Oregon State Falls in Bottom of the Ninth in First Round of Pac-12 Tournament

The Pac-12 Tournament did not get off to a good start for Oregon State, who fell 13-12 to Arizona in the Beavers’ first game of the group stage. Arizona, who beat Arizona State yesterday, has clinched Group B of the tournament, meaning Oregon State will have to hope to win a wildcard spot to advance.

The game got off to a good start for Oregon State, who scored four runs in the top of the first thanks to singles from Micah McDowell, Mason Guerra, Mikey Kane and Tyce Peterson, along with a big double from Gavin Turley. The Wildcats responded in the bottom of the inning, with a two run homer from Chase Davis.

The Wildcats got another run in the bottom of the second, thanks to a Nik McClaughry single, before the Beavers expanded their lead in the top of the third. A pair of doubles from Mikey Kane and Gavin Turley scored two runs, giving OSU a 6-3 lead. Arizona got a run back in the bottom of the inning off of a Tony Bullard sacrifice fly.

They continued to chip away at the Beavers margin in the bottom of the fourth, with one run off of a Chase Davis single, but the Beaveres responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, which featured Gavin Turley’s third double of the day. A solo home run from Tony Bullard gave Arizona another run in the bottom of the fifth, giving OSU an 8-6 lead headed into the sixth.

That inning was all Arizona. The Wildcats dropped six runs on the Beavers, taking a 12-8 lead. It was a team wide meltdown from Oregon State, with pitchers AJ Hutcheson allowing a pair of doubles, a triple and a home run, while an error from Garret Forrester and a passed ball that got by Tanner Smith also contributed to the Beavers woes.

Oregon State was now four runs down with just three innings left, but they got to work quickly to dig themselves out of the hole. After Mason Guerra reached base on a throwing error and advanced to second on a wild pitch, a Tyce Peterson single brought him home. Travis Bazzana then walked with the bases loaded to add another run and get the Beavers within two.

Back to back doubles from Micah McDowell and Mason Guerra scored another run to open the eighth, and then a Gavin Turley single scored Guerra to tie the game. The top of the ninth started promising for the Beavers, with Travis Bazzana doubling and then reaching third on a wild pitch, but Oregon State couldn’t get him to home plate.

It was then Arizona’s turn to try to end the game, and they didn’t waste much time. A pair of singles from Mac Bingham and Nik McClaughry gave them a runner in scoring position, and after a fielder’s choice put Bingham on third, another single from Kiko Romero gave the Wildcats the win.

The Beavers will next play Arizona State Thursday afternoon as they try to keep their Pac-12 Tournament hopes alive. They’ll need to win then and hope the tiebreakers break in their favor if they want to have a chance at the knockout round.