May 12, 2007
Stanford, Calif. - The Oregon State Beavers used 11 hits to score nine runs on the Stanford Cardinal today, and took the 2007 seriesbetween the two teams with a 9-2 victory in the regular-season finale at Smith Family Stadium. Stanford finishesthe regular-seasonsixth in the Pac-10, and will be hoping its 33-19-1 record and 7-13-1 Pac-10 mark will be good for anat-large bid to the NCAAChampionships. The Regional pairings will be announced tomorrow between 12 and 1 p.m. Pacificon ESPNews.
Oregon State started the scoring right away, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Dani Chisholm andMia Longfellow led off with singles and DeAnnYoung was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A ground out by Brianne McGowan score the first run, and with two outs,Sherina Galvan's infield single scored another run.
Stanford knotted the score at two in the second inning, using a two-out rally to erase the Beaver lead. MaddyCoon led off with a walk, and stole second two batters later on a Cardinal strikeout. Rosey Neill then steppedup to the plate with two outs and ripped a single through the left side, scoring Coon for her 32nd RBI of theseason. A single to right by Lindsay Key put runners at the corners, and Neill scored on a wild pitch toJackie Rinehart.
McGowan blasted a two-run homer in the third inning, however, to give the Beavers a lead they would never relinquish.Longfellow singled to start the inning and the Beaver pitcher's eighth homerun of the year quickly put Oregon Stateup 4-2.
The real onslaught by the Beavers didn't come until the fifth inning, however, when the visitors batted around andscored four more runs. The Cardinal got an easy first out, but hits by Longfellow and Young started a powerfulrally that put the Cardinal in trouble. McGowan walked to load the bases and the first run scored on a single byGalvan. Another scored on the Cardinal's third of four hit batters, and Stefanie Ewing drilled a hit to leftfield that brought in two more.
The Beavers widened the gap in the top of the sixth, taking a 9-2 lead. Longfellow reached on her fourth hit of thegame, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored after a pair of ground outs.
Neill, Key and Erin Howe accounted for Stanford's only three hits of the game.
Stanford will looking to make a tenth-straight appearance in the NCAA Championships next weekend. The 2007 fieldwill be announced tomorrow and Regionals begin Friday at 16 campus sites.