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Oregon State Baseball: Beavers Fall to Ducks 5-1

Oregon State’s batters continue to struggle against Oregon’s pitching.

By John Severs
Syndication: Statesman Journal BRIAN HAYES / STATESMAN JOURNAL via Imagn Content Services, LLC

For the second game in a row, the Beavers failed to capitalize on runners in scoring position. Oregon State left 12 men on the base paths during Game 2 of their series against Oregon, leading to a 5-1 loss for the Beavs. The loss drops the Beavers to 21-9, and 7-4 in conference play.

Cooper Hjerpe got the start, and pitched for 5.0 innings, during which he allowed 5 hits and 3 earned runs. He struck out 3 and walked 2. Hjerpe first got into trouble in the bottom of the second, when the first two Ducks batters hit singles to start the inning. A bunt then got both of them into scoring position, setting up a ground ball from Gavin Grant to give Oregon their first two runs.

The Beavers got one run back in the top of the third, when a Jake Dukart single scored Wade Meckler. That was the only run the Beavers were able to generate, with no Beaver batter having a standout game. Oregon’s pitching group struck out 15 Beavers over the course of the game, rendering it impossible for OSU to get much going at the plate.

The Ducks added a third run in the bottom of the fourth on a double player ground ball, and then two more in the bottom of the sixth, a long inning for reliever Reid Sebby. A walk, a grounder and a strikeout left the Ducks with one runner in scoring position, and two outs, but things took a turn.

A single from Sam Novitske scored a run, and then Sebby struck the next two batters to load the bases. Sebby walked Oregon’s Tanner Smith to give the Ducks another run, before Mitch Verburg came in to get the final out.

Verburg finished the game, and performed well, though the last 2.5 innings were fairly miserable if you’re a Beaver fan. Oregon State’s batters simply could not find a way past the Ducks’ pitching, with the team now 4-1 against their in state rival this season. We’ll see if they can find an answer in their final game against their in state rival later today.

Game 3 between Oregon and Oregon State is set for a first pitch at 4:00 PM PT. The game will be aired on the Pac-12 Networks.