Beavers win 3-2 against Hartford University at home Friday.

Oregon State University came home for the first time this season and kicked off a four game series with a 3-2 win against the Hartford University Hawks. This marks the fifteenth straight home opener win for the Beavers.

The game started off slow, with the first three innings having no scores. Things started to pick up when sophomore Tyler Malone hit an RBI single to get sophomore Adley Rutschman the first score in the bottom of the fourth. 

But the high-fives didn’t last too long. Hartford answered big in the top of the sixth with a pair of scoring runs to take the lead.

The first of the two came from Hartford junior Chris Sullivan. As fielder’s choice, Sullivan pushed Hartford freshman John Thrasher to home plate to tie the game. 

The next score came directly after, with the Beavers allowing sophomore Zachary Ardito to hit a single RBI and pushed senior TJ Ward to home plate. 

With the score of 2-1 Hartford, the Beavers needed to bounce back. After a full inning of no scores, Rutschman stepped up big and hit an important double to score a double RBI, granting OSU the final score of 3-2 to finish the game. 

OSU senior pitcher Luke Heimlich pitched 7.2 innings. He put up six strikeouts and allowed six hits with two runs. 

Freshman Christian Chamberlain made a brief appearance, allowing a walk from the only batter he faced. Junior Dylan Pearce made his first appearance of the game in the eighth inning and made his first save of the season to finish the game off strong.

The Beavers played without the 2017 Pac-12 Player of the Year Nick Madrigal, who injured his wrist sliding into home plate in the comeback game against the Ohio State University on Feb. 23 with the final score of 10-8 Beavers. With Madrigal out indefinitely, the Beavers have shined the light on outfielder junior Trevor Larnach.

Larnach has put up a .484 batting average this season as of March 2, making him one of the top in the team. This game seemed to be a tough one for him, as he went 0-4 on the plate against Hartford. With his early leadership, the Beavers seem to have the momentum to keep moving at a brisk pace.

OSU baseball seems to be at the top of their game so far this season, boasting the impressive nine game winning streak, and having multiple polls ranking them at and around the top of the list.