Hawaii Drops Oregon State 4-2 to Take Tourney Championship

UH took command of the game by scoring three runs in the top of the fifth.

Sophomore Paige Lowe led the Beavers with a .545 (6-for-11) batting average on the week and earned All-Tournament honors. Photo: OSU Athletics

HONOLULU - The No. 14 ranked Oregon State softball team pounded nine hits, but dropped a 4-2 decision to host University of Hawaii in the championship game of the Hawaiian Airlines Spring Fling Tournament on Saturday night.

The Beavers (15-9) strung together three straight two-out singles in the bottom of the first inning, but were unable to cross the plate and left five runners stranded through the first three innings of action.

A third inning lead-off walk proved costly for OSU as Hawaii took a 1-0 lead when Stacey Yamada scored after a single up-the-middle from Kaulana Gould.

Oregon State answered however in the bottom of the fourth inning, taking advantage of a walk by freshman Alana Ford.

Ford stole second base with two outs and tied the score at 1-1 when sophomore second baseman Paige Lowe lofted a single into shallow right-center field.

UH took command of the game by scoring three runs in the top of the fifth.

Beaver pitcher Brianne McGowan (8-5) had retired five straight batters, including a pair of strikeouts, before Claire Warwick sent the first pitch she saw sailing over the center field fence.

After a two-out single by Kaulana Gould, Tyleen Tausaga stepped to the plate and blasted a home run over the left field fence, giving Hawaii a 4-1 advantage.

Back-to-back hits up-the-middle by McGowan and Sherina Galvan gave OSU new life in the bottom of the fifth and the Beavers got one run back when pinch runner Kellie Roberts scored on a ground-out by Ford.

That was as close as OSU would get though, as Natalie Johnson’s sixth inning single was the only other hit the Beavers would tally the rest of the night.

Galvan, McGowan and Cambria Miranda all went 2-for-4 from the plate on the night.

OSU had a trio of players earn All-Tournament status as freshman Tarah Black, Lowe and Johnson each were honored for their performance on the week.

After 24 consecutive games on the road, the Beavers will play their first game of the year in the state of Oregon next week during the Cascade Clash.

OSU opens action with a double-header at Portland State on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 PM at Erv Lind Stadium.

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