Beavers Rout Utah State, 11-3

Sophomore Tarah Black hit her first home run of the season to score three runs and put the Beavers up 4-1 after three.

Redshirt freshman Stefanie Draper hit the walk-off RBI single in her first at bat of the season. Photo courtesy: OSU Athletics

CORVALLIS, Ore. - In her first at bat of the season, second career at bat, redshirt freshman Stefanie Draper hit the walk-off RBI single as the Oregon State softball team defeated Utah State 11-3 in six innings in the team’s final game of the Cascade Clash.

Oregon State (18-13) posted 13 hits, led by sophomore Alana Ford’s 3-for-3 performance, adding a pair of runs and RBI. Freshman Erin Guzy went a perfect 2-for-2 with a couple of runs and RBI as well.

“I thought we hit the ball really well today,” Oregon State head coach Kirk Walker said. “The pitchers did a nice job and it was nice to get some good wins.”

Sophomore Tarah Black hit her first home run of the season in a shot over the left field fence, to score three runs and put the Beavers up 4-1 after three after Ford led off with a single before advancing to third on an error by Jeanine Hernandez with freshman McKenna Lowe reaching second.

Utah State closed the gap to one-run on Kelley Kaneshiro’s two-run homer over center field in the top of the fourth to put the score a 4-3.

But Oregon State quickly answered back scoring three more runs on three hits with Guzy reaching first on a one-out walk. Junior Paige Lowe quickly followed with a single before Ford recorded her second hit of the game, a RBI double to left center. M. Lowe tallied a single to score another run before Black hit a sacrifice fly to left field boosting the Beavers to a 7-3 lead.

P. Lowe nearly recorded her second home run of the season on a long ball to left center just barely hitting the top of the fence, keeping it in play to score freshman Erin Guzy, who also nailed a double to left center, widening the gap to 9-3.

Ford hit her third hit of the game, an RBI single, to chalk up her second RBI in back-to-back innings, scoring P. Lowe, who stole third during Ford’s at-bat to give the Beavers a seven-run lead after five full innings.

Coming in relief in the top of the sixth, Draper came to the plate, batting fifth in the order, with Black on first, reaching on an error by Kayla Dunn before stealing her second base of the day. On a 2-1 count, Draper sliced one between the third baseman and shortstop to end the game.

Sophomore Kelly Dyer earned her third win of the weekend, second of the day, giving up only four hits to boost her over .500 with a 10-9 record. Utah State’s Lindsey Benson was charged with the loss, dropping her record to 3-8.

Oregon State heads to Portland, Ore., on Friday, Mar. 21, to face Idaho State in a single game as part of the Spring Fling Tournament, set to begin at 3:00 p.m.

Source: OSU Athletics

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