A four-run third inning helped No. 18-ranked Oregon State University baseball cruise to a 7-2 victory over Xavier University on Saturday in Corvallis’ Goss Stadium. 

The Beavers have now won the first two matchups of their four-game series against the Musketeers. OSU won Game 1 on Friday with a score of 4-2 behind an 11-strikeout performance from pitcher Dax Whitney. 

For Game 2, junior left-handed pitcher Ethan Kleinschmit got the start for OSU on a sunny afternoon. His first two outs were fly balls that carried all the way to the warning track, with outfielder Easton Talt making a leaping catch against the center-field wall to secure the second. 

The Xavier offense came alive in the next inning with just one out remaining. Facing a full count while trying to get out of the inning, Kleinschmit walked Xavier’s Mitchell Morton, who then advanced to second base following a JD Crisp single at the next at-bat. 

Kleinschmit walked the next batter, loading the bases, before Xavier’s Eddie Peters hit a two-RBI single to give the Musketeers an early lead. 

“Not the way I planned for it, completely,” Kleinschmit said regarding how he’s started the season. “But got the win today. So happy with that.”

After a mound visit, Kleinschmit got out of the inning, earning his first strikeout of the game against Clay Burdette on the third full count of the second. 

“Our guys do have really good stuff, so we’re able to get out of some of those jams – even jams even when we’re behind the count,” Head Coach Mitch Canham said postgame. “Just another area that growth needs to continue to happen.”

The OSU offense responded in the bottom of the third inning. Jacob Galloway hit an RBI single, and the Beavers took advantage of a Xavier throwing error to score two more off a Josh Proctor double. 

“He was continuing till the play was over,” Canham said of Proctor, who took third base after the error. “And that shows a lot from a young guy.”

Xavier suffered another throwing error at the next at-bat, with Proctor scoring after the Musketeers botched a fielder’s choice following a Bryce Hubbard single, putting the Beavers up 4-2. 

After the second inning, Kleinschmit settled in for the rest of the game, not allowing any additional hits and earning two more strikeouts with just one walk. 

“Good slider, and he was trying to use the changeup a bit today, too,” Canham said. “I did like that when he was throwing his off-speed, he was missing down. It wasn’t like he was just trying to get it in there and pressing it – he was letting it rip.”

Kleinschmit was pulled following the fifth inning for junior right-hander Noah Scott, who pitched the next three, recording two strikeouts and giving up two hits. 

“Scotty’s presence on the mound continues to impress,” Canham said. 

OSU first baseman Jacob Krieg reopened scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning with a leadoff solo home run that barely arced over the left field fence. According to DAM Analytics Squad, the ball left the bat at 105 mph, had a 49° launch angle, and traveled 337 feet before landing.

And on the next pitch, sophomore Paul Vazquez hit a center-field single, after which the Musketeers pulled starting pitcher Jack Nobe (four strikeouts, seven hits allowed) for Michael Murphy (two strikeouts, two hits), who would finish out the game for Xavier. 

In the eighth inning, the Beavers shuffled their outfield, moving Adam Haight from right field to left, benching Proctor, putting senior Nyan Hayes at center field, and moving Talt from center to right. 

On offense, Xavier threatened with two baserunners, but Talt nabbed a flyout in right-center field to get a third out. 

In the bottom of the inning, OSU would score two more insurance runs off a two-RBI single from Galloway that scored Vazquez and Tyler Inge. 

“It’s been electric,” Vazquez said of the home environment. “I mean, watching Goss last year for the most part, it’s awesome to finally get in there and play.”

The Beavers inserted senior right-hander Isaac Yeager at pitcher for the ninth inning. One flyout and one strikeout later, a ground out from Xavier’s Jonathan Fitz looked like it ended the game, but the call was overturned at first base, giving Fitz a single and drawing groans from the home crowd. However, Yeager struck out Peters swinging on the next at-bat, securing the 7-2 win. 

The Beavers finished the game with seven different players recording hits and two, Galloway and Proctor, earning multiple RBIs. 

With the win, OSU advances to 9-4 on the season, while Xavier drops to 5-9. Oregon State is now 7-0 all-time against the Musketeers, but Xavier will have two more chances to break that record this season. 

Goss Stadium will host the remaining matchups of the four-game series: Sunday at 3:05 p.m. and Monday at 5:35 p.m. 

“Right now, we’re gonna enjoy this win,” Vazquez said, “and feel good going into tomorrow.”