May 13, 2010
Final Stats
BERKELEY - The No. 13/12 California softball team was far too much for Oregon State to handle on Thursday afternoon with the Golden Bears (39-17 overall/8-11 in the Pac-10 Conference) claiming the 9-1 mercy win over the Beavers (24-29/4-15 in the Pac-10) in five innings. The Beavers got on the board in the top of the first, but the Bears scored in the bottom end of the inning and then five in the third to build an insurmountable lead.
One run in the fourth gave Cal a 7-1 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, junior first baseman Arioto walked to make the score 8-1 when freshman catcher Lindsey Ziegenhirt singled to left to score the piviital ninth Bear run, giving Cal the 9-1 run-rule victory to open the three-game weekend against OSU.
In all, the Bears tallied nine runs off nine hits and one OSU error to take the 9-1 decision.
Hall (17-21) took the loss for the Beavers after allowing five runs - four of which were earned - and four hits in 1.2 innings of work. Henderson (17-9) emerged the victor with just four hits, no earned runs and three strikeouts.
Ziegenhirt paced the Bears with three hits and she and Elia Reid each tallied two RBI. Jamia Reid contributed two hits.
Lea Cavestany reached when Taylor Kelly bobbled a grounder at short. Next up was left fielder McKenna Lowe, who flied out to Elia Reid in left. Reid's throw to Valerie Arioto at first went awry, allowing Cavestany to advance to third. An illegal pitch from Jolene Henderson allowed Cavestany to score, giving OSU an early 1-0 lead. Henderson got designated player Paige Hall with a swinging strikeout and catcher Audrey Roderfeld flied out in foul territory to Kelly.
With the Beavers leading, 1-0, Jamia Reid, who was in as the designated player, had a bunt single to put her aboard. However, her trip on base was cut short when she was caught stealing for only the ninth time this season in her 53 attempted steals. Senior second baseman Shannon Thomas grounded out and then Arioto earned her 69th walk of the season. Freshman catcher Lindsey Ziegenhirt sent the first pitch she saw from OSU starter Marina Demore to the wall in centerfield for a stand-up double, moving Arioto to third.
With two outs, sophomore right fielder Jace Williams dropped a single into shallow left field to plate Arioto and even the score at 1-1. Coming around from second with all eyes on home was Ziegenhirt, who was tagged out at the plate by catcher Roderfeld on the throw in from left field to end the inning with the game knotted, 1-1.
In the top of the second, senior Vernae Sevilla made two key outs at the hot corner - a 5-3 ground out and nabbing a hard liner. Kelly ate up a ground ball from second baseman Maggie Doremus to end the inning, sending the Beavers down in order.
A long first-pitch fly out from sophomore center fielder Frani Echavarria began the bottom of the second. Sevilla walked and then, one ball into Kelly's at bat, Oregon State shook up their line-up and defense. Designated player Paige Hall came into pitch, replacing DeMore while catcher Roderfeld moved to the DP spot and Tarah Black came in to catch.
The pitching change was of no help for the Beavers for Hall walked Kelly on four straight pitches. Hall got the next batter on a swinging strikeout in Elia Reid. With two outs and runners at first (Kelly) and second (Sevilla), Jamia Reid struck out swinging, but Black dropped the third strike. On her run to first, the umpires declared that Reid had interfered and she was called out and the second ended with the score still 1-1.
After Black had grounded out and center fielder Dani Chisholm had struck out swinging, Cavestany reached when she connected for a grounder just right of second base. Thomas scooped up the ball, but the angle prevented her from making an out and Cavestany was aboard with a two-out hit. Lowe singled to center field, but Frani Echavarria's left arm was more powerful than Cavestany's legs and Echavarria threw her out at third to close the inning with no Beaver damage.
After fouling her way to a 3-2 count, Thomas had a stand-up, no-out double to right field to start off the bottom of the third. Thomas stole third, her 29th steal of the year, and came home to score when the throw to third from the catcher Black went awry. Arioto earned her 70th walk and Ziegenhirt followed it up with a base on balls of her own to put two runners on with no outs.
With Cal having earned the lead at 2-1, Williams grounded out on a dribbler to Cavestany at first, who turned it to the covering Doremus, but both Arioto and Ziegenhirt moved over one base. Echavarria, with a 0-2 count, singled to center field, scoring Arioto. Echavarria advanced to second on the throw, which went to third in an unsuccessful attempt to tag out Ziegenhirt, who safely reached third. Sevilla sat back and watched four pitches cross the plate, all balls, for a bases-loading walk. Hall got her third strikeout of the game off of Kelly but then Elia Reid singled down the left-field line, plating Ziegenhirt and Williams to extend Cal's lead to 5-1.
Jamia Reid singled to third, to load the bases with two outs and bring up Thomas. Thomas walked, plating Sevilla for a RBI. Arioto struck out swinging to end the five-run, four-hit, one-error bottom of the third.
The Beavers threatened in the top of the fourth with singles from Roderfeld and outfielder Ashley Sanchez, but left two runners stranded.
With his Beavers down, 6-1, to start the bottom of the fourth, OSU head coach Kirk Walker made some more changes on the field. Hall went to DP, Roderfeld came behind the dish to catch and Karmen Holladay came in to pitch.
With a 1-1 count, Ziegenhirt homered with a shot that bounced off the bleachers outside of center fielder and onto the portables, distancing Cal, 7-1. Williams flew out to deep center. Echavarria walked but then Sevilla grounded into a double play with Doremus applying the 4U tag on Echavarria before tossing to first.
To begin the top of the fifth, Holladay flied out to center. Pinch hitting for Chisholm was Mary Clare Brenner, and she grounded out to Arioto, who tossed it to the covering Thomas at first. Cavestany earned a two-out walk to bring up Lowe, who grounded out to Henderson in the circle.
Looking for the elusive eight-run lead in the fifth with the Bears up 7-1, Taylor Kelly walked as did Elia Reid to put two runners aboard at the start of the bottom of the fifth. Jamia Reid fouled out to the catcher, but Thomas walked to load the bases with Bears with one out. Arioto, the Pac-10 leader in walks, drew yet another one - her 71st of the year no less - to plate Kelly and distance the Bears, 8-1.
After watching a strike whiz by, Ziegenhirt singled to left field, scoring Elia Reid for the final run of the game.
The two squads meet at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 15 at Levine-Fricke Field. Following that game, kids can run the bases.
