GAME 2 - OREGONIAN: Oregon Ducks clinch series victory over Oregon State Beavers with 3-0 college baseball win at Goss Stadium (3 photos, article)
After wowing with a mix of overwhelming pitching and clutch late-game hitting on the way to 10 consecutive wins, the Oregon State Beavers are now facing something for the first time this season:
A losing streak.
The Oregon Ducks rode one big inning at the plate and nine more innings of dominance on the mound to a 3-0 win over the Beavers Saturday at Goss Stadium, winning for the second time in a row in the three-game series.
The Beavers (10-3) entered the series with the momentum and acclaim, boasting a No. 16 ranking in the USA Today Coaches Poll and an impressive 10-game winning streak thanks in large part to a pitching staff that ranked fourth in the nation in ERA and sixth in WHIP. But it’s the unheralded Ducks (8-2) — and their marvelous pitching — that have impressed so far in the series.
One day after ace Robert Ahlstrom blanked the Beavers for seven innings, right-hander Cullen Kafka had a turn shutting down the suddenly ice-cold Oregon State lineup. Kafka pitched five scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing just two hits (both singles), to earn his first win of the season.
Outside of a second-inning jam, when the Beavers put runners on second and third with two outs, Kafka was in control. And when he finally gave way in the sixth inning, reliver Andrew Mosiello took over from there, allowing just two hits and striking out three in four scoreless innings to earn his first save of the season.
In two games, Ducks pitchers have surrendered zero runs, just eight hits — all singles — and recorded 23 strikeouts.
And like Friday’s opener, when a second-inning two-out triple proved the difference in a 7-0 win, the Ducks used a two-out triple Saturday to seize momentum of a tight game.
After cruising through five innings, Oregon State left-hander Cooper Hjerpe ran into trouble in the sixth, allowing back-to-back two-out singles to Gabe Matthews and Aaron Zavala. Two pitches later, Josh Kasevich sliced a ball down the right field line for a two-RBI triple, scoring Matthews and Zavala. That was the end for Hjerpe, who was pulled after striking out seven and allowing six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Robby Ashford gave the Ducks a 3-0 lead two batters later off reliever Nathan Burns, hitting a slow chopper to third base for an infield single that scored Kasevich.
The way the Beavers are hitting, three runs felt like 10, and Mosiello needed just 41 pitches over the final four innings to clinch a series victory for the Ducks. It was the sixth road win in a row against a ranked team for Oregon, which swept a four-game series at then-No. 15 UC Santa Barbara last week.
Matthews finished with three hits and reigning national player of the week Kenyon Yovan went 2 for 4 to continue his torrid hitting for Oregon.
PREGAME:
Oregon State Beavers (10-2) vs. Oregon Ducks (7-2)
When: 1:35 pm. PT Saturday, March 13
Where: Goss Stadium, Corvallis
TV channel: The game is not televised.
Live stream: Oregon State will stream the game on its web site. Visit the OSU baseball schedule page and click the “watch” link on the corresponding schedule tab. You can also listen live online by accessing the live broadcast tab on the baseball schedule page or via the TuneIn application on smartphones and tablets (by searching Beaver Sports Network).
Radio: All games air on the Beaver Sports Network starting 30 minutes before first pitch. Affiliates include: KEJO 1240-AM (Corvallis), KKNX 840-AM (Eugene), KCFM 1250-AM & 104.1-FM (Florence), KLAD 960-AM & 93.3-FM (Klamath Falls), KTMT 880-AM & 96.1-FM (Medford, weekend games), Rip City Radio 620-AM (Portland), 102.3 FM (weekday games prior to 5:30 p.m.), KSKR 1490-AM (Roseburg) and KBZY 1490-AM (Salem, weekend games).
Probable starters: LHP Cooper Hjerpe (1-0, 1.69 ERA) vs. RHP Cullen Kafka (0-0, 1.00 ERA)
This and that: Oregon State’s loss on Friday was its first since the season opener on Feb. 19, and it has not lost consecutive games this season. ... Shortstop Andy Armstrong went 2 for 3 in the defeat, recording his team-leading sixth multi-hit game of the season. ... Jacob Melton’s first-inning single extended his hitting streak to seven games. ... Oregon State pitchers struck out 16 Ducks in the opener, marking the ninth time this season the staff has fanned 10 or more in a game. OSU’s pitchers have recorded 127 strikeouts in 108 innings this season. ... Yovan is the first Ducks player in the modern era to hit a home run in four consecutive games … Smith has been red-hot in Friday games this season, hitting .462 with two home runs, 10 RBIs, two triples, a double and three runs scored. ... Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski earned his first win in the rivalry.
