Oregon State Baseball: Beavers Win Pitching Duel 2-0

The Beavers needed everything Luke Heimlich had to give today, as the star pitcher struck out 10 on the way to a 2-0 victory for Oregon State. Heimlich now has 132 strikeouts for the season, a Beaver record.

The only scoring in the game came in the bottom of the second. A walk to Adley Rutschman and a Trevor Larnach single put two runners on the bases. A single from Tyler Malone scored Rutschman, and Larnach reached home on a sacrifice grounder from Jack Anderson.

Other than that, this game was all pitching. Heimlich and UCLA starter Jake Bird battled back and forth throughout the game. While Bird only had two strikeouts, he only allowed 5 hits while Heimlich allowed 6. Each pitcher also allowed two walks.

Heimlich left the game in the eight, after giving a double put a runner in scoring position with two outs. Brandon Eisert came in and finished the inning in one pitch; a pop fly to center. Eisert finished out the ninth, allowing one hit before a double play ended the game.

There wasn’t much impressive on the batting side of things for the Beavers. Tyler Malone was the best of a weak bunch, with 2 hits and an RBI. Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, and Michael Gretler each had one hit a piece.

Kwan was perhaps one of the most important players on defense this game. The center fielder used his speed to make plenty of plays in the outfield, severely limiting the damage UCLA’s hitters could do. Check out this from the third inning.

Game 2 of the series will be tomorrow, May 25th, at 4:00 PM PT. After scoring only 2 runs in the last 2 games, the Beavers may have some work to do. Check back with Building the Dam for more coverage.