Oregon State
BYU
Beavers' Record-Setting Offensive Performance Nets Pair of Wins
February 09, 2012 | Softball
Feb. 9, 2012
OSU 22 BYU 5 (5) Box Score 
| OSU 16 Idaho State 3 (5) Box Score
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Oregon State softball team began its 2012 season in impressive fashion, swinging its way to a pair of blowout wins on the first day of the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. on Thursday afternoon. The Beavers, using the mercy rule in both games, defeated BYU 22-5 and followed that up with a 16-3 romp over Idaho State.
"I am very excited with the way the team performed today and how that sets us up moving forward," Head Coach Kirk Walker said. "We had a game plan in the box and everyone executed it to perfection. The offense was clicking on all cylinders and being able to put that pressure on our opponents will go a long way towards helping us in the win column this season."
The Beavers opened up with BYU, in what was the first NCAA Division I softball game of the entire year, and wasted little time in putting together the most statistically significant offensive inning in Oregon State history.
In the bottom of the second, with Erin Guzy on third and Desiree Beltran on second, Ally Kutz hit her seventh career home run, and first since 2010, deep over the left field fence to put the Beavers on the board, 3-0. From that point on, the floodgates were open.
Ya Garcia reached on a bunt single, her first collegiate hit, and Hannah Bouska got aboard on a fielder's choice. Both would come around to score courtesy of a pair of BYU miscues to increase the gap to 5-0.
The Beavers employed the long ball the rest of the way to jump out to a gaudy 16-0 edge. Liz Santana notched her first hit for the Orange and Black on a double down the left field line and came around on a two-run jack off the bat of Paige Hall.
Two batters later, Guzy, hitting for the second time in the inning, roped a solo shot to right and was backed up by Desiree Beltran, who swatted her long ball to left. They were the first back-to-back home runs for Oregon State since May 25, 2009 when Nikki Chandler and Katelyn Miller turned the trick against Seattle.
A pair of bases-loaded walks scored two more and kept the bags full for Hall. The senior worked the count foul then promptly deposited an opposite-field grand slam to bring everyone home, making the score 15-0. The Beavers would add one more in the second on a Guzy double and, after the better part of an hour, went into the dugout sporting a 16-0 advantage over the Cougars.
The final score of 22-5 belied an impressive array of statistical milestones in the contest for Oregon State. The 22 runs is the most ever for a Beaver squad, eclipsing the 17 scored against UAB in 2006 and the five home runs also tied a school record, achieved twice before (Portland State - 2003 and Seattle - 2009). The 16 runs and five homers in the second inning are all school bests in a single frame as well.
"From top to bottom, our hitters were locked in," Walker said. "The home runs were obviously the highlight, but we received contributions from up and down our entire lineup in both games."
In the second game against Idaho State, OSU got off to a bit of a slower start, but the result was much the same. The team scored twice in the third and four times in the fourth before distancing themselves with a 10-run fifth inning.
The top of Oregon State's lineup set the tone for the matchup against the Bengals. Dani Gilmore, Hannah Bouska and Elizabeth Santana were a combined 8-for-11 with seven runs scored and 10 RBI. The trio was supported by a 2-for-3, three RBI effort from Lea Cavestany and Desiree Beltran drove in two more of her own to help the Beavers to the 16-3 win.
The 17-run margin of victory over BYU matches an Oregon State record, set in that game against UAB in 2006 when the Beavers won 17-0. The 38 combined runs are the highest two-game total ever for OSU and already puts the team over a quarter of the way to its entire mark from last year.
OSU doesn't have much time to celebrate, as the team is back in action early tomorrow morning. The Beavers play Georgia Tech at 7:30 a.m. PT/8:30 a.m. MT and conclude the day with a title against McNeese State at 12:30 p.m. PT/1:30 p.m. MT.
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