Oregon State
UC Davis
UC Davis Blinks First in Pitchers' Duel With No. 24 Softball
March 24, 2013 | Softball
March 24, 2013
DAVIS, Calif. – It was fitting to hear a song with the lyric 'This girl is on fire' heading into the bottom of the seventh inning of the No. 24 Oregon State softball team's non-conference matchup at UC Davis on Sunday afternoon. In the game's first six innings, senior pitcher Marina Demore was burning bright as she engaged in a pitchers' duel with the Aggies' Justine Vela. In the bottom of the seventh, though, she had to extinguish a few flames to push the scoreless game into extra innings where the Beavers came out on top, 1-0.
The Aggies' half of the seventh opened with a slicing double from Kayla Tyler that landed just inside the left-field line for a leadoff double. A groundout to second moved the winning run to third base with just one out. After a walk put runners on the corners, Chandler Wagner lined a bullet to third. With little time to react, third baseman Desiree Beltran saved the game by corralling the scorching liner. With two down, Demore (15-3) got her eighth strikeout to end the threat with the winning run stranded at third.
The Beavers (22-5) broke the tie in the top of the eighth. Junior Ally Kutz ripped a single up the middle one batter later to give OSU the only run it would need for the day.
Demore and Vela each allowed just four hits while striking out eight. It took each team awhile to find its offensive footing. Neither team had a hitter reach base until the fourth. In the top half, shortstop Elizabeth Santana tripled into right center but was stranded there. It was the first of her two hits. She doubled with one out in the seventh but again didn't score. That set the stage for Demore's escape in the bottom half and the Beavers' redemption in the eighth.
The Beavers now move on to CSU Bakersfield for a doubleheader tomorrow that begins at noon.
