Oregon State Baseball Falls to K-State, 3-2

Oregon State had one their season opener for the last 11 years, but that streak finally ended this afternoon, with a 3-2 loss to Kansas State. The Beavers start the season at 0-1, with Kevin Abel getting the loss in his long awaited return.

Despite the loss, Abel looked very impressive on the mound. He pitched for 4.2 innings, notching 7 strikeouts against 1 hit, 2 walks and 2 beaned batters. He allowed only 1 earned run.

For the first four innings of the game, things were scoreless. In the top of the fifth, Kansas State drew first blood. Kamron Willman reached first after being hit by a pitch, and then a fielding error from first baseman Justin Boyd put Willman on second and Caleb Littlejim on first. A ground out put both runners in scoring position, and unfortunately it was at that point that Abel gave up his only hit of the day, a double to Nick Goodwin, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.

Nathan Burns came in for Abel to close out the inning. Burns allowed one more run in the sixth, with a Caleb Littlejim double scoring Kamron Willman. The Beavers struggled to get runners on the bases, but in the eighth, with two outs down, Preston Jones reached third with a triple. Ryan Ober then belted a big homer to left center to get the Beavers 2 runs.

Unfortunately, that would be all the scoring Oregon State would find. Troy Claunch started off the ninth with a single, but the next three batters were quick outs, ending the game in a 3-2 Oregon State defeat.

The Beavers will continue their opening weekend tomorrow with a matchup against New Mexico. First pitch is set for 11:00 AM PT.