No. 24 OSU Sweeps Saturday at Matador Classic

Saturday, March 12

Northridge, CA

1:10 PM

Oregon State

18-4-1

Toledo

4-17

Toledo

Oregon State

Photo by: Scobel Wiggins/Oregon State Athletics

March 13, 2016 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Athletic Communications

FULLERTON, Calif. – The 24th-ranked Oregon State softball team slugged three home runs, including a grand slam from junior third baseman Madison Anthony, and received a complete-game shutout performance from senior right-hander Bev Miller en route to wins over the Toledo Rockets and the CSUN Matadors on Saturday at the Matador Classic.

Oregon State (19-4-1) picked up its first win of the day with a 7-2 victory over Toledo (4-17), and took down CSUN (12-12) by a score of 1-0. Miller (8-2) scattered four Matador hits and three walks with three strikeouts to lift the Beavers to victory.

“We're just finding ways to win,” Oregon State head coach Laura Berg said. “We didn't commit any errors and turned a couple of key double plays against CSUN – those defensive plays won us the ballgame. We took care of the ball. That wins you games and I'm very happy about that.”

Junior southpaw Taylor Cotton (1-0) was the winning pitcher against Toledo, holding the Rockets to two runs on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings. Freshman righty Meehra Nelson dealt the final two innings against the Rockets, striking out two without allowing a baserunner to earn her third save of the season.

Aside from Anthony's grand slam, home runs were recorded by freshman catcher Kayleen Shafer and redshirt junior first baseman Natalie Hampton, who drove in the only run in the win over CSUN.

Sophomore left fielder Lovie Lopez finished Saturday 3-for-7 (.429) with a run scored. Senior second baseman Mikela Manewa went 2-for-6 (.333) with a pair of runs scored and a walk, while freshman right fielder Shelby Weeks recorded a base hit and a pair of walks.

Oregon State closes out the Matador Classic on Sunday with a 10 a.m. PT matchup with San Diego.

Game One: No. 24 Oregon State 7, Toledo 2
After the two teams exchanged one hit apiece in the first inning, Oregon State scored the game's first run without a base hit in the bottom of the second. Anthony, Christie Langlois and Weeks led off the frame with walks to load the bases with none out. Two outs later, McKenna Arriola drew another walk to force in a run and give the Beavers a 1-0 lead after two.

The Beavers picked up their second run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Shafer slugged her third home run of the season over the left field wall for a 2-0 Oregon State advantage.

Toledo responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. With two outs in the frame, the Rockets' Megan Choate set up the scoring inning with a walk before a Jessica Lemieux home run to right tied the game at two apiece.

Oregon State returned the favor with a run in the home half of the fifth. Manewa and Hampton led off the frame with a walk and single, respectively, before an Anthony flyout moved Manewa up to third. Langlois followed with a sacrifice fly to foul territory in left, scoring Manewa to give the Beavers a 3-2 lead.

Anthony's grand slam came in the top of the sixth, putting the game out of reach at 7-2. Nelson entered in the top of the sixth with the Beavers leading 3-2, and held Toledo without a hit or run over the final two innings, earning her third save en route to the Beavers' win.

Game Two: No. 24 Oregon State 1, CSUN 0
After three innings of scoreless, one-hit ball from both pitchers, Oregon State opened the scoring with a run in the fop of the fourth, taking a 1-0 lead on a Hampton solo home run over the right-center wall. It turned out to be the only run scored by either team for the duration of the game.

One of CSUN's top early opportunities to equalize the score came in the third inning. The Matadors' Mackenzie Babbitt reached on a single up the middle, and moved up two bases on a wild pitch to reach third base with one out. However, Miller induced groundouts to short and to third, and the runner was stranded to keep CSUN off the board.

The Matadors' lastt shot to score came in the bottom of the sixth. The Matadors' Babbitt walked to lead off the frame, but was called out on a runner left early call on an attempt to steal second base. Savannah Horvath followed with a single, and was replaced on a fielder's choice for out number two. The Matadors ended up with runners on second and third after a Katie Hooper double, but the next CSUN batter grounded out to second and Oregon State escaped the jam.

“With the way the defense played today, all we needed was to get ground balls,” Berg said. “That was particularly effective with the type of pitcher Bev is – she's a ground ball pitcher, not a strikeout pitcher. We made the plays when we needed to and won the ballgame. That's the type of pitcher she is, so I expected that kind of performance from her today.”

Miller did not allow a further baserunner, as she struck out one and got a pair of groundouts to third base to close out the complete-game shutout and seal Oregon State's 19th win of the season.

For more information on the Oregon State softball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/OregonStateSB, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateSB or on Instagram at Instagram.com/OregonStateSB.

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