Beavers take on Fullerton over weekend, wins series.

The Oregon State University Beavers fought hard against the California State University Fullerton Titans this Sunday. The Beavers came out with the win, bringing the series to a close, and winning two of the three games against the Titans.

The Titans showed great promise at the start of the game when junior infielder Hank LoForte singled out to centerfield with two on base. This allowed sophomore infielder, Sahid Valenzuela, to run home, giving Fullerton the first run of the game, and the last of the inning.

The Beavers, however, had an immediate response to this quick start, and notched in a blistering four runs. With the bases filled, the first came from junior outfielder Trevor Larnach’s smash, resulting a dropped fly from an infielder. Already on third at the hit, junior outfielder Steven Kwan ran home leveling out the score.

Next up on the plate was senior infielder Michael Gretler. Gretler showed no mercy for the Titans, and singled to right side, racking up an RBI double. Outfielder and redshirt senior, Jack Anderson hit an almost perfect bunt inches away from the left field line. This assured the bases were filled and set up sophomore infield Tyler Malone, who was next up to bat.

On the plate, Malone walked with all bases loaded, allowing Larnach to run home, and granting the Beavers a 4-1 lead. But this style of play didn’t seem to carry over, resulting in no runs from either team for two innings.

It wasn’t until the third when junior infield Cadyn Grenier knocked one to the left. Sophomore infielder Andy Armstrong, already on third base, sprinted home, giving the Beavers one more run.

However, the Titans weren’t going to settle with the sizable lead the Beavers had. And in the top of the fifth, freshman first-baseman Jace Chamberlin singled past second with two bases loaded, allowing senior outfielder Chris Prescott and Valenzuela to run home.

Battling against four-time NCAA tournament champions, the Beavers had a challenging time keeping up with the pace of the Titans. In the seventh inning, Chamberlin stepped up for the Titans and smashed one past centerfield to get Prescott the run home again. This closed the gap for the Titans with a score of 4-5.

After this run, neither the beavers, nor the Titans made runs the rest of the game, so it was up to the Beavers to hold their ground and keep their lead.

In the final inning with the Titans up to bat, LoForte hit a dinger to far right field. Goss Stadium went silent as the ball flew through the air, as this would level the score if it went out of the park. But Larnach stepped up at a crucial time for the Beavers, catching the fly ball just before it went out for a home run. The catch made the crowd go wild and sealing the game with a final score of 5-4 Beavers.

Over the course of the three-game series against Cal State Fullerton, OSU was in for a tough battle, and they knew it. The Beavers started out rough with a loss on the first game against the Titans on Friday, but came back with a win on Saturday and Sunday. This brings their record to 15-1, ranking them near the top of the leaderboards.

During the Friday game, head coach Pat Casey was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing with an umpire. Casey will be out for the next four games according to the NCAA. But even without their head coach, the Beavers still look strong.