SAN DIEGO– Returning home for another weekend on the diamond, the San Diego softball team (19-23, 3-5 WCC) played a pair of games on Friday afternoon against their newest conference rival Oregon State (18-18, 1-4 WCC) at the Reggie Smith Softball Complex. 

McKenna Braegelmann threw her third consecutive complete game as she allowed just one run against the Beavers, while EJ Joyner smoked the first USD home run at the team's new home to put the game away for good as USD won 5-1 to start the weekend. 

Game two was a pitcher's duel with both offenses struggling to get on the board until the later innings. Kaitlyn Bartlow was phenomenal for her squad as she picked up a tough luck loss in a 4-0 Beaver win to set up the rubber game on Saturday afternoon. 

HOW IT HAPPENED SAN DIEGO 5, OREGON STATE 1 

• Getting the start after being named the WCC's Pitcher of the Week, Braegelmann worked around some traffic and recorded three big strikeouts to put up a zero in the opening inning. 
• After the Beavers set down USD in order in the bottom of the first, Braegelmann continued her strong work in the circle by facing the minimum and recording her fourth strikeout through two frames. 
• The Toreros' offense began to pick up in the top of the second as Taylor Johnson drove a base hit through the right side for a lead off single, and came around on an Alyssa Hernandez RBI knock to give USD a 1-0 lead. Joecellia Roberts would come through as well with a base hit to plate Hernandez to make it 2-0. 
• Oregon State loaded the bases in the top of the third but the Torero defense excelled to limit them to just one run as Arisa Tovar and Hailey Mulligan teamed up to nab the Beaver base runner trying to take an extra base and keep USD's lead at 2-1. 
• Both pitchers continued to hang tough with zeros in the third and fourth innings to keep San Diego's one-run advantage into the middle innings. 
• The Torero offense continued to build innings in the fifth as Kaitlyn Wynia recorded a hit on her birthday and Johnson drew a walk to load the bases but the game remained 2-1 through five innings.
• Oregon State got two runners on base in the sixth as they threatened to even the score, but Braegelmann induced a pair of key pop outs to keep the one run San Diego lead. 
• USD would break the game open in the bottom of the sixth as Hernandez began the inning with a lead off single and Roberts reached base on an error to put two on with nobody out in the inning. Joyner stepped up to the plate and drove an 0-2 pitch over the left center wall to put the Toreros ahead 5-1 heading into the final inning.
• Braegelmann would go on to take care of the rest as she got a fly out to center field for the final out of the game as USD won their third consecutive conference game. 

HOW IT HAPPENED OREGON STATE 4, SAN DIEGO 0 

• Beginning the action in game two, the Beavers recorded a lead off double but the Torero defense made a huge play to stop the threat. Shawnese Hogue-Lacy made a great diving catch on a pop out and then threw a strike to Mulligan to nab the runner attempting to take third as USD posted a zero in the first inning. 
• Michelle Delgado was the first hitter to reach base for San Diego in game two as she was hit by a pitch with two out but was left on base to keep the game scoreless. 
• Bartlow continued her strong showing in the second and third innings as she recorded three strikeouts and posted a pair of zeros as both pitchers did a great job of keeping runs of the board. 
• The Torero offense was starting to break through in the bottom of the fourth as Hogue-Lacy smoked USD's first hit of the day back up the middle for a lead off base runner. Roberts and Joyner would go on to single as well this inning but USD was unable to scratch across the game's first run. 
• After both pitchers retired the opposing team in order in the fifth, Oregon State broke through with three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 3-0 lead late in the game. 
• In the bottom half of the inning, Hogue-Lacy, Hernandez and Joyner each reached base to load up the bags but USD couldn't score as the Beavers led 3-0 with one inning to play. 
• OSU would score one more run in the top of the seventh as they split the doubleheader with a 4-0 victory on Friday evening. 

TORERO TIDBITS

• Braegelmann turned in her third consecutive complete game as she allowed just one run over her seven innings while allowing five hits and recording seven strikeouts against the Beavers. 
• Bartlow turned in an overall strong outing as she pitched six innings and allowed four runs while striking out five hitters in the second half of the doubleheader. 
• Joyner had a tremendous afternoon on her home diamond as she went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and two walks drawn in both games against Oregon State. 
• Hernandez turned in another strong couple of games on Friday as she went a combined 3-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored. 
• Getting the start in game two, Hogue-Lacy went 2-for-3 and made a couple of highlight defensive plays behind the plate.  

• To hear from USD head softball coach following Saturday's doubleheader against Oregon State, please click here. 

NEXT UP
USD now prepares to compete in the final game of the three game series with Oregon State tomorrow afternoon for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch at the Reggie Smith Softball Complex. Live video, live statistics and ticket links for Sunday's game can be found via the team's website.