Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include the location of this game.
On a day when seemingly everything went the Oregon State Beavers’ way, having a record-setting performance only seemed appropriate.
Embedded within Oregon State’s 15-1 win over the University of California- Los Angeles at Goss Stadium was the minting of an Oregon State legend.
When Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana stepped up to the plate Sunday against the UCLA Bruins, he was second place on Oregon State’s all-time hits list. Ahead of him was Darwin Barney, who played for the Beavers from 2005 to 2007.
After Bazzana’s double in the second inning, he stood alone at 239 base hits.
But Bazzana’s benchmark performance may not have been the best of the game; Micah McDowell, an Oregon State senior, unloaded two home runs on the Bruins. Included was a grand slam in the fifth inning that turned the game into a laugher when Bazzana, Jacob Krieg, Jabin Trosky, and McDowell all sauntered to home base and upped their lead from 8-1 to 12-1.
Each run added to a dominant performance in a dominant season.
“I think just having a belief to go be great, be good, get a record. Let’s go make fans’ and make people’s day by bringing that kind of electricity to the game,” Bazzana said. “So just have fun doing it and know that there’s a lot of people who look up to you when you play for Oregon State and play hard and just try to be great.”
Bazzana’s reflection on his legacy at Oregon State echoed bold swings and approach to the game. In a season in which the Beavers have been ranked in the top 10 nationally for the entirety of the season, such performances may not surprise some.
“Just sticking to the day-to-day process and…not making any moment too big and just knowing that we’re capable of this on any given day,” McDowell said about building upon the results of the game.
McDowell’s four runs, six RBI and two hits were joined by Bazzana’s three runs, one RBI and one hit. The Beavers had more hits than runs, with their 15 runs a result of six walks on the day.
Oregon State’s pitchers did their part in helping the team to victory as Eric Segura improved his pitching record to 6-1 in giving up three hits and one run.
UCLA’s pitching staff had a much less favorable day, with three different pitchers giving up four or more runs. The Bruins’ Luke Rodriguez gave up seven hits and seven runs in three innings pitched in addition to walking four batters. Rodriguez’s relief, Cal Randall, gave up two hits, and cv four runs and walked one batter in one inning pitched. Will Goldberg matched Randall in his performance with two hits, four runs and one walked batter in one inning pitched.
Imitating today’s performance would do the Beavers well in quest to add another title to their trophy case, according to Mitch Canham, Oregon State’s head baseball coach.
“I think that scoring runs like that is something that we’re capable of doing all the time and…guys were active on the bases, you know swiping a couple bags, getting some clock violations because they were working, creating some distraction but I expect our pitchers to do that everytime, too, so solid defense, you know they did a good job…they caught all the balls,” Canham said.
With sporting glory on the line, only time will tell if they add to their trophy collection.
As the regular season is winding down to a close, the Beavers’ record stands at 39-12 overall with a 17-9 record in PAC-12 conference play. The win moves the Beavers to within one game of first place in the conference, trailing only Arizona.\
UCLA, meanwhile, fell to 6-21 in the PAC-12 with an overall record of 16-33. The Bruins maintain their position at the bottom of the conference.
The Beavers will next play Arizona on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Tucson to begin a three-game series for the regular season conference title. With the series being the end of the regular season for both teams, whichever team wins will be atop the final standings.