Laura Kay Berg (born January 6, 1975) is an American

college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the Intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is nor ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

for

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

and a former collegiate four-time All-American and Olympian. She played for the

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

from 1994–98, where she won the 1998 Women's College World Series and owns the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

career records in hits, runs and triples. She is one of only four women to have won four Olympic medals in softball, having won a medal at every Olympics the sport was contested. She is second all-time in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

career hits and

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

. She is also a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.

Fresno State

Berg was born in

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States ...

and raised in nearby

Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe Springs (''Santa Fe'', Spanish for "Holy Faith") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. The population was 16,223 at the 2010 census, down from 17,43 ...

, graduating from Santa Fe High School in 1993. Berg and her twin sister enrolled at

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

and started for the school's softball team. In her first season, she was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Third Team All-American. The Bulldogs made it to the WCWS and took their first game before dropping back-to-back shutout games against eventual champions the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

and the Oklahoma State Cowgirls on May 27, 1994. Berg had two hits in the tournament. As a sophomore, Berg would earn First Team All-American honors while hitting over .400 and setting a new school season record for

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

s, which also led the WAC conference. She currently still claims that record. After red-shirting to compete at the 1996

Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, Berg returned and once again earned NFCA First Team honors. She joined school elite with top-5 season records in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, hits (led the WAC),

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

s and triples. She also managed to reach the 7th best season hits total all-time for an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

season, which now ranks in the top-15. In her second WCWS appearance, Berg and the Bulldogs were shutout in their first game but rebounded strongly by winning their next three including shutting out eventual champion

in the semifinals. Berg hit a double and scored the eventual winning run. In the second game of the doubleheader, Berg singled in her first two at-bats and scored each time to take the lead, however, Arizona tied the score immediately and went on to win 6–3 on May 25, 1997. For her senior campaign, Berg was named 1998 First Team All-American for a final time. The senior achieved a career best batting average (led the WAC as well as a school record in runs. Her

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

ranked top-5 for a Bulldog season. Beginning April 17 until May 8, Berg would go on a 29 consecutive game hit streak, a career best and the

's 6th best all-time. Returning to the WCWS, the team began its march by defeating the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

6–1 on May 21 with Berg scoring the eventual winning run. They mercy ruled

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

before losing to the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

in the semifinals on May 24. Berg and teammates responded by besting the Huskies by 5 runs in the rematch, Berg led off with a single and helped stake the Bulldogs to a first-inning two-run lead to make it into their school's 5th finals appearance. Berg had a hit and won the title on teammate Nina Lindenberg's solo home run to defeat the two-time defending champions the

. For the tournament, Berg hit .470 (8/17) with 2 RBIs to be named All-Tournament. Berg would graduate as the school career record holder in hits, triples, runs and stolen bases. She also was tops in conference career hits, triples, runs, at-bats as well as the third best average all-time. Her

career puts her second in hits and at-bats all-time for a career.

National team

Berg would also join the United States national team in 1994, participating in the 1994 ISF Women's World Championship, where the US team won the gold medal. Berg

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

ed at

in 1996, the year that she won her first Olympic gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. In 1998, she won her second gold medal at the

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. At the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns and ...

Berg performed well in the gold medal effort,

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.375 for the tournament with 15 hits. In the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Berg drove in the winning run in the 8th inning of the gold medal game. From 2000 to 2003 she participated at tournaments with the national team. She added gold medals at the 2002 World Championships and

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

to her resume, batting .471 in the Pan-Americans. In the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

she started eight of the nine games, batting .368, and held a perfect

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divi ...

. In the gold medal game on August 23, Berg had a hit in the eventual win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In 2006 Berg won her fourth consecutive World Championship in Beijing. Berg's four World Championship appearances is a record for the event. In 2007 Berg returned to her third

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

, where she won another gold medal, and was chosen to carry the U.S. flag during the closing ceremonies. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, she captured a silver medal with the

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

, the only time in Olympic history the United States did not win the gold medal. Berg did not play in the gold medal game but did hit .500 for the tournament highlighted by a diving catch to save

Monica Abbott Monica Cecilia Abbott (born July 28, 1985) is an American professional softball player. Abbott was an All-American pitcher for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in college before starting a professional career in the NPF and in the Japan Softball ...

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

vs. the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

on August 17. After the finals, Berg along with teammates retired from international competition.

Coaching

Berg joined the staff at the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for c ...

program in 2011. In 2012, she helped coach them to a regional appearance.
She was named Oregon State's head coach on August 27, 2012.

Personal life

Berg was an assistant coach at

from 2000–2003, as she continuing to participate with

. She returned to her alma mater coaching staff for 2005 and 2006 seasons. Eventually she left her post to train with the national team. Berg was invited to be an assistant coach with

in 2012, helping them win a World Cup. In 2006, Berg was named to 25th Anniversary WCWS Team. In 2012, she along with her 2004

teammates were named to the Olympics Hall of Fame.

Awards and honors

*2005 International Sports Invitational Champion *2001 Played for WPSL Gold Professional Team consisting of 2000 Olympians *WAC Champions – Fresno State *Second California State University, Fresno, FSU player to record 100 or more hits in a season *4-Time NFCA All-American (3 First-Team; Third-Team) *4-Time NCAA All-Regional Team *25th WCWS Anniversary Team *Olympic Hall of Fame (2004 Team USA) *

Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

(2009)

Statistics

Fresno State Bulldogs

Team USA

Head Coaching Record

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Laura 1975 births Living people Softball players from California American softball coaches Fresno State Bulldogs softball players Olympic softball players for the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in softball Olympic silver medalists for the United States in softball Softball coaches from California Oregon State Beavers softball coaches Softball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Softball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Softball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Softball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Softball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Fresno State Bulldogs softball coaches Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States People from Santa Fe Springs, California Pan American Games medalists in softball Sportspeople from Whittier, California United States women's national softball team coaches Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Santa Fe High School (California) alumni