Oregon State
UCLA
Feickert Dazzles In Defining Road Upset Of No. 14 UCLA
April 01, 2012 | Softball
April 1, 2012
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Freshman right-hander Aryn Feickert made her first-ever Pac-12 start, holding the nation's 14th-ranked team at bay for the better part of six innings, and the Beavers coupled her work in the circle with multi-hit efforts from Elizabeth Santana and Paige Hall to catapult themselves to a defining road upset of UCLA, 7-5, on Sunday afternoon at Easton Stadium.
"I'm very proud of the team's effort and response after dropping the first two games of the series to a very good Bruin team," Oregon State softball head coach Kirk Walker said. "Aryn was fantastic and showed that she has what it takes to win big in the Pac-12."
The win was exceptional in many respects. It was Oregon State's 11th all-time victory against the perennial powerhouse from Southern California and was only the Beavers' fourth win against the Bruins in Westwood. OSU (26-10, 3-3 Pac-12) last came away from Easton Stadium on top on April 21, 2006 in a 2-0 triumph over then-No. 1 UCLA.
It was also Oregon State's first Pac-12 road win of any sort since 2009 (4/11/09 vs. Oregon; W, 2-1) and was the program's first true road win against a top-15 team since it defeated No. 11 Washington, 2-0, on April 27, 2007. The 7-5 final also snapped UCLA's 12-game winning streak, handed the Bruins (25-7, 2-1 Pac-12) their first home loss of the season and only their first home defeat at the hands of an unranked opponent since 2009.
Feickert's performance on the rubber had an obvious effect on her teammates in the dugout as the game wore on. The first-year pitcher threw up zeroes against the country's top statistical offense in the first four frames, matching UCLA ace Jessica Hall pitch-for-pitch. The Bruins only threatened in the second on back-to-back, two-out singles, but Feickert fanned Devon Lindvall swinging to slam the door shut.
Oregon State finally broke through and took its first lead of the series in the top of the fifth. Erin Guzy began the frame with a single to center field and was run for by Madison Bundy. Ally Kutz sacrificed Bundy to second, and the Beavers' small ball worked one batter later when Lea Cavestany singled to center to drive in the game's first run.
Ya Garcia followed that up with a walk before some confusion on UCLA's part gave OSU another run. Dani Gilmore struck out swinging, but the ball got by the catcher and to the backstop. Gilmore darted off to first, but unbeknownst to the Bruins; she was immediately out because first base was already occupied. Yudin made an ill-advised throw to first that hit Gilmore in the back, allowing Cavestany to come around and score and advance Garcia to third.
Santana then stepped in and stroked a single to right field that scored Garcia and put the Beavers up, 3-0.
UCLA got back into the game in the bottom half on a two-run home run off the bat of Kellie Fox before tying things up, 3-3, on an RBI single by B.B. Bates in the sixth.
Combined with 2 2/3 scoreless innings thrown on Friday, Feickert threw 6 2/3 against UCLA without giving up a run before surrendering the long ball to Fox.
Seeing a golden opportunity beginning to slip away, the Beavers came out on fire in the seventh, battering Jessica Hall for four more runs to re-take a 7-3 lead.
Garcia led off with a single to center field, Santana singled to through the left side and Desiree Beltran was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. On the first pitch she saw, Paige showed she was the better of the two Hall's, lining a double into the left-center field gap to score two more.
Not to be outdone by her fellow Jesuit High School alum, the next batter, senior Mary Claire Brenner, shot a ball back up the middle to drive in two more and stake the Beavers to a 7-3 lead.
UCLA would make things interesting in its last at-bats, as Ally Carda hit a two-run home run to pull the Bruins to within two, 7-5, in the bottom of the seventh.
Tina Andreana would come on with one away and worked her way through the heart of UCLA's lineup to notch the second save of her career. The junior secured one out when the second baseman Garcia made an amazing, over-the-shoulder catch of a pop-up down the right-field line, but two walks and a single loaded the bases for the Bruins' No. 4 hitter, B.B. Bates, who had been 4-for-9 with two home runs and four RBI in the series.
Andreana kept Bates guessing, pounding her in on the hands until inducing a fly ball on an off-speed pitch that easily found the waiting glove of Gilmore in center, who secured the ball to close out the momentous win.
Feickert earned the victory, her third of the season and first in Pac-12 play, by going 6 1/3 with seven hits and five runs, but all the while keeping her team in the game. Andreana threw 22 pitches for the save and the pitching duo was complemented by a 3-for-4 (RBI) effort from Santana and a 2-for-4 (2 RBI) day from Paige Hall.
The Beavers finished an amazing week with a 5-2 mark, including three victories over top-15 opponents. OSU beat rival and nationally-ranked Oregon twice last Monday. Oregon State hadn't beaten three ranked teams in the same week in six years, since defeating No. 1 UCLA (2-0) and No. 14 Washington (3-2; 5-0) on three consecutive days in 2006 (April 21-23).
Oregon State will have a brief hiatus from its Pac-12 schedule, hosting Portland State for a doubleheader on Wednesday, before welcoming Arizona State to Corvallis for a three-game set on April 10 and 11.
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