Beaver Baseball: Sweeping into Pac-12 Season

There were some close moments, but nothing that stopped Beaver Baseball from running their win streak to 10 games and overall record to 15-1 heading into conference play.

Series Recap

Thursday - CSUN put their ace on the mound to start the series and Thomas Bainton put together a solid start for the Matadors, holding the OSU lineup scoreless until a two-out rally in the 5th that was started by a Travis Bazzana single and finished with a Mason Guerra double. Bainton was replaced to start the 6th inning and the Beaver bats went to work, scoring 8 runs over the next two innings against three different Matador relievers. Nelson Keljo became the 7th OSU pitcher to get a start this year and went three strong innings, allowing one run, while a parade of 5 relievers helped close out the game. Micah McDowell and Brady Kasper made their returns in this game, with McDowell starting at DH and Kasper pinch hitting at the position later in the game as part of an elaborate conga line of substitutions at the position.

Friday - Jaren Hunter started off his 3rd start of the year by hitting the leadoff man, and things didn't get much better from there for the junior. He allowed six hits and walked 3 in addition to the hit batter through 3 innings. The offense batted around in the bottom of the first to give Hunter some help, including two Bazzana singles and a three-run home run by Jacob Kreig.

Ian Lawson was solid in relief, going 3 scoreless innings to bridge the gap to the later innings. The Matadors got the tying run to the plate in the 9th after AJ Hutcheson hit a batter and walked the next on four pitches. Bridger Holmes was brought on to close the game out and shut the door with authority, striking out the next three CSUN hitters while throwing strikes with 9 of his 11 pitches.

Saturday - The Beavers got on the board quickly on Saturday, building a 3-0 lead through the first two innings thanks to a Guerra single and a McDowell double. In no surprise, Bazzana scored two of those runs after picking up a single and a double in his first two trips to the plate. Jacob Kmatz struggled more than he has in his prior starts this year, allowing a solo home run in the 2nd to Jakob Simons, then allowing 3 straight hits with one out in the 4th, followed by a sac fly and a wild pitch to give CSUN the 4-3 lead. The game went back and forth from there, with the Beavers ultimately re-taking the lead in the bottom of the 8th, and freshman Drew Talavs was brought on to close the game out. He could not get the job done, allowing a leadoff double and a walk before being lifted for fellow freshman Matthew Morrell. Two on and no outs with a one run lead is a tough spot for your fourth collegiate appearance, but Morrell was up for the task. He forced a groundout to the first hitter he saw, then intentionally walked the bases full to set up the double play. A first pitch pop-up gave him the opportunity to strike out Shunsuke Sakaino on a full count to preserve a Beaver victory and series win.

Sunday - For much of Sunday the Beavers looked to be cruising to a comfortable 4 game sweep. Eric Segura held the Matadors to 2 runs through 5 solid innings of work, tying his season high with 7 strikeouts. The offense continued to do what they did best throughout this series, mix in hits between taking advantage of the spotty command of CSUN pitchers and built an 8-2 lead through 6 innings. The 8th and 9th innings became a chore, starting with a two out walk issued by Kellan Oakes. Kamau Neighbors of the Matadors later cleared the bases with a double to bring the score to 8-6 before Noah Ferguson was brought on and got the strikeout to end the inning. The OSU bats got one back in the bottom of the inning, but the 9th inning had similar vibes. Ferguson started with a strikeout and following up with walks, singles, and hit by pitches before Holmes was brought into the game for the third time this week. He managed to hit two batters, one of which walked in a run, but closed the door after that to secure the sweep.

What We Learned

• Which Players are Progressing Back from Injury? Both McDowell and Kasper were eased into action in this series, McDowell more so than Kasper. Wilson Weber made his first start at catcher since February 19th, making his way back into his role as the backup catcher. There was no sign of May which isn't necessarily a surprise, but the focus will increase on Hunter the longer May is out. The junior has not played up to his numbers from last year and had the roughest of his 3 starts of 2024 this last weekend. Trent Caraway missed the series with an illness, which ended up allowing Kreig to spend the entire series in the field.
• Can the Pitching Staff Get a Handle on Thier Control? The short answer is no. The Beavers walked 21 Matadors over 4 games and added another 7 hit batters. So far this year, OSU’s walk rate of 4.4 per game and hit batters (1.9 per game) are well above last year's totals (3.6 BB/G, 1.0 HBP/G), and translates to an average of two extra baserunners per game. The issue is spread across the entire staff, with 10 of the 21 walks given by starters this weekend. This will likely not be that much of an issue in Pac-12 play given how powerful the OSU lineup is but will come back to bite them in high stakes situations later in the year if not addressed.
• Who Handles the DH Spot? Mitch Canham and crew used the DH spot as a way to ease McDowell and Kasper back into action, along with providing multiple pinch-running opportunities to Barndon Forrester and Dawson Santana. McDowell played the full game at DH by Sunday and went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI for his efforts.

Batting Line of the Week

Travis Bazzana Batting Line - .500/.600/.563

The contact was not quite as loud this past weekend as it has been earlier in the year. Of Bazzana’s 8 hits in the series, only 1 went for extra bases. That isn’t really an issue when you get on base 60% of the time as a leadoff man in front of a lineup as deep as the Beaver one. Bazzana scored 7 runs in the series, and consistently set the table for the OSU lineup.

Non-Travis Bazzana Batting Line: Jacob Krieg - .467/.556/1.200

Kreig has gotten an opportunity with the injuries to McDowell and Kasper pulling Dallas Macias into the field, and even more so with Mason Guerra sliding over to third base for 2 or three games in the series. The big sophomore accounted for 3 of the 5 Beaver home runs this weekend. The 118 MPH exit velocity on Krieg’s Friday home run was the highest ever recorded by the Dam Analytics squad. With both Krieg and Macias playing so well, it will be a good problem to have fitting everyone in once the combination of McDowell, Kasper, and Caraway are back to full strength.

Pitching Line of the Week

Pitcher: Bridger Homes - 3 APP, 3 IP, 0 R, 7 K, 0 BB

Holmes is the first OSU pitcher to make 3 appearances in one weekend series in the 2024 season, and he kept earning the right to take the ball. The Junior College transfer struck out seven of the twelve batters he faced and allowed three baserunners (all via hit batters of course). High leverage opportunities have been spread around the Beaver bullpen in the early part of the season, but Holmes got the traditional save on Saturday and the firemen role on Sunday. With the presumed closer to start the year (Kyle Scott) shelved with an injury for the moment, it seems like Holmes has seized the opportunity.