Beavers Split Day Two Against California

CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Oregon State softball team split day two of its four-game three-day series against California, Saturday.
 
Oregon State dropped the first game, 2-0, before coming back to defeat the Golden Bears, 6-2, in the second game.
 
"We did a good job bouncing back from the loss in the first game," said head coach Laura Berg. "I felt Trystan [Melancon] threw well but we just did not get the timely hit [in game one]."
 
Game one vs California - L, 2-0
 
The first inning saw the only scoring play of the game. With one on base from an error, a Golden Bear hit a home run for the 2-0 lead.
 
Senior pitcher Trystan Melancon closed the top of the second with two strikeouts before notching another in the third inning.
 
Freshman Xiao Gin earned the Beavers first hit in the bottom of the third with a single to shortstop. Sophomore Maia Rader followed with another hit but the Beavers were unable to score as California caught Gin stealing and struck out a batter for the third out.
 
In the fourth and the fifth, Oregon State forced the Golden Bears to leave a total of three runners on base, one in the fourth and two in the fifth.
 
Gin tallied a single for her second hit of the game in the bottom of the fifth but she was not able to capitalize.
 
Taking over the mound, junior Mariah Mazon notched two strikeouts in the final two innings to close the game.
 
Melancon totaled six strikeouts in five innings while allowing just two hits.
 
Game two vs. California - W, 6-2
 
Much like the first game of the day, the Golden Bears reached first during the very first inning. Their first batter drew a walk before another reached on an error. With the bases loaded, senior pitcher Nerissa Eason struck out the final two batters of the first inning.
 
Eason earned two more strikeouts in the second inning before the Beavers notched their first hit.
 
Sophomore Frankie Hammoude opened Oregon State's hitting with a home run to right field in the bottom of the second. 
 
After California tied the score, 1-1, in the top of the third, Mazon headed to the mound to close out the inning with two strikeouts.
 
Freshman Grace Messmer went for the bunt and made it to first base to open the bottom of the third. With a runner on first and second, and zero outs, Gin hit another bunt as a sacrifice to advance the runners. Mazon followed with her first single of the day for two RBI to give the Beavers a 3-1 lead.
 
Oregon State continued its offensive prowess in the bottom of the fourth. Freshman Charity Sevaaetasi grabbed her fourth home run of the season to add another run to the Beavers' total.
 
The fifth inning saw the final runs by each team. The Golden Bears added one run in the top of the inning to bring the score to 4-2 going into the bottom half. 
 
Hammoude garnered the last two Beaver runs with her second home run of the game.
 
OSU finished the game with six outs in seven plays throughout the final two innings. 
 
Eason and Mazon combined for seven strikeouts in the second game.
 
The Beavers will close their first Pac-12 series of 2021 with an early afternoon game against California tomorrow (Mar. 21). 
 
For more information on the Oregon State softball team, visit OSUBeavers.com or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram, @BeaverSoftball.
 
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