Oregon State baseball showed no signs of slowing down Friday night as they won their 17th straight game in an 8-2 victory over Holy Cross.

After No. 3 Yale defeated No. 2 Nebraska 5-1 in the first game, the underdogs were not so lucky in the nightcap. Jake Thompson (13-0) pitched a gem for the Beavers (52-4), holding Holy Cross (24-29) to only one run on four hits, all while striking out 10 batters.

Despite OSU not being able to get runs across with ease early, the team relied on Thompson’s pitching to keep them in the game.

“Jake kept us there and we stayed with it, and were able to get on the board,” head coach Pat Casey said. “I’m always excited to get out of the first game, it’s a tough one.”

Thompson received plenty of run support from the offense, as they provided eight runs, with seven different players recording an RBI. Cadyn Grenier went 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored and Adley Rutschman added a pair of both hits and runs, as well as an RBI.

“Ended up being a really good game for me, for Jake and for the entire team,” Grenier said. “To get the first regional under your belt, and get a win, now tomorrow is just another day, and I’m going to approach it the same way.”

With the lead in the sixth inning, Casey pinch-hit Tyler Malone for Christian Donahue, and then pinch-ran Preston Jones for Malone, ultimately leaving Jones into play center field.

“The bench guys prepare like the starters, if not even more,” Grenier said. “And to be able to put together a lineup one through nine, equal to anybody in the country—actually probably better than anybody one through nine, but even the bench guys are phenomenal, and they don’t get down that they’re not playing so they’re ready to come in.”

The three-run sixth inning put a damper on any momentum Holy Cross had going for them after the Crusaders cut the lead down to one run.

Holy Cross head coach Greg Dicenzo said that his team started off well, but “ran out of gas” as the game went on. Starting pitcher Brendan King (5-7) pitched well, contrary to what his stat-line shows.

King allowed five earned runs for the Crusaders, three coming at the beginning of the sixth inning. When Dicenzo took King out of the game, he received a nice ovation from the crowd for his efforts against one of the deepest lineups in the county.