Strong Hitting Propels Beavers Past Gauchos 8-1
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Beaver offense what firing on all cylinders Wednesday afternoon, as the Oregon State softball team recorded 13 hits in an 8-1 win over UC Santa Barbara at OSU Softball Complex.
“We did the little things today,” said head coach Laura Berg. “It was reading changeup and stealing a bag; it was hitting behind runners. Little things make a big difference in the game of softball, and that’s why we got this outcome.”
Senior Hannah Bouska went 3-for-3 with two runs and a double, while freshman Alexis Gonzalez finished the day 2-for-2 with a run, two RBIs, a steal and two walks. Junior Dani Gilmore went 3-for4 with two runs and a steal, Kori Nishitomi hit 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, and freshman Kylie Padilla batted 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Senior Amanda Najdek led Oregon State (12-18) in the circle, allowing no earned runs and just seven hits in a complete-game effort.
“Amanda is going to get ground balls, and our defense did a great job of playing behind her,” Berg said. “She got ahead in the count, and she didn’t let hitters get comfortable in the batter’s box.”
After being held off the scoreboard in the first two innings, the Beavers broke through with three runs in the third. Bouska started the frame with a double to right field, before Nishitomi brought her home with a base hit. Nishitomi then scored on a wild pitch, before Gonzalez plated Gilmore with a single.
The Beavers proceeded to add another in the fourth, using some small-ball to stretch the lead to 4-0. The frame began with a Padilla single. The freshman from Chino, Calif., proceeded to advance to third on consecutive groundouts, before coming home on a wild pitch.
The Beaver offense continued to roll in the fifth inning. Gilmore started things off with a single, before Gonzalez walked. Both runners stole to set up an RBI groundout for junior CJ Chirichigno, her first of two runs batted in on the day. Gonzalez then scored on a single from Padilla to make the score 6-0.
UC Santa Barbara (21-15) got on the board on in the top of the sixth inning, but the Oregon State offense refused to slow down, as the Beavers added two more in the bottom of the frame to take the win by seven runs. Bouska, Nishitomi and Gilmore all singled to load the bases with one out. Gonzalez then walked to plate Bouska, before Nishitomi came home on a fielder’s choice to finish the scoring.
The Beavers will return to action Friday, as they start their series against Utah at 5 p.m. in Salt Lake City. All three games in the weekend set will be aired live on Pac-12 Networks.
Game Notes:
- Wednesday’s 13 hits is Oregon State’s second highest this season (14 vs. Pacific on Feb. 22) and the highest by the Beavers this year at OSU Softball Complex.
- Dani Gilmore is now batting .326 for her career, placing her just short of Elizabeth Santana (.329) for fifth on OSU’s career list.
- Gilmore has also scored 110 career runs, moving her closer to Kelly Peterson (121) for fourth on Oregon State’s career list.
- Gilmore now has 28 career steals, tying her with Brook Rutschman for ninth on Oregon State’s career list.
- Hannah Bouska needs just two more hits to reach 100 in her career.
