Oregon State
Northwestern
Beavers Remain Alive In NCAA Softball Action With 4-0 Win Over Northwestern.
May 20, 2000 | Softball
May 20, 2000
NORMAN, Okla. - Michele Notaro came up with her only hit of the day right when the Beavers needed it - with the bases loaded in the sixth inning of a scoreless game.
Notaro's hit broke up the scoreless tie and helped lift the Oregon State softball team to a 4-0 win over Northwestern in the NCAA regional tournament Saturday. The win keeps OSU's College World Series hopes alive, although the Beavers must beat Oklahoma twice Sunday to do so.
"The heat was really tough and we were tired, but we came out and gave it everything we had because we really wanted to play tomorrow," Notaro said.
After getting just two hits through the first five innings, the Beavers (40-20-1) exploded for three runs on four hits and a Northwestern error in the sixth. Tarrah Beyster started things off with a one-out single to right field. Jessica King pinch ran for Beyster, and Jenni Jodoin singled to right field to put runners on first and second. Brooke Rutschman continued the hot hitting, with another single to right field to load the bases.
That brought up Notaro, who lifted a base hit to right field to send King across the plate for the first run of the game. NU rightfielder Brett Nakabayashi then misplayed the ball, allowing Jodoin to score. Notaro then got caught in rundown while trying to advance to second on the throw. She safely made it second on the play, and Rutschman made it home while the Wildcats were chasing down Notaro.
"I was really concerned in the first couple of innings, but it was really nice to get those three runs in. The heat was definitely an issue today, that and our lack of confidence coming off the loss (to Oklahoma)," said coach Kirk Walker.
Rutschman, who went 3-for-4 for the game, drove in OSU's final run with an RBI single in the seventh inning that sent Shawna Feldt across the plate for the fourth run of the game.
Beyster picked up the win for the Beavers after throwing 5.1 innings of shutout ball. She got into a jam in the first inning when the Wildcats came up with three hits in a row to load the bases with two outs, but Beyster got Jenn Shull to foul out to third base to end the inning. Beyster (27-13) allowed six hits with three strikeouts and no walks, but left the game after giving up back-to-back hits with one out in the sixth.
Crystal Draper pitched 1.2 innings in relief, giving up just one hit and striking out four batters to improve her tournament total to 25 strikeouts.
Lauren Schwendimann took the loss for Northwestern (30-26) and finished her season at 19-11.
The Beavers will face Oklahoma at 10 a.m PDT Sunday. OSU needs to beat the Sooners twice to advance to the WCWS, OU needs just one win to advance.
Game Results
Oregon State 000 003 1 - 4 9 0 Northwestern 000 000 0 - 0 7 1
Beyster, Draper (6) and Prochaska. Schwendimann and Barnes. WP- Beyster (27-13). LP- Schwendimann (19-11).
