Abby and Paige Doerr became a premier sister duo on the Oregon State University softball team in the 2023 – 2024 softball season.
With a four-year age gap between the two, Abby being the oldest, it was doubtful they would get the chance to play with each other.
Abby started her collegiate softball career at the University of Alabama and then transferred in 2022 to OSU to play in the 2023 season. In the same year, Paige jumped at the opportunity to join the team alongside her sister in her freshman year.
At the end of the 2023 – 2024 school year, Abby graduated from OSU and began moving on to the next chapter of her life. Just like her sister, Paige entered the transfer portal to take her talents elsewhere for her sophomore year.
“I look up to Abby like no other. She’s my big sister, I don’t know what little sister wouldn’t want to play with her older sister,” Paige Doerr said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Abby gained a year of eligibility, which resulted in a window for them to play together.
With an impressive background before coming to the team, being named 2019 4A Player of the Year, 2019 Sky-Em Conference Player of the Year, and being ranked No. 41 in the Extra Elite 100, Abby was crucial in helping Paige develop seamlessly into her first season.
“She taught me so much this year, that I am ready to move on to the next step and I think I would be in a completely different place if I didn’t have her teaching me the entire year,” Paige Doerr said.
(Taylor Cockrell)
The family ties to Oregon softball go deeper than their time with OSU. Their mother, Melissa, played softball at the University of Oregon, leaving plenty of knowledge and room for success for the sisters.
“We’re all working on the mindset, I think that’s a challenge for us every single day because the game is a game of failure,” Paige said.
Paige’s freshman year was filled with many accomplishments throughout the season.
She put up a .235 batting average and racked up 10 runs, six RBIs and her first career home run, which she hit in a game against Arizona. Abby herself collected five runs, 10 RBIs and two home runs.
“I touched home and saw my teammates and they were ecstatic. It was truly the best thing ever and Abby embraced me in a hug,” Paige Doerr said.
In a game against the University of Arizona, the sisters combined for four RBIs.
Paige started for the vast majority of the season in the outfield, acquiring 89 putouts and three assists. Abby continued her position from Alabama behind the plate at catcher with 236 putouts and 17 assists.
“I know that Abby absolutely loves being behind the dish and having that control of the game and that leadership. I love tracking down balls in the outfield so absolutely anywhere was fine with me,” Paige said.
Following in her sister’s footsteps in award achievements, Paige was named PAC-12 Freshman Player of the Week on March 10, 2024, and earned a spot on the PAC-12 All-Freshman Team.
Despite many impressive performances on the field, Abby and Paige stress that the stats are not what they were taught to focus on. To them, the love of the game and being their best self is what makes playing truly special.
“In this game, you can’t ride the highs and you can’t ride the lows too hard because you never know what tomorrow brings,” Paige Doerr said.
Like most siblings, there is no shortage of funny stories that the two share together, especially when playing on the same team.
“There’s so many, there’s absolutely so many,” Paige Doerr said.
Paige recounts when Abby stole Paige’s hairbrush during the season series. Abby had no problem admitting that she did it.
For both, the sky’s the limit for their success and athletic accomplishments, even outside of college. But having this season together will always be a treasured memory in their hearts.
“She’ll get back to the game in some way because she still loves the game,” Paige Doerr said.
“I’m her number one fan and I’m the number one fan of all my sisters and my entire family. Of course, she’ll be there for me and I’ll be there for everything she does,” Paige Doerr said.