Oregon St. vs. Arizona Series Finale Game Thread

#19 Oregon State (15-6, 4-1) vs. #5 Arizona (20-3, 3-2) - 1:05 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

Oregon State lost Saturday, evening the series at 1 game apiece. Beaver starter Dan Child did well to limit the Wildcats to just 2 runs over his 6+ innings, despite surrendering 7 hits and 2 walks. Heading into the 7th inning, the Beavs were up 3-1, partially thanks to 2 Tyler Smith RBI's.

Flashback to Friday. Cole Brocker went .2 innings, surrendering the Beaver lead by giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. Saturday, Brocker entered with one out and the tying run on 2nd in the 8th inning. He promptly gave up a single into center, but then finished the inning with a hard-hit double play ball. He wasn't so lucky in the 9th. The leadoff hitter worked a 2-2 count before depositing Brocker's pitch over the fence in rightcenter, giving the Wildcats a 4-3 lead. One would think that three straight hard hit balls would warrant a new pitcher, but Brocker stayed in the game and surrendered another home run, and then a single before being replaced by Scott Schultz, who finished the inning.

The Beavers nearly fought back in the bottom of the 9th, having the tying run on 3rd with one out after Tyler Smith's 3rd RBI came on a sacrifice fly. Unfortunately, for what seems like the first game this season, neither Michael Conforto nor Dylan Davis could come through in the clutch.

The pitching breakdown squandered a defensive effort that produced a season high 4 double plays.

Sunday's OSU starter will be Jace Fry (1-0, 3.86). No word yet on whether he will be held to a pitch count this game. Last Sunday, the lefthanded freshman Fry went 5 innings, allowing 7 hits and 4 runs (3 earned). He had a troubling walk count of 3, especially when compared to his 4 strikeouts.

The Wildcat starter will be 6'2" sophomore RHP James Farris (2-1, 3.94). He last pitched a week ago against Washington State, and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits over 4.1 innings. He didn't walk a batter, but 4 of the hits he surrendered went for extra bases.

Oregon State and UCLA are currently tied atop the Pac-12 standings. Oregon, Arizona, and Washington are all 1 game back, and Stanford trails by 1.5 games.

UCLA looks to sweep the Cougs today, and Oregon would like to do the same against the Utes. Stanford is playing for the series win against the Trojans, and Washington is playing out of conference.

Go Beavers!