Beavers To Start 2023 at LSU Invitational

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- The 19^th-ranked Oregon State softball team will open the 2023 season at the LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge, La., this weekend. Action from Louisiana includes five contests with nonconference foes, taking place from Friday to Sunday.

Notes

Friday, Feb. 10
Oregon State vs. New Mexico – 1:30 p.m. PT

Saturday, Feb. 11
Oregon State vs. New Mexico – 10 a.m. PT
Oregon State at #25 LSU – 12:30 p.m. PT (SEC Network+)

Sunday, Feb. 12
Oregon State vs. Nicholls – 8 a.m. PT
Oregon State at #25 LSU – 10:30 a.m. PT (SEC Network+)

FOLLOW THE BEAVS

Links to live stats and live streams will be available on OSUBeavers.com
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OPENING SERIES NOTES

This is the first time that the Beavers have opened in the Central Time Zone since 1996 (UT Arlington Tournament; Arlington, Texas).
Oregon State will open against New Mexico for the second time in program history and the second consecutive year.
Upon completion of the LSU Invitational, the Beavs will have had their last seven played in the Central Time zone.
The Beavers will play a familiar foe in New Mexico and see LSU and Nicholls for the first time each this decade.
In the Laura Berg era, the Beavers have yet to defeat LSU and have never faced Nicholls.

BEAVS VS. THE SEC

Oregon State will play a true away game in the regular season at a SEC opponent for the first time since 2014.
Missouri is the first opponent for OSU in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic (Feb. 24; 3:30 p.m.)
The Beavs played at the Texas A&M Tournament and matched up twice with the Aggies.
OSU met three from the league: Alabama, Tennessee and Florida in 2022.
In the Knoxville (Tenn.) regional, OSU ousted the host Lady Vols twice on their way to the Women's College World Series.
Excluding 2021, OSU has faced at least one opponent annually from the SEC
LSU is an opponent for the Beavs for the first time since 2018.

FROM THE CIRCLE

OSU will have a pair return from the 2022 WCWS squad: Tarni Stepto and Sarah Haendiges
Stepto posted a 9-2 mark in '22, including a no-hitter where she fanned 15 against Robert Morris.
Haendiges was named to the Pac-12's All-Freshman and Second teams in her first year in Corvallis. She tallied 13 wins, pitched 10 complete games and allowed a 1.68 ERA.
Ellie Garcia and Chloe Moffitt are a pair of transfers to the Beavs for this season.
A midyear enrollee from Nevada, Garcia picked up six wins and fanned 103 in her freshman campaign.
Moffitt starred at the College of San Mateo, where she helped lead the squad to an undefeated season.

KEY RETURNERS

Frankie Hammoude will look to lead the offense after a stellar 2022. She was named All-Pac-12 First Team and NFCA Pacific All-Region.
The Oakland native was picked by the Pac-12 as a member of the all-conference squad.
Hammoude led the Beavs in batting average (.384), home runs (15) and RBI (40) on the way to Oklahoma City.
Grace Messmer returns for her junior season after starting all 61 games for the Beavers. The British Columbia native was second on the team with 33 RBI

NEW FACES
• The Beavers welcomed 13 new student-athletes to Corvallis ahead of 2023. Chloe Moffitt (College of San Mateo), Aubree Seaney (Tulsa), Abby Doerr (Alabama), Carson Saabye (Florida State) and Ellie Garcia (Nevada) came to OSU via the transfer portal.
• Jenna Birch, Kali Blount, Kinzy Bowen, Madyson Clark, Kaiea Higa, Morgan Howey and Sydney Saenz all join the Beavers for their freshman seasons.

TICKETS ON SALE

Season and single-game tickets are on sale for the 2023 season via BeaverTickets.com and 1-800-GO-BEAVS

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

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Birch

Kali Blount

Kinzy Bowen

Madyson Clark

Abby Doerr

Ellie Garcia

Sarah Haendiges

Frankie Hammoude

Kaiea Higa

Morgan Howey

Grace Messmer

Chloe Moffitt

Carson Saabye

Sydney Saenz

Aubree Seaney

Tarni Stepto