Scouting report: UCLA softball vs. Oregon State

No. 3 UCLA softball (33-4, 9-3 Pac-12) returns to Easton Stadium for its penultimate home series of Pac-12 play, hosting Oregon State (11-20-1, 2-9-1) from Thursday to Saturday. The Bruins will attempt to extend their lead at the top of the Pac-12 standings after sweeping then-No. 6 Stanford and defeating UC San Diego, while the Beavers are looking to end their 12-game skid against the blue and gold dating back to 2018. Here is this week’s scouting report from softball senior staff writer Matthew Royer – whose red hair makes him look like a beaver himself.

Oregon State Personnel:
Position Player to Watch: INF Frankie Hammoude
Pitcher to Watch: RHP Ellie Garcia
X-Factor: INF Kaiea Higa

Oregon State Statistics:
Batting Average: .236 (No. 234 nationally, No. 9 Pac-12)
Earned Run Average: 3.93 (No. 180 nationally, No. 9 Pac-12)
Fielding Percentage: .958 (No. 177 nationally, No. 8 Pac-12)

On pace for its worst season since 2014, Oregon State would need a miracle to save its 2023 campaign. But that does not mean the Beavers should be counted out.

Oregon State could build its momentum after a win against rival No. 18 Oregon on Sunday, considering the Bruins were shut out by the Ducks last month.

However, the Beavers have lost six of their last seven, entering their third conference series against a ranked opponent when they head to Easton Stadium this weekend.

The pitching staff has been a strength of the Beavers’ roster, in which they have returned junior Tarni Stepto and sophomore Sarah Haendiges from last year’s Women’s College World Series run. Although the dynamic duo enables their offense to at least compete against the Pac-12’s best, Nevada transfer and sophomore pitcher Ellie Garcia has been the standout as of late.

Garcia pitched twice against the Ducks this past weekend, tallying 14 innings of work and only conceding two earned runs over the pair of contests. Look for Oregon State to lean on the Southern California native in her return to the Los Angeles area.

As a team, however, the Beavers have struggled to keep lineups quiet, sporting an earned run average of 3.93, which lands dead last among the nine Pac-12 squads. Oregon State pitchers have allowed opponents, including Stanford and Oregon, to score 10-run spots in two of its last five games.

If the Beavers’ pitching staff has not pulled through often enough, the offense must have – right?

Nope. Oregon State’s offense has arguably been worse than its pitching, also landing last in the Pac-12 in every major statistical category except home runs.

In fact, the long ball has a chance to bring the Beavers some joy in a weekend against the Bruins, who have won eight of their last nine games.

Redshirt senior infielder Frankie Hammoude is currently two home runs away from breaking the school record of 52 in a career and co-leads the Beavers with eight big flies this season. Despite hitting .207, she finds other ways to get on base, sitting third in the Pac-12 with 22 walks and a .375 on-base percentage.

Freshmen have been a bright spot for the Beavers’ offense and have provided multiple sparks for a squad in desperate need of them. Freshman infielder Kaiea Higa has cemented her role as a key contributor, tied for the team lead with 25 hits.

During the last series against Oregon, Higa went .333 at the plate with two doubles. An important part of the Beavers’ lineup alongside junior mainstays utility Madison Simon and catcher Abby Doerr – who lead Oregon State in batting average and co-lead in home runs, respectively – Higa will likely bat cleanup or fifth against Bruin pitching.

While pitching and offense have been a sore spot for the Beavers, their defense is not the worst in the Pac-12 – just ranking second to last instead. Oregon State has struggled to field the ball, placing second most in the Pac-12 in errors with 37, only behind California, which has 40 on the season. But unlike the Golden Bears, the Beavers do not have a winning record to make up for their mistakes.

Baserunners in the Pac-12 run on Oregon State catchers more than any other team – going 36 for 43 in stolen base attempts – a significant difference from other programs in the conference.

UCLA, by comparison, has only allowed five stolen bases all season on nine attempts, a testament to redshirt junior catcher Sharlize Palacios.

While you can never say never in a game as unpredictable as softball, expect the Bruins to roar past the Beavers in every angle of their conference series.

If everything goes according to plan for the former, Oregon State’s weak showing should continue as UCLA secures its second straight series sweep and gains momentum toward its upcoming series against No. 20 Arizona and No. 25 Arizona State.