Oregon State softball had a mixed day Saturday, but the Beavers remain alive for the NCAA Knoxville Regional title after beating Ohio State 5-1.
Faced with an elimination situation after losing to Tennessee 3-0 Saturday morning, Oregon State beat Ohio State for a second consecutive day. The Beavers opened the regional with a 4-3 win over Ohio State on Friday.
The win moves Oregon State (35-20) to Sunday, where it will face Tennessee at 11 a.m. If OSU wins that game, the two teams play again at 1:30 p.m. for the Knoxville Regional championship and a berth in the super regionals.
Tennessee advances to the super regionals if it wins the opener.
Mariah Mazon and Frankie Hammoude went 2 for 3 with a two-run homer each to lead Oregon State past the Buckeyes. Freshman Sarah Haendiges scattered three hits over five innings, giving way to Mazon, who set down the final six Ohio State hitters.
The Beavers jumped on Ohio State early, scoring three runs in the first two innings for a 3-0 lead. Mazon hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Savanah Whatley a run-scoring double in the second.
OSU increased its lead to 5-1 in the fifth inning on Hammoude’s two-run homer to left.
In their 3-0 loss to Tennessee, the Beavers managed only two base runners, both on singles by Kaylah Nelsen. Volunteers pitcher Ashley Rogers was dominant, striking out eight without walking a hitter.
Still, OSU was in the game until the fifth, when a three-run Tennessee uprising proved to be the difference. A run-scoring single by McKenna Gibson and a two-run homer Kiki Milloy provided all of Tennessee’s run support for Rogers.
Mazon went the distance for OSU, giving up four hits, while striking out eight.
-- Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel