The rivalry-series finds its way to Corvallis. The Oregon State Beavers came so close to pulling the upset against the visiting Oregon Ducks, but they fell short in an 8-4 loss. 

The Beavers returned home empty handed, after spending a weekend down the I-5 in Eugene, Oregon. In their first go around against the Ducks, the Beavs dropped the three-game series 0-3, losing by a point differential of 5-20. 

The Ducks put the pressure quickly with a home run by Jacob Walsh. However, Gavin Turley for the Beavs responded with his own homer to tie it up at one in the bottom of the first. 

During the bottom of the second, OSU continued to pile on the lead, loading the bases with Trent Caraway, who sent a ball up the middle, giving Jacob Krieg his chance to take home. On the next bat, Easton Talt, with a dribbler up the middle, set up Dallas Macias to cross home to give the Beavs a 3-1 lead. 

The Ducks quickly responded, though, after the productive inning for OSU. Ryan Cooney launched the Ducks’ second home run out of Goss, bringing the score back to a manageable 3-2, still favoring the Beavs. 

“We left runners on base, they walked a couple of times and we walked a lot, but we just gotta play better baseball, you can’t always expect to win,” said head coach of the Beavs Mitch Canham on the back and forth between OSU and U of O. 

Pitcher Wyatt Queen of the Beavs had an exceptional day. Starting off over the first five innings with five strikeouts and an ERA of 4.25, Queen’s efforts helped keep the Ducks off the board.

Then, at the top of the sixth, the Ducks stormed back with a three-run inning, loading the bases and sending all three runners home. 

OSU failed to respond in the bottom of the sixth before the Ducks again loaded the bases and sent the runners home on third and second. Just like that, Oregon spun momentum with a quick lead change 7-4. 

After a scoreless eighth inning, the Ducks extended their lead in the top of the ninth to take a four-run lead. However, this would be the last score change of the game as the Beavs would fail to find a run, with the final score being 8-4.

“Not worried about it at all,” said Canham on the team’s mentality after the tough loss, “we’re tough as nails; if you were concerned about that, you wouldn’t be in that clubhouse.” 

The Beavers will take to the road once again next, heading to Manoa, Hawai’i, to take on the Hawai’i Warriors Friday at 9:35 p.m. 

“We left today unhappy, the fans left (Goss) unhappy, now it’s our job to make the most of our next series and play our best ball ahead,” said Canham.