes was the runner-up with 67 assists, and serves as the returner with the highest assists.
• Hammoude contributed to 12 double plays while Maia Rader helped in eight.
• Radar is the final returner who played in at least 75 percent of 2019's games. She made 38 starts at shortstop and was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.
ON THE MOUND
• The Beavers returned three pitchers from 2019 to the 2020 season.
• Mariah Mazon was the leading returner for the Beavers. She recorded a 2.70 ERA, posting 17 wins in 30 appearances. She pitched 174 total innings, 20 complete games, and four shutouts while striking out 166 batters.
• Mazon was named to the NFCA All-Region Second Team and Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team in 2018 with a third-team conference nod in 2017, as well as being named to the conference all-freshman team.
• Nerissa Eason posted three wins in 10 appearances in 2019. She pitched 34.1 innings, recording 33 strikeouts, two complete games, and one shutout.
• Sophomore Payton Goodrich, who will not return for 2021, and freshman Xiao Gin rounded out the 2020 pitching lineup.
ABOUT UTAH
• The Utes are 20-31 on the season with a Pac-12 record of 2-19.
• Utah opened the season with a solo win at Grand Canyon (2/11) before playing five games for a 4-1 record at the Kajikawa Classic (2/12-2/14). The Utes beat Seattle three times, BYU once, and fell to then-No. 15 Arizona State.
• From Feb. 19-21, Utah saw a five-game weekend at the UNLV Desert Classic. The Utes took one win over Weber State, split a two-game series against California Baptist, and beat the host, UNLV, twice.
• Closing February and opening March, Utah played for three losses to then-No. 8 Oregon, then-No. 1 UCLA, and then-No. 13 Arizona State in Tempe from Feb. 28-Mar. 1.
• After taking a short break due to a tournament cancellation, the Utes opened Pac-12 play at then-No. 4 Oregon with four losses (Mar. 19-21).
• Before hosting Stanford for another four losses (Mar. 26-28), Utah hosted Utah Valley for a couple of wins with a doubleheader on Mar. 23.
• The Utes went on to open April splitting the conference series with then-No. 14 Arizona State, taking one win and two losses (Apr. 1-3). They continued play with two wins at Dixie State (Apr. 6-7) and a solo victory against Southern Utah (Apr. 7).
• Utah then headed to Berkeley to earn one conference win over California in their four-game series (Apr. 9-11).
• The Utes took two days (Apr. 20-21) for in-state travel to Weber State and BYU to split the trip with a win over the former and a loss to the latter.
• On Apr. 28, Utah hosted Idaho State to sweep the doubleheader after returning from Tucson where then-No. 10 Arizona swept the conference series.
• Since Apr. 30, the Utes have fallen in four games to then-No. 2 UCLA (Apr. 30-May 2), earned a victory over Weber State (May 4).
• Most recently, Utah returned from a trip to Washington with four losses (May 7-9).
• Haley Denning leads the team with a .371 batting average and five triples but Ellessa Bonstrom's 14 homers, four doubles, and one triple have brought in the most runs (40 RBI).
• Alyssa Barrera follows Denning, with a .270 batting average, and Bonstrom, with 36 RBI. She leads the team with seven doubles.
• In the field, Alyssa Palacios leads with 225 putouts while Julia Noskin has assisted the most outs (99).
• All five of the Utes' pitchers have seen time in the circle, with three of them seeing at least 75 innings.
• Sydney Sanchez leads with 106.1 innings pitched but Mariah Lopez holds the most strikeouts (66) in 89 innings while Halle Morris owns the lowest ERA from 78.2 innings.
AGAINST THE UTES
• Utah holds the slight lead, 20-19, in the all-time series.
• The Beavers last played the Utes in May of 2019 for their conference series. OSU came away with the series but Utah went home with one win.
• Friday's game went to Oregon State with a 2-1 win. Frankie Hammoude hit the first RBI with Ashton Zeiher scoring the run in the third inning. After Utah tied the game in the sixth, Jessica Garcia notched a single for the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the seventh.
• The Utes won Saturday's game, 6-2. They took a 3-0 lead in the second and advanced their lead to four in the third. The Beavers scored in the third and the sixth but it wasn't enough to overcome Utah's early lead.
• For the final game of the series, OSU won, 4-2. Once again, Utah gained an early lead scoring one run in the first and one in the third but Oregon State closed the lead to one in the fourth before Hammoude hit a double and sent three runners home in the bottom of the sixth.
• Oregon State last swept the series against Utah in 2018. In a two-game series at the end of the regular season, the Beavers won on Thursday (May 10), 9-5, and Friday (May 11), 8-7.
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.
NATIONAL SOFTBALL
• Head coach Laura 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).
• 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 coach with the WNY 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.
• Junior 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 JWNT 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. The USA went on to capture the title.
• Sophomore Grace Messmer helped Canada to a Bronze Medal finish at the WBSC World Cup after recording a sac fly against Australia.
ABOUT THE OREGON STATE COACHING STAFF
• 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 ninth season at the helm of the Oregon State program, recording four NCAA Tournament appearances.
• 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 third season on staff, working with the infielders and batters. Under his first season with the infielders, Leyba coached Hammoude and Rader to All-Freshman honors at first base and shortstop.
• Volunteer assistant coach Shelly Prochaska is entering her second straight season with the Beavers. Prochaska, a member of the softball team from 2000-03, served as an undergraduate assistant in 2004. Before coming to Oregon State, she was an assistant coach for the Sonoma State softball program during the 2018-19 season.
• Heather Smith also returns for her 20th season as the Director of Operations.
For more information on the Oregon State softball team, visit OSUBeavers.com or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram, @BeaverSoftball.
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).