Oregon State softball clashed against Clackamas Community College at home on Friday, Oct. 14 and earned themselves a confident 11-2 victory.

As the spring draws closer, the Beavers continue their Fall season against local Oregon colleges in order to prepare for their upcoming PAC-12 season, which begins in February 2023. Last year, OSU was able to make it to the NCAA Women’s College World Series but were eliminated in the top 8 by Arizona University.

This year is a new beginning for Oregon State. A lot of talented first years have joined the roster and a wave of confidence has seemed to emerge, as the team seems ready to perform in the Spring.

When asked if she thought the team would be able to make it back to the college world series, infielder Maddie Clark adamantly responded, “100%.” She backed up this statement with some great plays at shortstop, converting three ground balls into all 3 outs in the top of the sixth inning.

Notable as well, was utility player Madison Simon. The junior from Irvine, California put on a masterful, offensive display. She went 2 for 4 with 4 RBIs with a mammoth home run in the ninth inning and is looking to keep the bat warm throughout the Fall.

The baserunning was another big impact for the Beaver’s offense, with many runs and opportunities being generating from an aggressive running style that seemed to shake the Cougars defense.

The success with the bats is a great development for the Beavers. Head coach, Laura Berg, mentioned before the game that she wants to see an improvement in the hitting before the Spring season begins. She also commented how she wants the team to stay more composed in the ladder half of the season, as the college world series proved to be quite intimidating, and perhaps threw off the potential of last year’s roster.

With their Fall season already passing its halfway mark, Oregon State is looking poised to approach the college world series once again. Although this time, they’re going to be ready to show the rest of the country what they can do and make history for OSU Softball.

The Beavers continue their Fall season on Oct. 21 against the Southern Oregon University Raiders at Kelly Field, looking to keep their Fall winning streak alive and to keep the momentum throughout the Spring.