Softball Drops Pair of 3-2 Decisions

Oregon State hosts its home opener in a doubleheader against Portland State on Saturday, Mar. 14, beginning at 12:00 p.m.

Salem-News.com Sports

MANOA, Hawai’i - The Oregon State softball team dropped a pair of 3-2 decisions to Radford and Hawai’i in the final day of the 2009 Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament.

On the day, junior Dani Chisholm (Boring, Ore.) went 4-for-6 on the day with a double and a run, batting .667. Defensively, sophomore Erin Guzy (Beaverton, Ore.) recorded 12 putouts and was errorless.

Against the Rainbow Wahine, Oregon State scored two runs quickly behind sophomore Audrey Roderfeld’s (Vista, Calif.) two-run bomb over left center, scoring sophomore McKenna Lowe (Tustin, Calif.), who had reached after being hit by pitch. The Beavers proceeded to load the bases behind a single by senior Stefanie Ewing (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and back-to-back walks, but two straight out closed out the inning with a 2-0 Beaver advantage.

Hawai’i picked up a run of its own in the bottom of the inning after a single and two consecutive hit by pitches loaded the bases. A high ball, scored as a wild pitch, scored the runner at third to cut the gap to one run.

The Rainbow Wahine put another run on the board to tie the game at two all in the bottom of the third on a solo home run over right center.

Freshman Paige Hall (Portland, Ore.) and Hawai’i pitcher Stephanie Ricketts battled back and forth through the next three innings with zeros registering on the board.

With two outs and runners on second a third, a walk-off single up the middle by Audrey Andrade scored the game-winning run.

Dara Pagaduan led the Hawai’i offense, going 3-for-4 at the plate. Ricketts pitched 6.2 innings, allowing only two hits and one walk, while fanning six.

Hall was charged with the complete game loss, fanning three and only giving up one walk. Her record is now 8-4.

Against Radford, the Beavers started off strong with a 2-0 lead, but a three-run fifth inning stopped Oregon State just short of the win in the team’s first game of the day.

The Beavers jumped on the board first in the top of the fourth beginning with a Guzy one-out double to right center. Freshman Nicole Luchanski (Edmonton, Alberta) replaced Guzy at second, advancing to third on a wild pitch. Senior DeAnn Young (Camarillo, Calif.) scored Luchanski with a sacrifice fly ball to right field, giving the Beavers a 1-0 edge.

Junior Kelly Dyer (Eugene, Ore.) retired the next three straight, forcing a pair of infield pop flies and catching the cleanup batter swinging. And the Oregon State offense added another run in the top of the fifth on a leadoff double by Chisholm. Chisholm advanced to third on M. Lowe’s bunt single. Roderfeld chalked up her first RBI of the weekend on a line drive over the second baseman’s glove into right field, scoring Chisholm.

Radford put together a three-run fifth inning with Nichole Beall leading off with a double to left center. The Highlanders picked up another pair of hits and walks including Meredith Moore’s double to score N. Beall and Michele Beall. Kristen Shifflett chalked up the third RBI of the inning on a single to left field.

N. Beall was the only Highlander to record a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3. Kellie Snooks tallied the win after pitching 3.1 innings, giving up only three hits and one earned run. Radford improves to 8-3 on the season.

Dyer was charged with the loss after pitching 4.2 innings with all three runs earned. Hall came in relief for 1.1 innings, giving up only a single hit on five batters faced.

Oregon State hosts its home opener in a doubleheader against Portland State on Saturday, Mar. 14, beginning at 12:00 p.m.

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