The Beavers finally got a chance to play on their home field last week, and made the most of it with a series victory over 16th ranked Pepperdine. Although the Beavers dropped the series finale on Saturday, getting two wins against a high-caliber team has to feel good for the Beavers, even though they have a lot of improving to do.
Thursday/ Friday: Oregon State 10, Pepperdine 3 In a game that started on Thursday and ended on Friday, the Beavers were able to outlast the Pepperdine Waves with pitching and some big time performances at the plate.
OSU starter Mike Stutes had a perfect game going through four innings on Thursday night when the game was suspended due to rain. Mike faced the minimum twelve batters through his four innings, and struck out four. Josh Keller picked up where Stutes left off on Friday afternoon, going two innings and giving up three runs on four hits. He struck out two batters on the way to pickup up his third win of the season.
From there, Blake Keitzman and Mark Grbavac covered most of the seventh and eighth innings before closer Kevin Rhoderick came on to seal the game. Entering the game with two outs in the top of the eighth, Kevin walked a batter before striking out three in a row. In the ninth inning alone, Kevin faced three batters and threw a total of ten pitches, striking two out and forcing the final batter of the game, Matt Aidem, to pop up to third base.
The Beavers never trailed in the game, as they scored first in the bottom of the fourth. In that inning, a Chris Hopkins double scored Ryan Ortiz and Drew George, and a Garret Nash ground rule double later in the inning scored Joey Wong.
Oregon State added two runs in the fifth and one in the seventh, all thanks to two separate Ryan Ortiz doubles.
The Beavers took a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the eighth, but they weren't done scoring yet. Garret Nash singled to start the inning, then Jason Ogata reached on an error. Daniel Robertson moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt before Drew George struck out looking. With two on and two out, Lennerton was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Ryan Ortiz. Ortiz, who already had two doubles on the game, launched his second grand slam of the year over the left field fence, driving in four and giving the Beavers a 10-3 advantage.
After Rhoderick slammed the door on the Waves in the top of the ninth, 10-3 became the final score. The Beavers moved to 8-6 with the win, and more importantly, 1-0 on their home field.
Friday: Oregon State 9, Pepperdine 7
With a victory already under their belts on Friday, the Beavers took to the field for the second time of the day for Game 2 with Pepperdine.
Josh Osich got the start for the Beavers, but he only went one full inning, giving up four runs on three hits. He held the Waves scoreless in the first, but faced four batters in the second, all four of which scored. Greg Peavey came on in relief of Josh in the second and did a good job mopping up the mess. He would wind up throwing five and a third innings on the game, and would earn his first collegiate victory. He also struck out five batters.
Mark Grbavac and Blake Keitzman handled the set up duties for the second time of the day, pitching in the seventh and eighth innings. Once again, Kevin Rhoderick slammed the door on the Waves in the ninth, earning his second save of the day and fifth of the season. Rhoderick threw eleven pitches in the ninth, striking out one and giving up two flyouts to center field.
Ryan Ortiz, who had seven RBI's in game one of the series, was 2-for-5 in game two with one runs scored and two more RBI's. Daniel Robertson went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, and Drew George was 3-for-4 with a run scored and 3 RBI's.
The Beavers got things going in the bottom of the second when Joey Wong grounded out to third with the bases loaded, scoring Drew George from third. The Beavers couldn't get anything else out of the inning, leaving two on base.
In the fifth, a leadoff walk by Garrett Nash set Chris Hopkins up for his first longball of the season, a two-run homer to left, making the score 3-7 in favor of Pepperdine. Peperdine had taken a 7-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth inning thanks in part to a two run homer of their own.
The Beavers continued on the comeback trail later in the fifth, when Ryan Ortiz hit his third double of the day, but his first of the game. The double moved Daniel Robertson to third, putting runners on second and third for Drew George. Drew singled up the middle for two RBI's, bringing the Beavers within two at 7-5.
The Beavers tied the game in the sixth when Ryan Ortiz hit a two out, 2 RBI single through the right side, scoring Ogata and Nash. The Beavers took the lead for good when Daniel Robertson scored on a fielding error by Pepperdine shortstop Bryce Mendonca.
The Beavers finished the game with 9 runs on 12 hits, with two errors. Errors continue to be a problem for the Beavers, as Chris Hopkins and John Tommasini were the guilty parties in Game 2.
The Beavers move to 9-6 with the win.
Game 3: Pepperdine 8, Oregon State 5
The Beavers couldn't capitalize on the opportunity to sweep the Pepperdine Waves, as they lost Game 3 by the score of 8-5. Seven of Pepperdine's eight runs came in the seventh inning. The Beavers lead 2-1 prior to that point, and made a valiant effort at getting themselves back into the game with three runs in the final three innings. The tying run even game to the plate for the Beavers in the bottom of the ninth.
James Nygren got the start for the Beavers and went five full innings. The Beaver rotation has been a bit jumbled this week due to the suspension of normal Saturday starter Jorge Reyes, which allowed James to get his first start of the season. He gave up one run on four hits in those five innings, striking out four along the way.
Blake Keitzman came on in relief in the sixth inning, recording a total of four outs over the course of the sixth and seventh. He was on the hill during Pepperdine's seven run seventh, but it wasn't all his fault. Blake gave up six of those runs, but only three of them were earned. Josh Keller faced four batters and gave up three hits in the seventh before Kraig Sitton finished up the game with two innings of work.
Garrett Nash was 3-for-5 in the game with one run scored, Ogata was 2-for-4, Robertson was 2-for-3, and Joey Wong was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Ryan Ortiz, a big performer from the first two games of the series, was 1-for-4.
The Beavers got things going in the bottom of the third when Jason Ogata singled to center field with Joey Wong on third base. The Beavers would eventually load the bases on a Daniel Robertson walk, but Oregon State couldn't get anything else out of the inning.
The Beavers manufactured another run in the bottom of the fifth. Nash doubled to right center with one out, Hopkins bunted him to third for the second out, and Ogata doubled to center field to drive him home. The Beavers would leave two stranded in the inning.
After Pepperdine scored seven in the top of the seventh, the Beavers scored two more in the bottom of the seventh. Wong, Hopkins, Robertson, and Ortiz all recorded hits in the inning, and Wong and Hopkins were the two to score.
Down 8-4 in the ninth, Oregon State drove in one on a Drew George single, and would get the tying run to the plate with two outs in Jordan Lennerton. "The Moose" struck out to end the game, ruining Oregon State's chances for a comeback.
The Beavers fell to 9-7 with the loss.
GO BEAVERS!
--JB--