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The Oregon State baseball team topped Vanderbilt, 8-4 in game one of the Super Regionals, in Corvallis. The Beavers set a new school-record for wins with 53. They are now 53-4 on the season for a winning percentage of .930.
Jake Thompson got the start and delivered in a gutsy performance. He went 7.2 innings with 7 strikeouts to get the win. Thompson was replaced by Jake Mulholland after 120 pitches (just three away from his career-high).
The Beavers struck first when KJ Harrison hit a HUGE three-run home run. Vanderbilt quickly answered to tie the game up during the top of the second. As the rain kept coming down, Oregon State added two more runs in the bottom of the second to take a 5-3 lead.
Many expected a low-scoring affair with top pitchers trading blows, but there were fireworks early despite the high powered pitchers on the mound. Things started to settle down after the second inning. Oregon State tacked on a run in the fifth to increase their lead, 6-3. Vanderbilt added another run in the seventh to make it 6-4.
In the bottom of the eighth with the bases-loaded, Cadyn Grenier took part in a masterful 10-pitch at bat that lead to an RBI single. Afterwards Steven Kwan delivered with a sacrifice fly to score another. The Beavers headed to the ninth with an 8-4 lead.
Mulholland was pulled in favor of Sam Tweedt in the ninth, after giving up a lead-off double. Tweedt was able to get the final three outs and Oregon State walked away with the victory in the first game of the Super Regional best-of-three series.
KJ Harrison was named the “Capital One Player of the Game” due to his three-run home run, but Jake Thompson deserves the game ball. Given the circumstances, his gutsy performance was everything the Beavers needed to secure game one of the series.
The Beavers will face Vanderbilt tomorrow evening in game two of the series. Kyle Wright (potential #1 pick in Monday’s MLB draft) will get the start. The big question for Oregon State is who takes the mound? Look for Drew Rasmussen or Bryce Fehmel to get the start tomorrow as the Beavers try to close out the series.