SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara softball jumped to an early 6-0 lead behind four RBIs from Taryn Clements and held on for a 6-5 victory over Oregon State in the opening game of the West Coast Conference series on Thursday night at the SCU Softball Stadium. The two teams entered the day tied for second in the conference standings as the Broncos moved to a game over .500 at 18-17 overall and 3-1 in league play while Oregon State dropped to 14-24 with a 2-2 WCC record.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Santa Clara scored two runs in the opening inning and four in the third, against Oregon State starter Kimberlee Aleman to build an early six-run lead.
- In the first, Clements drove in a pair of runs with a base hit on the 10th pitch of the at-bat, bringing home Rebecca Rubio and Hazyl Gray after they singled and moved to scoring position.
- Clements added to her RBI total in the third, tripling in two more runs to extend the Broncos lead to 4-0. Robynn Balmediano's single scored Clements to make it 5-0 and Leiora Davidson laced a double down the left field line for the sixth run of the game.
- Cari Ferguson started in the circle for the Broncos and kept Oregon State scoreless through the first three frames but got in trouble in the fourth. The Beavers had three hits and a walk to get two runs back on a grounder by Paige Bambarger and a hit by Madison Weir.
- Oregon State added three more runs in the fifth to get within a run. Jaeya Butler homered, her 17th of the season, with a runner on base to make it 6-4. Following a Bronco error in what would have been the third out of the inning, Ferguson walked the next two batters to push another run across to make it 6-5. But with the bases full, Ferguson struck out pinch-hitter Genevieve Beacom. The Beavers left a total of nine runners on base in the game.
- Ellison Schroeder came in relief of Ferguson to start the sixth. OSU put two runners on base in the inning but they were stranded and Schroeder pitched an 1-2-3 final inning to secure her second save of the year.
- The four RBIs by Clements tied a career-high. She had the same total against UC Santa Barbara on March 2, 2024.
- Butler and Weir had two RBIs each.
HIGHLIGHTS:
NEXT UP:
- Santa Clara and Oregon State play the second game of the three-game series on Friday at 6 p.m. PT.
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