Even a two-hour delay for lightning couldn’t stop the Oregon State softball team from beating the University of the Pacific in their second game of a doubleheader at Kelly Field on Friday.
After OSU won 6-4 in game one of the series, Pacific got three at-bats in game two before the field and stands were cleared for what would turn into an extended delay as the storm made its way north. After play resumed, the Beavs secured game two with a 2-1 win.
Second baseman Jayea Butler officially broke OSU’s single-season home run record in game one with her 18th dinger of the year, a grand slam, and hit another homer in game two to extend her total.
“It feels great, honestly,” Butler said after the doubleheader. “Just less pressure to try be hitting home runs, which I don’t, of course.”
Butler is in the top 10 in the nation for home runs hit this season.
“I’m excited for Jaeya, she’s worked hard all year long and, you know, the results are showing then,” OSU Head Coach Laura Berg said.
Effective fielding helped the Beavs keep Pacific from crossing home plate in game two. Left fielder Jada Lewis had five putouts, several of which were caught very close to the fence, and first baseman Lici Campbell had seven. Pitcher Kimberlee Aleman took the mound for the Beavs in game two, allowing only six hits and creating 13 flyouts.
“I thought they put up a lot of fight. It’s hard when the weather is like this and having to be patient, having to start, stop, start, stop, play when it’s wet, and I thought they did a really good job of confronting the adversity,” Berg said.
Pacific’s one run came in the fifth inning, where Peyton Clifford doubled and crossed home on the next at-bat. Both of OSU’s runs came from home runs, one from Butler and one from Tristan Thompson.
“We gotta do a better job of taking care of the ball,” Berg said. “Too many miscues, too many mistakes, we kinda let them back in that first game.”
With the wins, OSU’s record improves to 17-25 overall and 5-3 in conference. Game three of the series is scheduled for noon on Saturday at Kelly Field.
