Heimlich Stars in the Breakfast Club: Beavs Prevails 3-1

Heimlich may have the flow going with his hair but his flow on the mound took a little bit to warm-up. He hit the very first batter he faced but that only empowered him as retired the next nine Kansas batters in order. It was important that he pitched so well as the offense was not in the same gear it has been over the last seven games.

OSU's first run of the game in the bottom of the 3rd. It started with Christian "C-Boy" Donahue getting on base thanks to an error by the Jayhawks. He moved over on a groundout and then potential Pac-12 Rookie of the Year Nick Madrigal singled to bring him home. That was all the scoring for the game until the 6th, so it was especially important to having Heimlich hurling well.

The Beaver defense showed up big in the game as well. Heimlich was pitching well but was helped considerably by the talent in the field. Jack Anderson, who got the start in right field, helped end the 4th inning with a diving catch to prevent Kansas from scoring. Grenier had a terrific diving stop to save a base hit as well.

That pitching and defense would be enough to keep the Beavs in control but the offense chipped in once more in the 6th inning. Harrison and Grenier reached on hit by pitches that would chase Kansas starter Jackson Goddard and brought in reliever Zack Leban. He got the Beavers down to two outs but Kyle Nobach came through with the big single to bring in both base-runners. That put the lead up to 3-0 and with the Beaver pitching looking strong it seemed to be an easy cruise to the finish line for the last three innings.

Every inning saw some drama unfold though starting in the 7th when Heimlich allowed a leadoff single before that would get erased by a 6-4-3 double play. The 8th saw drama when Scotland Church came on in relief and allowed a run but Max Engelbrekt came in to clean it up. After hitting the first batter he faced he was able to get two outs and escape a frightening jam. He created a concern in the 9th when he allowed two base runners who moved over to 2nd and 3rd with one out. Oregon State's reliable reliever came through with consecutive strikeouts to eliminate one final jam though, and get his 4th save in Surprise, and OSU moved to 7-1 on the season.

Heimlich really was the focal point of the day with a line of 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3K, 0 BB. He threw strikes on 64/102 pitches, and for a guy who had control issues last year it was an excellent performance. Nobody had an outstanding day at the plate but the Beavers had a solid team day so it worked out okay.