Oregon State
McNeese State
Oregon State's Stellar Offense Not Enough In Pair of One-Run Losses
February 10, 2012 | Softball
Feb. 10, 2012
GT 9 OSU 8 Box Score 
| McNeese State 3 OSU 2 (8) Box Score
TEMPE, Ariz. - Marina Demore gave up only three earned runs in nine total innings on the day and the Beavers knocked a trio of balls out of the park, but that tandem came up just short, as the Oregon State softball team lost a pair of one-run games on the second day of the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. on Friday afternoon. OSU fell to No. 23 Georgia Tech in its early-morning opener, 9-8, and then was bested in eight innings by McNeese State, 3-2, in game two.
"We played a couple of close games today, but didn't get the results we wanted," Head Coach Kirk Walker said. "We need to learn from these two and improve. After an impressive first day in Arizona, this is our first setback of the season, so it's important that we are resilient and continue to compete."
Despite an early 8:30 a.m. start against the Yellow Jackets, Oregon State's bats picked up right where they left off after the team's historic first day of the season, scoring a couple of runs in the opening inning to stake themselves to an early 2-0 advantage. Georgia Tech, playing in its season opener, bounced back with six runs on a grand slam and two-run home run in the second, grabbing a four-run edge, 6-2.
From that point, the Beavers continued to claw back into the game. In the top of the third, freshman Dani Gilmore hit her first career home run off a one-strike offering from Georgia Tech's starter, a towering shot to right field. She added another RBI on a single in the fourth and was followed with an RBI base knock from sophomore Hannah Bouska that pulled OSU to within one, 6-5.
Oregon State added two more in the sixth and junior Lea Cavestany hit her first long ball of the season in the top of the seventh, a solo shot, but the Yellow Jackets were able to push across a single run in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, thwarting the Beavers' comeback bid and claiming the 9-8 victory.
The top of OSU's lineup continued its dominance that started on day one, harassing Georgia Tech's pitchers all morning. Gilmore (3-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI), Bouska (3-for-3, 2 RBI) and Elizabeth Santana (2-for-4, 2 RBI) were a combined 8-for-10 with six RBI. Coupled with the win over Idaho State on Thursday, Gilmore put together a stretch of six hits in six at bats, with a home run and seven RBI.
For the first time this season, game two featured a pitchers' duel between Demore and McNeese State's starter. The Cowgirls jumped ahead in the fourth inning on a two-run homer, but Desiree Beltran answered with one of her own in the fifth to tie the score. Demore held down her opponent in the fifth, sixth and seventh before the game headed into extra innings.
Using the international tiebreaker rule in the eighth, McNeese State's runner, starting on second base, eventually came around to score on a ball to the right side. The Beavers were unable to match in their half and Demore was the hard-luck loser despite allowing only three hits in eight innings and striking out nine.
With the results, Oregon State's record on the season evened out to 2-2. The Beavers close out tournament with another opportunity against a nationally-ranked opponent when they take on No. 21/20 Nebraska tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. MT.
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