Oregon State
California
Softball's Rally Falls Short in 4-3 Setback to Cal
March 26, 2016 | Softball
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Trailing 4-0 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, the 24th-ranked Oregon State softball team rallied for three runs, but were unable to plate the game-tying run as the Beavers fell to the California Golden Bears, 4-3, on Saturday at the OSU Softball Complex.
A pair of Oregon State (21-9-1, 1-5 Pac-12) freshmen started the seventh-inning rally, as right fielder Shelby Weeks reached on error and catcher Kayleen Shafer followed with a single. With one out in the inning, sophomore shortstop McKenna Arriola drove a double to the gap to drive in both, and moved up to third on a fielding error in the outfield.
A popout in the next at-bat had the Beavers down to their final out, but senior second baseman Mikela Manewa reached on a throwing error to keep the inning alive, while Arriola crossed home plate on the play to cut the lead to 4-3. Redshirt junior designated player Natalie Hampton moved the tying run into scoring position with a single to right, but the Beavers went down on strikes in the next at-bat and Oregon State fell just short in a 4-3 setback to Cal (13-12-1, 2-2-1 Pac- 12).
“It was great to see their fight, but we've got to have that before the seventh inning,” Oregon State head coach Laura Berg said. “We can't wait until the last inning for that to happen. We've just got to be more consistent, but it's good to see them fight like that. They need to know that they can do that every inning of every game.”
With the result, Cal takes the series, two games to one. Oregon State looks to rebound against another Bay Area foe next weekend, as the Beavers travel to Stanford for a three-game series from April 1-3.
Arriola highlighted offensive performances for Oregon State, finishing 3-for-4, including the two-run double. In the circle, senior right-hander Bev Miller (9-5) was charged with the loss after allowing Cal four runs on nine hits with a walk and three strikeouts. Freshman righty Meehra Nelson relieved Miller in the sixth inning, holding the Golden Bears to two hits and a walk with two strikeouts in the final two shutout frames.
“Bev had them off balance for the majority of the game,” Berg said. “They just made the adjustments. We just didn't make our adjustments until the last inning.”
The two pitchers dueled through the first three innings, but Cal got a pair of doubles in the top of the fourth inning to open the scoring. The Bears' Taurie Pogue led off the frame with a double down the right field line, and Kobie Pettis followed with an RBI knock to the same spot to give the Golden Bears an early 1-0 lead.
The Bears' other three runs came in the top of the fifth to give Cal its 4-0 lead. Lindsay Rood and Jazmyn Jackson reached on singles, and scored on an RBI single by Annie Aldrete and a two-run home run by Pogue.
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.
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