Oregon State
Iowa
Oregon State's Arms Lead to Two-Game Sweep at Cathedral City Classic
February 24, 2012 | Softball
Feb. 24, 2012
OSU 4 Ohio State 3 Box Score 
| OSU 2 Iowa 1 (8) Box Score
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. - As good as its offense has been all season, the Oregon State softball team leaned on the arms of its pitchers on Friday afternoon, riding their grit and determination to two wins on the second day of the Cathedral City Classic in Southern California. The Beavers defeated Ohio State, 4-3, before topping Iowa, 2-1, in extra innings.
The wins bump Oregon State's record to 10-4 on the year. It marks the program's best start since its 2006 team reeled off 28 straight wins after dropping the first two games of that campaign en route to the school's only appearance in the Women's College World Series.
"Both of these wins were huge today," Head Coach Kirk Walker said. "Our pitchers kept fighting and really shut the door when the other teams could have broken through; our hitters were putting together some lengthy at-bats; and the entire team really came together when we were behind in both games to get these victories."
In the opener against the Buckeyes, Tina Andreana was finally rewarded with a win for some marathon work in the circle. She threw the 10th complete game of her career, lasting all seven innings and only allowing two earned runs. After Ohio State grabbed a 2-1 lead in the third inning, the junior buckled down and quashed any hope of victory for her Big Ten opponent by forcing them to strand two runners in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings and one baserunner in each of the sixth and seventh.
The Beavers broke it open courtesy of a three-run fifth inning. Hannah Bouska, currently in the midst of a five-game hitting streak, led off with a beautiful bunt single that settled in the dirt in front of the plate and was backed up with another single off the bat of Elizabeth Santana. The pair was advanced on a groundout by Desiree Beltran before Bouska scored on Erin Guzy's second hit of the game.
Madison Bundy came on to run for Guzy and promptly stole second base, setting up Paige Hall for a huge two-out, two-RBI single through the left side to give Oregon State a lead it would never relinquish. Andreana needed only seven pitches to snuff out the Buckeye batters in the seventh to secure the win.
In the game, Hall was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and Santana had her second three-hit game in as many days (3-for-4). Her six multi-hit games lead the Beavers this season as does her .409 batting average.
Game two against Iowa was another defensive struggle and this time the hero was Marina Demore, who came on in relief in the fourth with her team down 1-0, and proceeded to surrender only one hit in the next five innings to earn the win, as the Beavers would come from behind yet again.
Bouska drove in a run with a single in the fifth inning and would have the opportunity to play the role of hero in the eighth, as she strode to the plate with one out and Ya Garcia on third base in a 1-1 game.
The sophomore worked the count in her favor, 2-1, and slapped a shot to the right side. Iowa's second baseman fielded the ball and gunned a dart home, but the shifty Garcia made a deft move to the outside as she slid, touching the plate with her outstretched left hand while avoiding the tag to give her team its 10th win of the season.
Bouska drove in both runs for the Beavers in the game and now leads the team in that category with 13 this year. She also tops the charts in multiple-RBI games with five.
A couple of dazzling defensive plays gave OSU a chance to win it late. In Iowa's half of the seventh inning, it had runners on first and second with one out when a grounder found its way into the glove of Guzy at first. Instead of taking the unassisted putout, she rifled a throw to Beltran across the diamond at third base, nabbing the lead runner and stifling any sort of Hawkeye momentum. The very next batter hit a tough popup to Beltran, which the junior corralled with a diving effort to her left to end the frame.
Oregon State will have a day off before it concludes the Cathedral City Classic against Colorado State on Sunday at 11 a.m.
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