Oregon State (7-4, 0-0) vs. Northern Illinois (0-10, 0-0) - 10 AM PST - Surprise Stadium, Surprise Arizona - KEJO 1240 AM & KPOJ 620 AM
The Beavers look to win their first series with a win today against the Northern Illinois Huskies, while the Huskies look to win their first game of the season. The Beavers will send RHP Riley Wilkerson (0-0, 6.00) to the mound, and his counterpart will be RHP Tony Manville (0-1, 3.75).
Final Score - Box score
OSU 6
SLU 5
Oregon State starter Cole Baylis didn't make it out of the first inning, walking 3 out of the first 4 batters, while recording just two outs. Taylor Starr relieved him after that .2 of an inning, and managed to escape the first without surrendering a run. Starr wasn't so fortunate in the 2nd, which started off with a triple. Starr walked the next batter, and the next Billiken batter hit a RBI single to give the Billikens a 1-0 lead. A wild pitch pushed another run across, and a SAC fly another. The inning ended with a 3-0 Billiken lead.
Dylan Davis, however, wouldn't be denied on this day. His first hit came in the 4th, when he hit a one-out double. Jake Rodriguez drove him home with a single, but was thrown out at 2nd when the throw home was cut off. Meanwhile, Taylor Starr had settled down nicely, and was breezing through innings.
With two outs in the 6th, the Beavers rally was started by another Davis double, and he moved to third when the throw into the infield got away. Ryan Dunn hit a groundball to third, but the throw wasn't accurate enough, allowing Davis to score and Dunn to reach. After working a full count, Tyler Smith hit a 2-run triple, giving the Beavs a 4-3 lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the 6th, the Beavers pulled Starr, replacing him with redshirt freshman Zack Reser, for a lefty-lefty matchup. It didn't work so well, however, as he gave up a single. Luckily, Cole Brocker came in, threw 3 pitches, all strikes, and ended the inning. Starr ended up throwing 5.0 innings, giving up 6 hits and 3 runs.
With one out in the 7th, Ryan Dunn hit a double, and Danny Hayes moved him over with a groundout. Michael Conforto doubled home Dunn, and Davis put the finishing touches on his day by singling home Conforto, insurance runs that turned out to be very important. Davis went 3-5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs, and an RBI. Quite a game for the true freshman.
With a 3-run lead, Tony Bryant replaced Cole Brocker in the 9th inning. Brocker went 2.1 innings, not allowing a hit, walking 1 while striking out 3. Bryant, who was a little shaky, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, managed to escape and get the save, his 3rd on the season, giving Taylor Starr his first win on the year.
Go Beavers!