Oregon State Softball: Beavers Split Opening Day With One Win, One Loss
Oregon State Softball got their season started Friday afternoon with a double header in the Mustang Classic. The spring showcase, hosted in San Luis Obispo, California by Cal Poly, also features the Ball State Cardinals, and the Beavers will be seeing plenty of both teams over the weekend. In their first day of competition, the Beavers split their results, falling to the Cardinals 1-4 while defeating the Mustangs 4-1.
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In the Beavers first game of the day, against Ball State, both teams carried a scoreless game into the fifth inning. Ball State starting pitcher Ella Whitney got the Cardinals through the inning without problem, but Oregon State starter Logan Hulon ran into trouble. After a pair of walks, Ball State's McKayla Timmons hit a home run over the left center wall, giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
Oregon State got a run back in the top of the sixth, with a single from Nicole Donahue scoring Jaeya Butler, but Ball State answered in the bottom of the inning, when a Kara Gunter single scored Hayley Urban. The Beavers managed to get a couple of runners on base in the top of the seventh, but a pair of fly outs from Jaeya Butler and Lici Campbell ended the game.
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Game 2, against hosts Cal Poly, also started with four scoreless innings, but this time it was the Beavers who got on the scoreboard first. In the top of the fifth Nicole Donahue reached first with a single, and then with two outs on the board Morgan Howey ripped a triple down the right field line for a 1-0 Beaver lead.
The Mustangs answered in the bottom of the sixth when a Mylina Garza double scored Aly Barrios, but the Beavers took the lead back in the top of the seventh. Nicole Donahue and Madison Weir each reached base with a single, and then a Rylei Trujillo bunt moved them into scoring position. A sac fly from Morgan Howey scored the first run of the inning, and a single from Paige Bambarger.
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After Bambarger reached third on a Jada Lewis single, a double steal form Lewis and Bambarger gave the Beavers their third run of the inning. That would be enough for the win, with Ellie Garcia putting the Mustangs down three up three down in the bottom of the seventh, picking up her first win of the season.
The Beavers will be in San Luis Obispo for the rest of the weekend. Tomorrow they'll have another double header against Ball State and Cal Poly, and on Sunday they'll finish off road trip with one last game agaisnt Cal Poly.
Having grown up in Pocatello, home of the Idaho State Bengals, John Severs is a lifelong fan of small schools that don't always deliver a lot of wins. Prior to writing for On SI, John covered the Beavers for SB Nation's Oregon State blog Building the Dam, with a focus on baseball and women's basketball. When he's not watching college sports he spends most of his time reading, playing video games and annoying cats.