When it comes to bragging rights in the annual Civil War, few have more than Oregon State’s dominating ace, Brianne McGowan.
McGowan is 5-0 in six career appearances against Oregon, and in 34 innings pitched, she’s allowed just three total earned runs on 19 total hits and struck out 39 batters. She’s helped the Beavers to seven straight wins in the series, their longest since winning 10 straight against the Ducks from 2001-03.
She’ll lead No. 17 Oregon State (28-11 overall, 2-1 Pacific-10 Conference) into Howe Field today and Saturday to take on the No. 10 Ducks (36-4, 2-1 Pac-10).
“She’s really confident,” Oregon’s junior left fielder Lovena Chaput said of McGowan. “She does have an aura about her on the mound, and I think that can be intimidating to some people, but I think we’ll handle her just fine.
“I’m excited. She’s a great pitcher, and if we do well against her, it just makes us look that much better.”
McGowan, a senior, is a two-time All-American and was named the 2005 Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year after she set Oregon State single-season records in victories (36), strikeouts (346), complete-game shutouts (12), complete games (34), appearances (54) and innings pitched (299.2) that season as she led the Beavers into the NCAA Tournament. That season, McGowan boasted a 36-10 record and a 1.80 ERA.
McGowan recently continued her assault on the Oregon State record books by becoming the school’s all-time wins leader with 92 career victories and the career leader in shutouts with 33 after leading the Beavers to a 6-0 win against California last weekend. She is also closing in on the Oregon State career saves record and career strikeouts record.
“Brianne is very, very good and she poses a lot of problems for us,” said Oregon coach Kathy Arendsen, who said McGowan is “in that group” of the best pitchers her teams have faced in her five years at Oregon. “She’s not only incredibly physically gifted, but she’s experienced. She’s a smart pitcher. We have to be very disciplined.”
For her recent efforts, McGowan earned Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week – her sixth such honor. She enters this weekend against Oregon with a 1.30 ERA and a 17-6 record.
“Her records and all that she’s done definitely stand for itself,” Oregon’s senior second baseman Suzie Barnes said. “She’s a great pitcher, but we have great hitters, and I think we’re ready to face them.”
Arendsen said her team, despite never defeating McGowan, does not fear her.
“I don’t believe this team has been intimidated by anybody,” she said. “We’ve seen (Tennessee’s) Monica Abbott, and (Texas’) Cat Osterman, and we’ve seen some great players including Brianne over the years and we have respect. I don’t think anybody’s intimidated us or caused us to fear them.”
And there is good news for the Ducks entering this year’s edition of the Civil War. Of the six consecutive losses to the Beavers, five were by one run and the other was by two.
The Ducks are also off to the best start in program history and feel times have changed this season. Prior to a 15-4 loss to Stanford last Sunday, Oregon boasted a 15-game winning streak. And after a two-game split against the Cardinal and a win against California, Oregon, which was predicted to finish last in the conference, has another measuring stick of that progress with the Beavers coming to visit.
“It’s definitely a motivator to want to get them back for the past couple years,” Chaput said. “They have been really close games and I think it’s our time and our turn to edge above them this year and get the win.
“I think last weekend was just a good motivator and a good confidence builder, coming in to this weekend. All of us have put last year behind us. It’s over. It’s done with. This is a completely different year, a completely different team, and it’s time to succeed against the Beavers.”
Returning to the lineup this weekend for the first time in six games is junior pitcher Alicia Cook, who was held out with an undisclosed illness. She’s missed all action dating back to her perfect game on March 24 against Idaho State, the second perfect game of her career. She’s completely healthy now, Arendsen said, and will pitch this weekend, though Arendsen was unsure of the rotation as of Thursday’s practice.
Cook is 17-1 on the season and has a Pac-10 best 0.77 ERA.
Notes
It’s been quite a first season for redshirt freshman Jenn Salling. She leads the conference with a .524 batting average and 54 RBIs – an Oregon single-season record – and was recently named Pac-10 Player of the Week for the second time this season. In addition, Salling was one of 25 finalists for the 2007 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award, announced by The Amateur Softball Association. A list of 10 finalists will be named on May 9 and that list will be cut to three on May 23. Salling was the only first-year player, but she joins seven other Pac-10 players on the list of finalists.
“She’s having a remarkable, maybe one of the finest seasons a freshman has ever had, and we’re awfully proud to have her on our team,” Arendsen said.
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