Oregon State
Saint Mary's (Hawaii Tournament)
Kirk Walker Earns Victory #300 In Perfect Game Against SMC, But Softball Falls In Championship To Tennessee
February 08, 2004 | Softball
Feb. 8, 2004
HONOLULU, HI - Kirk Walker earned his 300th career victory as the Oregon State softball team recorded a perfect game in an 8-0 victory against Saint Mary's College in the semi-final contest of Sunday's Paradise Classic in Honolulu, HI. The Beavers dropped a 2-0 decision to University of Tennessee in the championship game.
Senior pitcher Monica Hoffman threw two innings against the Gaels, while freshman pitcher Ta'Tyana McElroy improved to 3-0 on the season by throwing the final three innings, as OSU topped SMC in a run-ruled contest that lasted just five innings.
Saint Mary's failed to have a batter reach base in the game, as Hoffman and McElroy combined for six strikeouts.
The Beavers used a 5-run first inning, highlighted by a 2-RBI double to right-center field by Ingrid Lochelt, to grab the early lead. OSU added two more runs in the fourth and scored the game-winner in the fifth inning when Sarah Tommasini crossed the plate on a wild pitch.
Lochelt finished the afternoon with a 2-for-2 clip from the plate, belting a double in both appearances, while Adrienne Alo and Kelly Petersen each went 2-for-3.
OSU failed to get things going offensively against Tennessee in the tournament's championship game. The Beavers out-hit the Lady Volunteers by a 6-4 clip, but left five runners stranded on base.
Freshman left fielder Mia Longfellow led Oregon State with a perfect 3-for-3 performance in the game.
Tennessee freshman hurler Monica Abbott tallied 15 strikeouts in the game, while Hoffman (5-2) fanned seven in the loss.
Timely hitting proved to be the deciding factor in the game, as UT took advantage of a pair of hits in both the fourth and sixth innings to get on the scoreboard. Tennessee scored what proved to be the game-winner with an RBI single up the middle in the fourth inning and added an insurance run in the sixth inning when Lauren Mattox belted an RBI double.
Oregon State (9-3) placed five players on the Paradise Classic All-Tournament Team and sophomore outfielder Adrienne Alo was named the Most Outstanding Player. Alo led the tournament field with a .500 batting average (11-for-22), scored five runs and belted two home runs.
The Beavers return to action on Friday when they travel to Las Vegas, NV to face University of Utah at 1 p.m. PST in the opening game of the UNLV Tournament.
Paradise Classic All-Tournament Team:
Lisa Allen
Adrienne Alo - Most Outstanding Player
Monica Hoffman
Vanessa Iapala
Kelly Petersen
