Women’s Softball Hangs On to Defeat Oregon State in WCC Home Opener

Elle Merlino ’28 (14) throws her arms up celebrating Rebecca Rubio ’27 catching a fly ball during Santa Clara softball’s third game of the series against Oregon State on Saturday, April 4, 2026. (Nina Glick/The Santa Clara) 

Santa Clara University women’s softball delivered a nail-biting 6-5 win over Oregon State to win game one of the three-game series on Thursday night. The Broncos held a 6-0 advantage midway through the contest and narrowly avoided a late-game collapse to hang onto the victory.

The Broncos got off to a stellar start right from the jump as Taryn Clements ’27 delivered a two-run single in the bottom of the first to give the Broncos an early 2-0 lead.

Then, the Broncos broke the game open in the bottom of the third as Clements came through again, rocketing a two-out triple to deep right-center field to score two more runs. Clements finished the contest going 2-3 with 4 RBI’s, her 2 hits tying a season high a season high.

The Broncos continued the rally with a two-out single from Robynn Balmediano ’26 and an ensuing double from Leiora Davidson ’26 down the left field line. The Broncos’ lead expanded to 6-0, giving them a commanding advantage.

After the fast start, the Broncos faced danger at the top of the fourth, as the Beavers quickly loaded the bases with just one out and scored a pair of runs off of Broncos pitcher Cari Ferguson ’28 to cut the deficit to 6-2. 

Oregon State continued its furious comeback the following inning with a two-run home run to cut the deficit to just two runs. The Broncos then found themselves in another precarious position with the bases loaded and two out. Ferguson continued to battle, walking a Beaver runner to give up another run, before closing the door with a much-needed strikeout. 

The Broncos’ lead stood at just 6-5, and it remained that way as the game reached the top of the 7th, with the Broncos searching for their final three outs. Ellison Schroeder ’29 closed the door for her second save of the season as the Broncos took the series opener to improve to 18-17 on the year, and 3-1 in the WCC. 

The Broncos followed Thursday’s victory with an 11-1 win over Oregon State in five innings on Friday, and then fell to the Beavers 4-0 on Saturday. The Broncos won the home series and will host Florida State next Wednesday, April 8th, at 6 p.m.