No. 6 Oregon State erupted for six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, highlighted by a grand slam from AJ Singer, to defeat Cal State Fullerton 6-1 on Saturday afternoon at Goss Stadium.

The win evens the series at 1-1 heading into Sunday’s finale.

“It feels really good,” Singer said. “We followed it up with a couple more runs right after that, so watching that was really good.”

The game opened as a true pitcher’s duel, with both teams struggling to generate offense early.

The Beavers managed just four hits through the first seven innings, continuing a recent stretch of quiet production at the plate.

Despite the offensive struggles, Oregon State stayed in the game thanks to a strong outing from Ethan Kleinschmit. The left-hander went 6.1 innings, allowing just one run while striking out eight.

“Kleiner gave us a great start and kept us in the game,” Singer said. “It was kind of like, they’ve done their job, now it’s our time to go.”

Cal State Fullerton broke through first in the fourth inning, using a series of singles to take a 1-0 lead.

From there, both teams traded scoreless frames as the tension built late into the game.

A strange and pivotal moment came in the top of the seventh inning.

With a runner on base, Fullerton’s Nick Miller was called out for batter’s interference on a bunt attempt, stopping a potential rally.

“That one was weird,” Singer said. “He made contact like twice… and then they sent him back to second. I was like, ‘Great, that’s even better.’”

Head Coach Mitch Canham pointed to the importance of capitalizing on defensive opportunities in a tight game.

“I love getting outs on defense,” Canham said.

Still trailing 1-0 entering the eighth, Oregon State finally broke through.

A leadoff bunt single from Easton Talt, initially called out before being overturned, sparked the rally.

After a walk loaded the bases, Singer stepped to the plate with a chance to change the game.

“I was kind of figuring they were going to walk [Proctor],” Singer said. “But when they walked him, obviously, I’m going to use it for some sort of fuel, and clearly it worked.”

After laying off an off-speed pitch, he got the fastball he was looking for and drove it over the right-center field wall for a grand slam, his fifth home run of the season.

“We knew he was going to paint or go outside with his heater,” Singer said. “He came back with one right where I wanted it.”

The grand slam shifted all the momentum, and the Beavers kept it rolling.

RBI doubles from Paul Vazquez and Jacob Galloway added two more runs, capping off a six-run inning that blew the game open.

“When you see one hit fall, it’s very easy to kind of catch on to that,” Singer said. “We’re up, we’re winning now, let’s do it.”

Canham credited the team’s ability to stay engaged despite being shut down offensively for most of the game.

“At no point in time do you really have that feeling of separation,” Canham said. “We felt like it was going to happen.”

Zach Edwards and Albert Roblez closed out the final innings, sealing the 6-1 victory.

With the series now tied at one game apiece, the Beavers will look to secure the series win in Sunday’s closing game at 1:05 p.m. at Goss Stadium.