Seventh Inning Rally Propels No. 16 Softball Past No. 12 Washington, 5-4

Corvallis, OR – Senior shortstop drew a bases loaded walk to cap-off a four-run seventh inning comeback and lead the No. 16 ranked Oregon State softball team to a 5-4 victory over No. 12 Washington on Sunday afternoon.

The full-count pitch to Longfellow was high and outside, allowing the Beavers to rally back from a 4-1 seventh inning deficit and improve to 33-13 overall and 5-3 in the Pacific-10 Conference.

“This team (Oregon State) just has so much heart,” said Longfellow. “No matter what the score is, we’re going to keep fighting.”

Washington (27-11; 4-4 Pac-10) rode the arm of sophomore pitcher Danielle Lawrie – who had allowed just two hits and faced the minimum number of batters over five straight innings until the wheels fell off in the seventh.

Beaver outfielder led-off the frame with a single up-the-middle and the next three Oregon State batters reached base after getting hit by pitches. Sophomore stepped to the plate and hit a 2-RBI single through the right side of the infield that allowed pinch runner to tie the game when she slid around the tag at the plate.

Lawrie was replaced in the circle by Caitlin Noble who recorded a pair of outs before loading the bases and eventually walking Longfellow to allow to score the game-winner.

The Huskies took the early edge on the day when junior Ashley Charters opened the game with a triple down the first base line and eventually was sacrificed home by Dominique Lastrapes to give Washington a quick 1-0 advantage.

The Beavers responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the first when crossed the plate while was caught in a run-down between first and second base.

Washington used a pair of home runs – a fourth inning solo shot from Lawrie and a fifth inning 2-run homer from Dena Tyson – to extend its advantage to 4-1.

The Huskies threatened again in the top of the seventh by loading the bases with just one out. Oregon State senior pitcher (11-6) entered the game in relief and retired back-to-back UW batters to get out of the frame unscathed.

OSU leaves the state of Oregon for the first time since Mar. 10 when the Beavers travel to the desert to face No. 4 Arizona on Friday before visiting No. 8 Arizona State for the weekend series. The Beavers are currently tied with the Sun Devils in second place in the Pac-10 standings, while the Wildcats lead the conference with a 7-1 mark.

Friday’s 7 p.m. game at Arizona will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on FSN.

GAME RESULTS:

No. 12 Washington – 100 120 0 – 4 11 0

No. 16 Oregon State – 100 000 4 – 5 4 0
McGowan, McElroy (7) and Ewing (OSU), Lawrie, Noble (7) and Matthews (UW). Win – McElroy (11-6). Loss – Lawrie (16-7). HR – Lawrie (UW), Tyson (UW). 3B – Charters (UW). 2B - Moojen (UW).