The Oregon State Beavers baseball team defeated the University of Southern California Trojans soundly on Sunday night, 14-1, at Goss Stadium in the Corvallis Regional final in the NCAA Tournament, forcing a game seven.
The Trojans are no stranger to Goss Stadium, yet the Beaver fans, their chants and the Beaver defense, as well as the bullpen, kept their bats silent.
This matchup followed a 20-3 win against Saint Mary’s College of California concluding an hour before first pitch against the Trojans.
The momentum from the strong win against Saint Mary’s carried over for the Beavers.
“Every game all season long at every practice is a must-win. You gotta win today, and every moment of everyday and if you fail, you get your butt back up and you learn from it and you continue to fight,” head coach Mitch Canham said during the game in an interview with ESPN.
The Beavers’ total runs scored on Sunday add up to 34, minimizing their opponents to a combined four runs scored. However, there was not one star for the Beavers.
Trent Caraway solidified his fourth consecutive home run in the top of the sixth inning, hammering a homer in every Corvallis regional game. Gavin Turley hit a homer as well in the top of the third inning, just after breaking the OSU record for career RBIs against Saint Mary’s.
“He’s (Turley) an incredibly special human being…He’s part of our family for life,” Canham said.
The Beavers got things started early with four runs in the second inning by back-to-back-to-back bunts by Canon Reeder, Dallas Macias and Easton Talt.
“Continuing creating long innings, putting numbers up on the board, it’s just the Beaver way I guess,” Canham said.
Sophomore pitcher Wyatt Queen got the start, pitching 4 1/3 innings, being relieved by Kellan Oakes. Oakes rescued the Beavers and put up two strikeouts on the board to leave the Trojans stranded on bases loaded during the fifth inning. Freshman Zach Kmatz closed the game out for the Beavers.
The Beavers now rematch the Trojans on Monday afternoon at Goss Stadium, first pitch slated for 3 p.m.
