
Photo by: Dave Nishitani/Oregon State Athletics
Haendiges Fans 6 as Beavs Shutout New Mexico in Opener
February 10, 2023 | Softball
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The 19th-ranked Oregon State softball team opened the 2023 season with a 2-0 win over New Mexico in the LSU Invitational's first game.
Solid pitching and one-run frames in the first and fourth innings proved to be just what the Beavers (1-0) needed to dispatch the Lobos (0-1) on Friday afternoon. Sarah Haendiges – the game's starter – allowed just a pair of hits and fanned six in five innings' worth of shutout action.
"A good first game," said head coach Laura Berg. "It's good to get the first one under our belt. We had a lot of freshman get their feet wet - a little baptism by fire - and I thought they did a great job. Sarah (Haendiges) and Tarni (Stepto) did a good job in the circle but we just need to a better job offensively."
The Beavers wasted little time in getting the offense going as Savanah Whatley led things off with a single to center. The very next batter – Madi Simon – brought Whatley home on a double to left center for strike for the lead in the bottom of the first. In the second, Oregon State threatened with more as they had runners reach second and third, but could not drive them in.
Haendiges kept the Lobos hitless for 2.1 frames until the frame's second batter returned one to the sophomore to break the no-no attempt. The Lobos would bring one more on base but could not muster any runs.
After retiring the Lobos in order, Oregon State's offense added their final run of the game when Grace Messmer crossed off the bat of Morgan Howey with two outs. Howey's run batted in was the first of her career.
Tarni Stepto entered the contest in the sixth but had to dig in to keep the zero intact for New Mexico's runs. A pair of walks and a fielder's choice gave the Lobos their best chance to strike. A groundout and punchout shut the door and got OSU out of the jam. The Beavers then quietly went down in order in their final trip to the plate.
A pair of punchouts with a groundout sandwiched between  the win on opening day for OSU.
Oregon State will continue play in Baton Rouge tomorrow with another tilt versus New Mexico (at noon PT) and hosts, LSU (2:30 p.m. PT). The later contest will be shown on SEC Network+.
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
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Solid pitching and one-run frames in the first and fourth innings proved to be just what the Beavers (1-0) needed to dispatch the Lobos (0-1) on Friday afternoon. Sarah Haendiges – the game's starter – allowed just a pair of hits and fanned six in five innings' worth of shutout action.
"A good first game," said head coach Laura Berg. "It's good to get the first one under our belt. We had a lot of freshman get their feet wet - a little baptism by fire - and I thought they did a great job. Sarah (Haendiges) and Tarni (Stepto) did a good job in the circle but we just need to a better job offensively."
The Beavers wasted little time in getting the offense going as Savanah Whatley led things off with a single to center. The very next batter – Madi Simon – brought Whatley home on a double to left center for strike for the lead in the bottom of the first. In the second, Oregon State threatened with more as they had runners reach second and third, but could not drive them in.
Haendiges kept the Lobos hitless for 2.1 frames until the frame's second batter returned one to the sophomore to break the no-no attempt. The Lobos would bring one more on base but could not muster any runs.
After retiring the Lobos in order, Oregon State's offense added their final run of the game when Grace Messmer crossed off the bat of Morgan Howey with two outs. Howey's run batted in was the first of her career.
Tarni Stepto entered the contest in the sixth but had to dig in to keep the zero intact for New Mexico's runs. A pair of walks and a fielder's choice gave the Lobos their best chance to strike. A groundout and punchout shut the door and got OSU out of the jam. The Beavers then quietly went down in order in their final trip to the plate.
A pair of punchouts with a groundout sandwiched between  the win on opening day for OSU.
Oregon State will continue play in Baton Rouge tomorrow with another tilt versus New Mexico (at noon PT) and hosts, LSU (2:30 p.m. PT). The later contest will be shown on SEC Network+.
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Haendiges, Sarah (1-0)
L: LINTON, Amber (1-1)
Batting:
SH: HATHOOT, Rachael 1
Base Running:
SB: ROBINSON, Peyton 1
HBP: CHAVEZ, Keyannah 1

Batting:
2B: Simon, Madison 2
RBI: Simon, Madison 1 ; Howey, Morgan 1
SH: Rivera, Des 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Whatley, Savanah 1 ; Messmer, Grace 1
SB: Higa, Kaiea 1 ; Romulo, Kristalyn 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
Players Mentioned
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