The Barometer Online

Issue date: 4/20/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Casey Grogan Senior catcher Stefanie Ewing is unable to hold onto the ball at the plate as Kimi Pohlman scores in No. 4 Washington's 7-1 victory over Oregon State. The Beavers were swept by No. 2 UCLA and the Huskies.

It was another rough weekend for the Oregon State women's softball team as they fell to top ranked No. 2 UCLA and No. 4 Washington.

"Washington and UCLA are both teams we know we can beat, but I can say that about every team we play," senior catcher Stefanie Ewing said. "We just have to come out wanting to win."

After the Beavers (22-22, 3-9 Pac-10) defeated Portland State 2-0 in Wednesday's doubleheader, they were ready to face two nationally ranked teams. Unfortunately they fell short, dropping a single game to UCLA on Friday and a pair to the University of Washington on Saturday and Sunday.

The Beavers never quite caught on to the pace UCLA (31-8, 6-4) set early on in Friday's game. Sophomore catcher and power hitter Audrey Roderfeld came out in the bottom of the second inning to hit her tenth home run of the season and number 18 of her career in her first at bat.

Roderfeld's home run was the only run scored by the Beavers in their 8-1 loss to the Bruins.

"We're a young team and if we don't come out and score the first run, it makes the rest of the game difficult," Ewing said. "We are going to have to figure out how to deal with that."

Although the team has dubbed Roderfeld as being the "momentum builder" with her hitting, the Beavers still had a hard time bringing runners home. Roderfeld gave the Beavers an early 1-0 lead at the bottom of the second, but UCLA's Katie Schroeder and Julie Burney brought in two RBI.

Gionna DiSalvatore and Monica Harrison each had a pair of hits. UCLA tapped four home runs off the Beavers. Bruin's pitcher Megan Lagenfeld was credited with the win, which leaves her in a 7-0 undefeated season thus far.

Junior pitcher Kelly Dyer took credit for the loss after pitching 4.1 innings. This makes Dyer's record 12-8.

"I didn't feel pressure at all during Saturday's game," Dyer said. "I just felt like I was doing what I needed to do and I felt good about it, and it was relaxing."

Continued...

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