Oregon State Baseball: Beavers Take Game 1 Against the Cardinal

Signed. Sealed. Delivered.

In what may be the biggest series of the entire season for both teams, Oregon State prevailed in a hard-fought 6-2 win against #2 ranked Stanford.

The Beavers came out and excelled in every area necessary in order to prevail in front of a sold-out crowd. However, the main star in this game was ace pitcher Luke Heimlich. Heimlich allowed just 2 earned runs against the #2 team in the nation on 3 hits over 8 innings, and 2 of those hits came in the 2-run 5th inning for the Cardinal. Oh, and how can we not mention a career-high 14 strikeouts for Heimlich tonight? Dominant performance.

How do you not get fired up to that?

Cool Hand Luke came out and was lights out for almost the entire game. He threw 4 innings of perfect baseball before allowing the 2 runs, only to shut the door on the Cardinal for the next 3 innings. Oregon State asked a lot of Heimlich in this game, and he delivered plus some.

The biggest factor in Oregon State’s offensive success was being able to get to Stanford’s stud pitcher, Tristan Beck, early in the game. The Beavs managed to plate 4 runs in the first 2 innings against the Cardinal ace with a combined effort from Adley Rutcschman, Trevor Larnach, Steven Kwan, and Michael Gretler. Those early runs proved to be massive down the stretch as around the 4th inning; Beck was able to find a groove and, at one point, retired 10 straight Oregon State batters. The early runs ultimately proved to be the difference as Stanford’s ace provided too little, too late. Later in the game, the Beavs would go on to add 2 more unearned runs in the bottom of the 8th thanks to Trevor Larnach, all but sealing the Beaver win.

Some standouts on the offensive side of the plate for the Beavers include Steven Kwan and Trevor Larnach, each boasting 2 hits with 3 RBI’s combined between them. Michael Gretler also played a big part in the win thanks to a 2 RBI contribution from #10. The Beavers combined for 9 hits tonight, with everyone in the starting lineup except 1 batter getting at least 1 hit. Also, it can’t be forgotten that Cadyn Grenier has advanced his hitting streak to 21 games.

Tonight was a tremendous game 1 victory for Oregon State. It can’t be emphasized enough of how much this series will impact both teams’ national ranking and their Pac-12 standings. It’s not far-fetched to say this series could decide the Pac-12 Champion. So for Oregon State to secure a convincing win like tonight’s is a great first step in this 3 game series.

Game 2 against Stanford will tip off at 2:00 pm PT. Stay tuned on Building the Dam, as we will be providing more coverage and recap of tomorrow’s game 2 against the Cardinal.