Oregon State Baseball: Beavers Drop Game 1 In Eugene 4-1

A strong start by Kevin Abel on the mound was spoiled by poor hitting and some mistakes in the relief unit, leading to a 4-1 loss to the Oregon Ducks. The loss drops the Beavers to 21-8, and 7-3 in Pac-12 play.

Abel pitched for 6.0 innings as the starter, giving up 2 hits and 2 walks against 8 strikeouts. One of his hits was a solo home run from Gabe Matthews that got the Ducks their first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth.

That was the only offense seen for most of the night. In the top of the eighth, the Beavers finally managed to get a run on the board after leaving runners stranded all night. Jacob Melton continues to look great, as he led off the inning with a triple down the right field line. A Ryan Ober fly out got Melton home and tied the game up for Oregon State.

The tie wouldn’t last long. In the bottom of the eighth, Chase Watkins came in in relief, and allowed singles to the first two batters he faced. A wild pitch got the runners to second and third, before Watkins struck out the next batter, finally getting Oregon State an out. The Beavers intentionally walked Aaron Zavala in hopes of setting up a double play, and changed pitchers to Bryant Salgado.

Unfortunately, Salgado walked the first batter he faced, and hit the second with a pitch. That was two quick runs for the Ducks, and the end of Salgado’s night. Jake Mulholland came in to close out the night, but walked the first batter he faced, giving the Ducks a third run. After that, the Beavers finally got the double play they were looking for, but were down 4-1.

And that would be it for the night. Two quick ground outs and a strike out was all she wrote for the Beavers in the top of the ninth. Watkins got the loss, his first of the season giving him an 0-1 record. The Beavers managed five hits on the night. With Andy Armstrong counting for two of them and Jacob Melton, Troy Claunch and Preston Jones adding one each.

Game two between Oregon and OSU is set for this evening, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 PM PT. The game will be aired on the Pac-12 Networks.