Mariah Mazon pitched a complete game and Madison Simon hit a two-run homer to lift the Oregon State Beavers softball team to a 3-1 victory over Stanford on Friday night in Game 1 of their NCAA super regional in Stanford, California.
Now, the Beavers (38-20) are just one victory away from securing a berth in the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2006.
Simon’s homer was part of the Beavers’ three-run second inning. It came after Grace Messmer’s RBI single put Oregon State on the board.
The Cardinal (39-21) answered with one run in the fourth on Sydney Steele’s double to left-center, but Mazon held Stanford in check the rest of the way.
Oregon State earned a super regional berth after winning the NCAA Knoxville Regional on Sunday.
Game 2 of the OSU-Stanford series is 3 p.m. Saturday. If a third game is necessary, it will be played Sunday, time to be announced.
The winner advances to the Women’s College World Series, June 2-10 in Oklahoma City.
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PREGAME
Oregon State Beavers (37-20) at Stanford Cardinal (39-20)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium, Stanford, Calif.
TV channel: ESPNU
This and that: It’s been a while for both teams at super regionals. Oregon State’s only appearance was 2006, while Stanford play in its sixth super regional, but first since 2009. … Stanford earned a super regional berth by winning the Tuscaloosa Regional, beating Alabama in the final. … In their conference series March 25-27, the Beavers won two of three games against Stanford. OSU held the Cardinal to two runs and nine hits over three games. … Oregon State coach Laura Berg reached the WCWS three times as a player at Fresno State, winning the national title in 1998.
— Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel
Original Article: Source