Oregon State Baseball: Beavers Fall 6-0 in Home Opener

The Beaver bats did not show up at all today, as Oregon State fell 6-0 in their first game inn their series against UC Santa Barbara. The game, the Beavers’ first at Goss Stadium this season, drops the Beavers to 5-7 on the season.

The game was a pitcher’s duel for much of its duration. UCSB didn’t get a hit until the fifth inning, and the Beavers had to wait until the sixth for their first hit. That fifth inning was big for the Gauchos; that first hit, a triple from McClain O’Connor, scored two runners that had reached base on walks. O’Connor himself then reached home on a throwing error, giving UCSB a 3-0 lead.

The Gauchos added three more in the eights, though none of them were earned. A throwing error allowed O’Connor, who had reached base on a wild pitch, to score. Jason Willow, the next batter, was then hit by Reid Sebby’s pitch, loading up the bases. With two outs, Kyle Johnson hit a grounder second, but a fielding error from Jake Dukart allowed two more runners to score, givng the Gauchos a 6-0 lead.

The Beavers never managed to get a runner home. They only managed two hits on the game, and were walked six times. Not the offensive output many were hoping for, but UCSB starter Rodney Boone was outstanding tonight. It’s hard to compete with that kind of showing.

The Beavers two hits came from Kyler McMahan and Joe Casey. Casey’s single came in the sixth, when the Beavers came closest to scoring. That single and a pair of walks loaded the bases with one out, but a Troy Claunch grounder into a double play ended the inning.

Christian Chamberlain picked up the loss, giving him a 2-1 record this season. He threw for 5.0 innings, throwing an impressive 10 strikeouts, but allowing 1 hit and 4 walks for 2 earned runs.

Will Frisch pitched the next two innings, allowing no hits or runs, with 3 strikeouts and two walks. Jack Washburn pitched 0.2 of the eighth, where he walked two and struck out one. Reid Sebby pitched the last out of the eighth, with no walks, strikeouts or earned runs. Kai Murphy pitched the ninth, allowing no hits and one walk.

The Beavers will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at 4:05 PM PT, and will close out the series on Sunday, with the final game set to start at 12:05 PM PT.