Softball Sweeps Day Three at Mary Nutter Classic

Saturday, February 27

Cathedral City, CA

10:00 AM

Oregon State

13-2

Bethune Cookman

3-12

Oregon State

Bethune Cookman

Photo by: Dave Nishitani/Oregon State Athletics

February 28, 2016 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Athletic Communications

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The Oregon State softball team picked up wins over Bethune-Cookman and New Mexico State at the Big League Dreams Sports Park on Saturday to finish 4-1 at the Mary Nutter Classic.

Oregon State (14-2) defeated Bethune-Cookman, 9-0, in the early game, before completing the Saturday sweep with a 6-1 win over New Mexico State in the Beavers' final game of the weekend.

Miller (5-1) earned the win for the Beavers in the early game with a complete-game outing against Bethune-Cookman (3-12), limiting the Wildcats to only two hits and no walks with seven strikeouts. Nelson (9-1) picked up the win in the Beavers' victory over New Mexico State (10-5), holding the Aggies to two runs on four hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings.

Freshman catcher Kayleen Shafer paced the Oregon State offense on Saturday, blasting a pair of home runs, two doubles and a single (.714 hitting) with six RBI. Redshirt junior designated player Christie Langlois was 3-for-4 with an RBI, three runs scored and a pair of walks.

Sophomore shortstop McKenna Arriola was 5-for-7 (.714) with three runs scored, a double, walk and a stolen base. Redshirt junior first baseman Natalie Hampton finished 4-for-7 (.571) with a double and four RBI.

The Oregon State softball team returns to action next weekend at the Judi Garman Classic. The Beavers are set to face four teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season, opening with Baylor on Friday, March 4 at 5:30 p.m. PT.

Game One: Oregon State 9, Bethune-Cookman 0 (5 inn.)
Oregon State wasted no time in getting the offense started on Saturday, hanging five runs on the board in the top of the first. All four of the Beavers' leadoff batters recorded a hit, with the first run scored off a leadoff double from Arriola and an RBI double from Lovie Lopez. Mikela Manewa followed with a single to move her to third, and each came in on a single from Hampton and sacrifice fly from Madison Anthony.

Langlois followed Hampton's RBI single with a full-count walk, and after a Shelby Weeks sacrifice bunt moved both up a base, Shafer cleared the bases with a two-RBI double to right-center, giving Oregon State a 5-0 advantage.

Shafer added another pair of RBI on a home run to left center in the top of the third, and Manewa moved the score to 9-0 with a home run of her own to straightaway center. Miller held BCU in check throughout, allowing singles in the first and fourth en route to a 9-0 win.

Game Two: Oregon State 10, New Mexico State 2
The Beavers continued Saturday's trend of early-inning scoring, combining for six runs in the first three innings. Following a scoreless first inning, Shafer opened the scoring on a solo home run to left, putting the Beavers up 1-0 after two.

The scoring continued for Oregon State in the third, when the Beavers piled on five more runs. The scoring started on a one-out rally, as the bases were loaded on back-to-back walks issued to Arriola and Lopez and a base hit to left by Manewa. Hampton cleared the bases on a double to left center, and then the Beavers loaded them again with singles from Anthony and Shafer. Langlois plated the fourth run of the inning on a sacrifice fly to right, and Weeks capped the inning with an RBI single to give Oregon State a 6-0 advantage after three.

Shafer opened a four-run sixth inning for Oregon State with an RBI double. Each of Weeks and Alysha Everett, who entered as a pinch hitter, drove in RBI on sacrifice flies. On Everett's plate appearance, the left fielder threw the ball out of play along the third base side, forcing the runners to move up a base and score the Beavers' 10th run.

New Mexico State scored a run in each of the sixth and seventh inning on a sacrifice fly and RBI single, respectively, but could not catch up with the Oregon State offense, as the Beavers closed out their 14th win, 10-2.

For more information on the Oregon State softball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/OregonStateSB, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateSB or on Instagram at Instagram.com/OregonStateSB.

About OSU Athletics: The mission of the OSU Department of Athletics is to provide opportunities to young people and develop leaders through a tradition of academic and athletic achievement in a progressive, inclusive environment of mutual respect.