Beavers Beat Washington 13-8 In First Round of Pac-12 Tournament

Oregon State ran into some familiar troubles in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament Wednesday night. The 2 Seed Beavers took on 7 Seed Washington, and the recent struggles of Oregon State’s pitchers continued. The Huskies managed to jump out to an early 6-2, but Oregon State’s batters managed to take control in a high scoring game, giving the Beavers a 13-8 victory.

After a scoreless first, the Beavers put some runs on the board in the bottom of the second. Jake Dukart scored the first run of the night thanks to a balk from Washington’s Jared Engman. A Wade Meckler grounder then scored Jabin Trosky, giving OSU a 2-0 lead.

Washington answered in the top of the third, when a fielding error from Dukart allowed Josh Urps to score. The top of the fourth was when the Huskies really broke through. Oregon State starter Jaren Hunter gave up a single to A.J. Guerrero, and walked Coby Morales to give Washington a pair of runners. After a popup, Hunter allowed another single, this time to Christian Dicochea, allowing the Huskies to score, tying the game, and ending his day on the mound.

Brock Townsend came in in relief and didn’t fare any better. Townsend gave up back to back singles, and then a double to Cam Clayton, to give Washington another 4 runs and a 6-2 lead. Townsend struck out the next batter, and then Mitch Verburg came in to close out the inning.

Oregon State wasn’t down for long. Kyle Dernedde opened the bottom of the fourth with a double to right field, and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. A Justin Boyd single scored Dernedde, and then Boyd moved to third base with a steal and a throwing error. Wade Meckler walked, and then moved to second on a wild pitch, setting up a big at bat for Garret Forrester. Forrester knocked a ball way over the right field wall, scoring three runs and tying the game for the Beavers. Finally, after two singles and a walk, a bases loaded walk to Jabin Trosky gave the Beavers a 7-6 lead.

Washington grabbed the lead right back in the top of the fifth. A double from Michael Snyder and a single from Josh Urps gave the Huskies a pair of runs and an 8-7 lead, but they wouldn’t hold it for long. In the bottom of the fifth, Justin Boyd walked to open the inning, and moved to second on a sac fly. After Garret Forrester was walked, Jacob Melton a Jacob Melton single scored Boyd, and a Gavin Logan double scored Melton and Forrester, putting the Beavers up 10-8.

Ben Ferrer came to the mound in the top of the seventh, and Oregon State’s pitching finally stabilized. Washington wouldn’t score any more runs, though they threatened in the seventh, when an amazing through from Justin Boyd saved a run and ended the inning.

Oregon State added a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. A sacrifice fly from Gavin Logan scored Wade Meckler, then Gavin Logan hit a solo home run to right center. The Beavers capped off their night with one last run in the bottom of the eighth, when a fly from Wade Meckler scored Justin Boyd. 13-8 Beavers.

Oregon State will be back in action tomorrow night, when they’ll take on the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between UCLA and Cal. Because Oregon State and Washington went so late, UCLA and Cal got a late start, and at the time of writing Cal leads 4-1 in the bottom of the eighth. There’s no set time for tomorrow’s game yet, but expect it to be a late one.