The Beavers got off to a great start in the series at Goss Stadium as dominant Oregon State pitching keeps Stanford scoreless. Beavers triumph 6-0.
Junior Aiden May, a transfer from Arizona, got the game going by retiring the first three batters in six pitches.
The tossing of Oregon State left the crowd utterly delighted. Together, the squad had five hits, nine strikeouts, and zero runs scored.
In an effort to dispel concerns about the team’s pitching capabilities, they recorded their third shutout of the year with this one.
Senior right-hand pitcher Joey Mundt replaces May after he allows back-to-back walks in the top of the seventh inning. May was obviously displeased when pitching coach Rich Dorman went to the mound.
May enters a scoreless game, and Mundt loads the bases by hitting the first hitter he faces.
In response, the right-hander struck out Luke Lavin of Stanford and forced Charlie Saum to ground into a 6-4 double play to get out of the jam.
May remarked, “I obviously had two walks in that inning, and I didn’t have any walks all night.” That’s a little bad, but I have complete faith in my pen and the folks that are supporting him.
Through six innings, May attacked the zone, striking out 50 batters on 80 pitches. Of his five strikeouts against the Cardinals, two came from his devastating slider.
“After you come out, you sit down for a second and realize our pen is electric,” May said. “To have Joey come out and do exactly what you know he’s going to do every time is sweet.”
May credits his performance to the electricity at Goss Stadium. “I can’t stress (it) enough how electric the fans were,” May said.
Despite the three runs given up in the first and second, sophomore Cardinal, Matt Scott, strikes out nine batters through six innings.
Three of these strikeouts were called strike three breaking balls at the knees.
Scott earned PAC-12 pitcher of the week on March 11th after an impressive performance against the University of Washington where he only gave up one run and struck out nine.
He leads the team with strikeouts, totaling 74 in eight games this season.
In the bottom of the sixth, facing the heart of Oregon State’s lineup, Scott strikes out the side, holding the score to 3-0 Beavers.
Apart from pitching, senior Brady Kasper returned to the lineup for the first time since February 22 after a near collision with junior Travis Bazzana led to a sprained knee.
Kasper sends a line drive to right-center on the second pitch he saw, bringing home Bazzana. Beavers lead 1-0 after the first inning.
“(During) that first at-bat I felt a good amount of pressure,” Kasper said. “But I was sitting dead red and got the pitch I wanted.”
One on and no outs in the second, sophomore Dallas Macias wastes no time and smacks a 420-foot home run over the right field wall; this marks his third home run of the season.
Macias is nearly robbed of his second hit of the day after a sharply hit ball down the right field line hits 1st base umpire Kelly Gonzales. The call was originally called foul, and Macias ended up at second after review.
“(Macias) is learning really quick,” head coach Mitch Canham said. “Last year there was a lot of chase on changeups… he’s been able to lay off a lot of those too. Now he’s able to hunt for those heaters.”
In the seventh inning, the Beavers look to put the nail in the coffin. Tallying three more runs beginning with a pinch-hit triple from Wilson Webber. Final score 6-0 Beavers.
This win snapped a five-game losing streak to Stanford, making a statement at the start of the series.
Up next, The Beavers will play the remaining games of the series against the Cardinal at Goss Stadium on April 13th at 5 p.m. and April 14th at noon.
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