Late Rally Comes Up Just Short, OSU Falls to UCLA
LOS ANGELES – The Oregon State softball team’s seventh-inning rally came up just short, as the Beavers fell to No. 2 UCLA 10-8 Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles.
Oregon State (13-26, 3-13 Pac-12) entered the final frame trailing by six, but the Beavers came back with four runs in the inning to move within striking distance before the game ended. The late-game rally was headlined by a pinch-hit three-run homer from senior Bailee Niehus, the first long-ball of her collegiate career.
Junior CJ Chirichigno hit a grand slam in the first inning to record her third home run of the season. The blast was the first grand slam of her career, and the first grand slam by a Beaver since Natalie Hampton hit one on Feb. 9, 2013 against Northwestern. Junior Dani Gilmore extended her hitting streak to eight games by going 2-for-4 with a run. The streak is now the longest by any Beaver this season, and is tied for the longest of Gilmore’s career.
Oregon State’s 13 hits in the contest were the most by the Beavers in a Pac-12 game this season.
Juniors Kori Nishitomi and Ya Garcia both ended the day 2-for-4 with a run. Senior Isabelle Batayola finished with a hit, a run and an RBI, while freshman Kylie Padilla added a hit and a run.
The Beavers got off to a great start, as Nishitomi, Garcia and Gilmore all singled to load the bases with none out. Chirichigno proceeded to crush a homer to left field to give Oregon State an early 4-0 lead. UCLA (39-4, 12-3) pulled a pair back in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to two, before Garcia made a nice defensive play to get the Beavers out of the frame. The Bruins would add four more in the second, however, to take the lead 6-4.
It looked like the Bruins might stretch the lead further in the third inning, as they put runners on first and second, but Nishitomi made a nice running catch in left, before throwing the ball to second to double off the runner and end the frame.
The Bruins added four in the bottom of the sixth to take a six-run lead. The Beavers rallied in the seventh, as Padilla started things off with a single. Freshman Alex Boyd then reached with a walk, before Batayola singled to bring Padilla home. Niehus then followed that up with a three-run blast over the wall in right to put the Beaver within striking distance. UCLA would hold on from there, however, and the Bruins took a two-run victory.
The Beavers will return to OSU Softball Complex for their final home conference series of the season, as they host Washington with a series that will begin on Friday.
