Oregon State Baseball: Beavers Take Down Gonzaga 13-5

Oregon State’s hitting hit double digits for the second game in a row, and a great start from Jake Pfennigs secured a win to keep the Beavers undefeated with a 13-5 win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Beavers improve to 2-0 on the season.

The Beavers didn’t waste any time getting runs on the board. Wade Meckler and Travis Bazzana started the first inning with a pair of singles, and then reached home thanks to a Garret Forrester single combined with a throwing error. That gave the Beavers a 2-0 lead after one.

Gonzaga looked like they would answer back in the top of the second. OSU starter Jake Pfennigs worked two quick outs, but then loaded the bases with a double from the Bulldogs’ Shea Kramer, along with a pair of walks. Pfennigs didn’t panic however, and worked a quick strikeout to end the inning.

Jacob Melton started the bottom of the fourth with a double down the right field line, and then reached home thanks to a Gavin Logan single. A Kyle Dernedde walk then moved Logan into scoring position, and a throwing error on a Wade Meckler ground ball allowed Logan to score, putting the Beavers up 4-0.

The Beavers added one more in the fifth, when a Jacob Melton single scored Justin Boyd, but the sixth is when things really went nuts. Kyle Dernedde and Wade Meckler reached the bases on walks, but fly outs from Matthew Gretler and Travis Bazzana gave the Beavers 2 outs with 2 on. Fortunately for the Beavers, a big Justin Boyd double brough Dernedde and Meckler home, giving OSU another 2 runs.

The Beavers weren’t done, however. Boyd stole third base, and then reached home plate when Garret Forrester hit a single to right center. Jacob Melton then got back to the plate, and was hit by a pitch to get back on base. Another big double, this time from TJ Wheeler, gave the Beavers another 2 runs and a 10-0 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, Gonzaga’s Jacob Rutherford walked the first four batters he faced, gifting the Beavers another run. Rutherford finally got a strikeout after that, but a Matthew Gretler single scored two more for OSU.

In ninth, Gonzaga finally found some hitting. Oregon State closer David Case gave up three straight singles to load the bases in the top of the inning, and was then pulled from the mound. His replacement, Victor Quinn, hit the next batter, giving the Bulldogs their first run of the day.

The Beavers finally got their first out of the ninth when Jack Machtolf popped up, but a single from Jaxon Sorenson scored one more for the Bulldogs. Gonzaga added another on a sacrifice grounder from Ezra Samperi, and a fourth on a wild pitch from Quinn. Finally, a double from Cade McGee gave Gonzaga their fifth run of the inning, and ended Quinn’s day. Justin Thorsteinson came in and closed out the game, for a 13-5 final.

Other than that rough ninth inning, it was a great day for the Beavers. They’ll have two more games tomorrow, a rematch against Gonzaga in the morning, with first pitch set for 11 AM PT, and a final contest against New Mexico set for 4 PM PT.