Softball Drops Pair to Cal
May 9, 1998
BERKELEY, Calif. - The Oregon State softball team (27-26, 8-18 Pacific-10) saw its playoff chances slip away after dropping two games to 24th-ranked California (32-25, 10-14) Friday afternoon. The Golden Bears took the opener, 3-1, before an 8-0 victory in the five-inning nightcap.
Cal jumped ahead early in the opener, when Megumi Takasaki led off the bottom of the first with a base hit. She later scored from second after Tasha Heddinger's fielding error to put the Bears on top, 1-0.
The Bears would get two insurance runs in the third inning, sparked by back-to-back singles from Maiko Bristow and Takasaki. Amber Phillips then knocked down a sacrifice bunt to put the runners on second and third with just the one out. Lisa Iancin then singled to left field to score Bristow, and Takasaki came home after Brooke Rutschman's error.
In Cal's next at-bat, Holly Yost belted a sharp line drive that hit Tarrah Beyster in the rib, sending the Beaver pitcher to the ground and eventually in for x-rays. Beyster, who drew her school-record 48th walk in her only plate appearance, left the game in pain after giving up five hits and three runs in 2.1 innings of work. Her x-rays came back negative, and she was cleared to play at Stanford Saturday.
Brooke Hofstetter replaced Beyster in the pitcher's circle and shut out the Bears for the remainder of the game. Beyster dropped to 21-15 with the loss.
Whitney Floyd, who threw a no-hitter against the Beavers on April 5, improved to 17-13 after limiting Oregon State to just three hits in game one. Parisa Plant was 2-for-3 with a double and scored OSU's only run of the game in the sixth inning. Plant collected on her fourth double of the year and stole third before Kim Herman drove her in with a grounder to shortstop Katie May. Jodi Chmielewski had OSU's only other hit of the game.
The OSU offense was slim in the second game as well, with just three Beavers reaching base. Kelli Kranz singled in the third inning and Tasha Heddinger followed that up with a walk to put two runners on with only one out before Plant lined into a double play to end the inning. Chmielewski had OSU's only other hit in the fourth inning.
The Beavers kept the game a close 2-0 until the fifth inning when Cal came up with six runs on four hits and a walk. With the bases loaded and only one out, Pauline Duenas tripled to drive in three runs and end the game at 8-0.
Hofstetter dropped to 6-11 with the loss after giving up eight runs and 10 hits with no strikeouts in the second game. Nicole DiSalvio moved to 10-7 with the victory.
Oregon State concludes regular season play Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader at No. 9 Stanford. The Beavers must win at least one of those games to finish with a winning record and be considered for post-season competition.
Oregon State Softball at California Game One Oregon State 000 001 0 - 1 3 2 California 102 000 x - 3 8 0 Beyster, Hofstetter (3) and Kranz. Floyd and Takasaki. WP- Floyd (17-13). LP- Beyster (21-15). 2B- Plant (OSU).Game Two Oregon State 000 00 - 0 2 1 California 010 16 - 8 10 0 Hofstetter and Kranz. DiSalvio and Takasaki. WP- DiSalvio (10-7). LP- Hofstetter (6-11). 2B- Takasaki (Cal), May (Cal). 3B- Duenas (Cal).
