Late Homers Lift Beavs to Friday Night Win

Friday, March 15

Tempe, AZ

6:00 PM

Oregon State

13-14, 2-2

Arizona State

16-10, 1-3

Oregon State

Arizona State

Photo by: Julia Jacome

March 15, 2024 | Softball

Box Score

By: Athletic Communications

TEMPE, Ariz. – Late inning two-run home runs by Eliana Gottlieb and Lici Campbell pushed Oregon State past Arizona State, 5-3, on Friday night in their Pac-12 road series opener.

The Beavers (13-14, 2-2 Pac-12) snapped a four-game skid in dramatic fashion – plating four unanswered after the Sun Devils took a 3-1 lead after five innings.

Campbell and Gottlieb led the Beaver offense with a pair of RBI each while Kiki Escobar drove one in as well. Grace Messmer and Campbell paced Oregon State with a two-hit night apiece while four others – Abby Doerr, Kiki Escobar, Gottlieb and Charity Sevaaetasi – all had one.

First on the board, Arizona State used a pair of hits with two away to tack on a run in the first inning with a double down the third base line to the wall. An inning and a half later, the Beavs threatened when both Madi Simon and Abby Doerr got to scoring position with just one away but couldn't push either home.

The Beavers evened things off just two swings in three at-bats in the fourth. Messmer roped a stand-up double down the left field line to get into scoring position before Escobar drove her home with a single to shallow left to make it a 1-1 game.

An inning later, the Sun Devils retook the lead on a two-out triple, scoring two to make it 3-1. It was all Beavers after that when Gottlieb and Campbell launched their home runs to put them up for good. In the Beavers' half of the seventh, Campbell slammed her home run when facing an 0-2 count with two gone.

After Sarah Haendiges threw 6.0 complete, Ellie Garcia retired the Sun Devils in the seventh to secure the result with a save. Despite a Sun Devil reaching base in the bottom of the seventh, to lead things off she never went past first as Garcia forced a strikeout, a fielder's choice and popup to Savanah Whatley to cap the two-run win.

Haendiges (6-3) threw 6.0 innings of action where she struck out four (three looking), allowed all three ASU runs and eight hits on the way to the win. Garcia yielded just a walk but fanned a batter in her one frame of work.

Oregon State will look to secure the series with the second game of three with the Sun Devils set for tomorrow with a 5 p.m. PT first pitch from Farrington Stadium and can be seen on ASU's Live Stream.

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