No score was kept in this match against Southern Oregon, which gave both teams a low-pressure environment and an opportunity to showcase their skills and gather in-game experience.
The Oregon State softball team got to show fans a glimpse of what is to come to Kelly Field in the coming spring in a friendly exhibition match against the Division II school on Friday afternoon in Corvallis.
The Beavers wasted no time showing strong sides of both their offense and defense.
Grad student Logan Hulon was the starting pitcher for the game, bringing a very solid performance with five strikeouts and fielding plenty of outs on the field.
While Southern Oregon used four pitchers in the exhibition, the Beavers only used two pitchers, which went to ten innings.
At their first at-bat, the Beavers saw younger talent step up immediately. Freshman Tessa Hogue, an outfielder from Utah, got on base with a single down the left-field line.
Hogue then showed off some impressive speed, stealing second and home plate on a sacrifice fly. She made contact on all of her following at-bats.
There was plenty of opportunity for head coach Laura Berg to switch some positions and the batting order.
Many of the freshman players got reps at the plate and went in many different positions. Kaylie Stauffer, a freshman from Santa Clarita High School, has become a highly anticipated pickup for the Beavers.
“I want to be able to see what everybody can do, give them an opportunity to show me,” Berg said.
Stauffer saw reps at catcher mid-way through the game, contributing to multiple strikeouts and even getting on base in her limited at-bats.
Another noticeable freshman participation came from outfielder Justice Flores and infielder Paige Bambarger.
“We’ve got some really powerful sticks in the lineup and we haven’t quite hit on full cylinders yet, but it’s October. So I’m not expecting us to hit on full cylinder, but we’ve got speed in the lineup and I’m really excited,” Berg said.
The Beavers will continue to prepare until the official start of the season. Which will begin in the upcoming spring.