#19 Oregon State (14-5, 3-0) vs. #5 Arizona (19-2, 2-1) - 5:35 PM PDT - Goss Stadium at Coleman Field, Corvallis, OR- KEJO 1240 AM & KPOJ 620 AM - Video and Audio Stream on Beaver Nation Online, for a fee
The Beavers begin their 3-game series against the Wildcats on Friday, and Oregon State is up against a very good Arizona team. This series could be an early indicator to the Beavers' chances in the conference and beyond.
Last weekend, OSU stormed into Pac-12 play, sweeping the Golden Bears by scores of 9-2, 4-1, and 13-5. The Bears made some mistakes that helped the Beavers, but it was still an impressive series from OSU, and moved them up 6 spots in the top 25.
The Wildcats lost their first game against the WSU Cougars 6-0, but won the next two games 8-7 and 12-9. They also lost a pair of midweek games against New Mexico State 7-4 and 13-7.
Arizona relies on their offense, who have tallied up a .327 average on the year. Their pitching, however, is hittable, with a 3.97 ERA this year. Their defense has made a total of 33 errors, for an average of 1.5 per game. 4 of those errors came in the 7-4 loss against New Mexico, and the Wildcats ended up giving up 4 crucial unearned runs, fueling the Aggies late inning comeback.
The Beavers will pitch sophomore lefty Ben Wetzler (4-0, 4.06), who continued his hot streak of starts last weekend, when he scattered 6 hits over 8 innings, allowing 2 runs. He walked 2 and struck out 4.
Arizona's starter will be 6'2" junior righty Kurt Heyer (4-1, 1.23), who struggled a bit in his appearance a week ago against the Cougs. He surrendered 4 runs (3 earned) on 8 hits over 5.2 innings, while striking out and walking 2.
The series will continue Saturday at 2:05, and the finale will start Sunday at 1:05
Go Beavers!