Pac-10 Softball: Home Runs Lift Oregon State Over Stanford

With the victory, Oregon State clinched a fifth place finish in the Pac-10 race.

Freshman Alana Ford hit a grand slam and a triple to drive in five runs for the Beavers against Stanford on Friday. Photo: OSU Athletics

PALO ALTO, Calif. - Freshman outfielder Alana Ford belted a fourth inning grand slam home run and sophomore DeAnn Young added a 2-run shot to lift No. 15 ranked Oregon State to an 8-5 victory over No. 16 ranked Stanford in Friday night’s Pac-10 softball game.

Stanford (33-18-1; 7-12-1 Pac-10) took a 1-0 lead in the opening inning after capitalizing on two singles and a pair of walks, allowing Tricia Aggabao to score.

Oregon State (38-21; 9-11 Pac-10) got runners on base in each of the first three innings but couldn’t push any runs across the plate.

The Beavers finally broke through in the top of the fourth, using a Stanford error and back-to-back singles by Cambria Miranda and Sherina Galvan to load the bases.

Ford then stepped to the plate and sent a full-count pitch over the 220-mark in straightaway center field to give the Beavers a 4-1 edge. The home run was the second of the season for the freshman from Chula Vista, CA.

The Cardinal used a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning to get one run back, but a single by OSU’s Mia Longfellow to open the fifth set the stage for Young to belt her seventh home run of the year with a 2-run shot over the left field fence.

OSU then extended its advantage to 7-2 when Ford hit her first career triple with a RBI shot to right-center field.

Stanford rallied back with three runs on five hits in the bottom of the sixth inning to close within 7-5.

Galvan gave the Beavers a little more breathing room in the top of the seventh when she belted her seventh double of the season with a two-out RBI shot to center field.

OSU reliever Brianne McGowan (22-12) worked her way out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh as the Beavers turned their 26th double play of the season and McGowan closed the game with a strikeout to secure the victory.

Four Beaver batters recorded multiple hits on the night as Miranda, Ford, Galvan, and Natalie Johnson had two hits each. Ford also drove in five runs for the Beavers.

With the victory, Oregon State clinched a fifth place finish in the Pac-10 race. The Beavers also finished fifth in the conference standings during the 2006 campaign.

The Beavers and Cardinal conclude the regular season at 1:00 PM on Saturday.

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports