Softball Falls Late at No. 22 Oregon
EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon State softball suffered a heart-breaking 4-3 decision in the second game of the Rivalry series at No. 22 Oregon on Saturday evening. The loss hands the Beavers its ninth consecutive after the Ducks scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning.
Freshman Kiki Escobar led the offense, going 3-for-4, while Grace Messmer had the team-best two RBIs. As a team, the Beavers scattered six hits from four different players. Senior Mariah Mazon suffered the loss in the circle after coming in for relief to pitch the final two frames.
After a one-out Kaylah Nelsen single, Messmer sent her sixth shot of the season over the left field wall for a two-run home run in the top of the second to give Oregon State the early 2-0 lead.
After starting pitcher Sarah Haendiges retired the bottom half, the Beaver offense stranded a pair of runners on first and second in the third. Escobar continued her hitting streak this series with a rip up the middle and added her 10th stolen base of the season in that frame.
The Ducks placed runners in scoring position on second and third with two outs and took the lead from Oregon State with a three-run home run to left field in the fourth.
Freshman duo of Escobar and Eliana Gottlieb evened the game at 3-3 in the fifth. With two outs, Escobar doubled for the tenth time this season just before Gottlieb knocked her first triple of her early career.
Mazon came up big in the circle for Oregon State in the sixth, coming in for relief for Haendiges after the freshman walked the first two Duck batters. The Beaver defense caught a runner stealing before Mazon forced a line out and delivered a strikeout to end the threat.
The Ducks eventually sealed the victory and the series off a Beaver error.
The Beavers and Ducks are back one more time tomorrow at 4 p.m. PT for the series finale. The game will be available on the Pac-12 Networks.
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