Batayola Homers as Beavers Dominate Vikings
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State softball team recorded a pair of 14-hit games, as the Beavers swept their doubleheader against Portland State Tuesday at the OSU Softball Complex. Oregon State opened the day with a 13-1 victory in five innings to start the afternoon, before posting a 6-3 win to close out the day.
The 14-hit performances match Oregon State’s season-high, first set against Pacific on Feb. 22. Senior Isabelle Batayola provided the high point of the afternoon for the Beavers, hitting her first career home run, a two run shot in the afternoon’s second contest. Junior Kori Nishitomi tallied five hits over the course of the two games, going 3-for-3 with three runs and an RBI to start the day, before following that up with a 2-for-4 performance.
Junior Dani Gilmore hit 3-for-3 with five RBIs, two runs and a triple in the opening contest, extending her hitting streak to 12 games before it came to an end in the second matchup. Junior CJ Chirichigno and freshman Kylie Padilla also had strong showings in the early game, as Chirichigno went 1-for-2 with two runs and an RBI, and Padilla batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run. Freshman Alexis Gonzalez finished with a double, two RBIs and a run. Senior Amanda Najdek earned a win in the contest, going the full five innings and allowing just three hits.
Senior Hannah Bouska was a bright spot for the Beavers in the second contest, as she went 2-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI. Chirichigno had another strong showing, hitting a pair of doubles, while fellow junior Ya Garcia moved within one hit of 100 on her career, going 2-for-4 with a run. Junior Melanie Dembinski earned the win in the circle, conceding just five hits and two earned runs, while striking out a career-high-tying six in seven innings of work.
The Beavers jumped out to an early lead in game one, with three runs in the first inning. Nishitomi started things off with a walk, before Gilmore brought her home with a triple to center. Gonzalez followed that up by plating Gilmore with an RBI groundout. Padilla closed out the scoring with a single that scored Chirichigno, as Oregon State took a 3-0 lead.
After conceding a run in the third inning, the Beavers exploded with 10 runs in the fourth. Freshman Amee Aarhus, Nishitomi and Garcia all got on to start the rally, before Gilmore came through with a two-RBI single. Gonzalez then scored Garcia with a double, before Chirichigno, Padilla, freshman Alex Boyd and Nishitomi all recorded RBI singles to help extend the lead. Gilmore capped off the scoring in the inning by plating a pair with a single to left, as the Beavers coasted to the win.
Oregon State got ahead early again in the second game of the day. Batayola’s homer over the left-field fence gave the Beavers a two-run lead in the second inning. After Portland State cut the edge to 2-1 in the third, Oregon State bounced back in the bottom of the frame, as Chirichigno double to score senior Bailee Niehus before she was brought home on a double from Bouska.
The Vikings came back with another run in the fourth, but again the Beavers responded, as Padilla plated Garcia with a single in the bottom of the frame. Gilmore then came through with a sacrifice fly in the fifth to close out the scoring for the Beavers. Portland State pulled one back in the sixth, but it was not enough, as the Oregon State took the three-run victory.
The Beavers hit the road this weekend for a pair of games against UNLV.
