May 11, 1997

Stanford Sweeps Oregon State

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Michele Acosta's RBI single in the fourth inning proved to be the lone run of the game as Stanford completed a sweep of Oregon State in women's softball with a 1-0 victory in game two. The Cardinal shut out the Beavers 3-0 in the opener.

Stanford accouted for only three hits off Beaver pitcher Tarrah Beyster in the second game, but OSU committed one costly error. Catcher Kellie Wiginton, the lead-off hitter in the fourth for Stanford, hit a chopper down the first base line that neither first baseman Jodi Chmielewski or second baseman Denise Gutierrez could corral. Wiginton was later thrown out at second base on a fielder's choice on a Michele Schneider ground ball. Schneider stole second with two outs and then scored the unearned run on Acosta's hit.

The Beavers threatened to tie the game in the seventh when left-fielder Alycia Stevens reached base on an error by Schneider. Stevens then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Tasha Heddinger. With two outs, Amy Warner, in her last at-bat for her career at Oregon State, drove a Marcy Crouch pitch into left center field, where Kelly Yablonski made a stretching running catch on what would have tied the game on a sure double. For the game, Oregon State stranded nine baserunners.

All the scoring in game one took place in the third inning. Stanford managed three runs on a Wiginton single, and sacrifice flies by Schneider and Crouch.

Oregon State finished the regular season with a seven-game losing streak to end with a 29-32-1 overall record and 6-21 in the Pac-10. The 29 wins are the third-highest mark in school history, and the most since 1984. Stanford concluded the year 31-27-1 and 10-18.

                               R  H  E
Stanford         003 000 0 --  3  8  0
Oregon State     000 000 0 --  0  4  0

Blevins and Wiginton; Warner and Herman.
WP: Blevins (14-15). LP: Warner (7-10). T: 1:58

                               R  H  E
Stanford         000 100 0 --  1  3  1
Oregon State     000 000 0 --  0  8  1

Crouch and Wiginton; Beyster and Valenty.
WP: Crouch (16-11). LP: Beyster (15-15). T: 1:46. Att: 157

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