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Oregon State sealed a weekend sweep of Long Beach State with a dominating 14-3 win Saturday afternoon. The victory should keep the Beavers near the top of the college baseball polls as the team takes a short break from Pac-12 play. Oregon State’s record now stands at 27-7
Wade Meckler was the first batter of the day for the Beavers, and immediately put Oregon State in front with a solo home run to left field. Travis Bazzana, Garret Forrester and TJ Wheeler then loaded the bases for the Beavers, and a fielder’s choice from Gavin Logan added another run. Jake Dukart then capped things off with a three run home run shot to left field, giving the Beavers a 5-0 lead after the first inning.
Oregon State added three more in the bottom of the second, when a Justin Boyd home run scored Travis Bazzana and Wade Meckler. Long Beach State finally got some runs on the board in the top of the third when a Jonathon Long single scored 2 runners, but the Beavers answered right back with a one run single from Garret Forrester in the bottom of the fourth. A pop fly from LBSU’s Rocco Peppi in the top of the fifth gave the Dirtbags another run, making it a 9-3 game after five innings.
OSU was already well in front, but they did not let their foot off the gas pedal as the game went on. In the bottom of the sixth a Justin Boyd single scored Wade Meckler, and then a Garret Forrester double brought Boyd and Travis Bazzana home. A Gavin Logan single capped things off by scoring Boyd, giving the Beavers a 13-3 lead.
Oregon State added one more in the bottom of the seventh when a Justin Boyd sacrifice fly scored Wade Meckler. It was a big day for Boyd, who tallied up 2 hits, one of them a home run, and 5 RBIs. That was the last run of the day, as Long Beach State couldn’t get anything past OSU’s relievers, for a 14-3 Oregon State win.
Jacob Kmatz picked up the W, giving him a 6-0 record this season. He pitched for 5 innings, allowing 4 hits and 3 earned runs. He struck out 5 batters.
Next up for the Beavers is a 2 game series against Gonzaga, with game 1 scheduled for Monday, April 18th. Next weekend the team gets back to Pac-12 play when the Washington Huskies will come down to Corvallis for a three game series.