Beavers Battle Devils, Come Up Just Short
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Oregon State softball team battled hard on Sunday afternoon at Farrington Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., but a seventh-inning run from No. 21 Arizona State gave the Sun Devils a 4-3 win in the final game of the weekend series.
Oregon State (24-19, 5-13 Pac-12) out-hit Arizona State (29-16, 7-7) 11-6 in the game, and fought back from 3-0 down to tie the score in the fifth inning before the Sun Devils scored the deciding run in the final frame.
Senior Dani Gilmore went 3-for-4 with a run and a double, as she continued her ascent on the OSU all-time hits list, moving into a tie for ninth. Fellow senior Hannah Akamine matched Gilmore, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Freshman Alysha Everett ended the day with two hits and two RBIs, while junior Sammi Noland notched a hit and a run, and junior Mikela Manewa tallied three walks.
Sophomore pitcher Taylor Cotton did not allow an earned run in three and a third innings in the circle, shutting down a high-powered ASU offense.
The Beavers posed a threat in the top of the first, as Manewa walked to start the frame and Gilmore singled through the right side, but both runners were stranded. The Sun Devils would respond by putting a pair of runners in scoring position in the bottom of the frame, but freshman pitcher Rainey Dyreson worked out of it to keep ASU off the board.
Arizona State got on the board in the bottom of the second, with a solo homer to left-center.
Oregon State looked like it might get a rally going in the third, as Manewa walked for a second time, before Gilmore fired a double up the middle to put a pair in scoring position. The Beavers stranded both runners, though, and the Sun Devils carried their one-run lead into the bottom of the frame.
OSU got off to another strong start in the fourth, as Noland started the inning with a single, and Akamine followed her with a double. After sophomore Amee Aarhus entered to pinch run at second, Everett came through with a two-RBI single to the right side to bring the Beavers within a run.
The Beavers would proceed to tie things up in the fifth inning. Gilmore and redshirt sophomore Natalie Hampton started the inning with back-to-back singles, and Akamine brought Gilmore in with the third base-hit of the inning. It looked like Oregon State might be able to get another rally going in the sixth when freshman Lovie Lopez and Manewa both reached base, but the runners were stranded.
Oregon State looked like it might take the lead again in the top of the seventh, when singles from Akamine and Everett, along with a walk by senior CJ Chirichigno, loaded the bases with two out. ASU would work out of it though, and the teams went to the bottom of the seventh tied at three apiece. The Sun Devils would plate one in the bottom of the frame to take the win.
The Beavers will return to action this Tuesday, when they play a midweek doubleheader at Portland State.
