It's A Sweep, Again: No. 9 Beavers Down Stanford, Win Ninth Straight

Sunday, April 17

Stanford, Calif.

1:00 PM

Oregon State

27-7, 8-1

Stanford

16-12, 3-6

Oregon State

Stanford

It's A Sweep, Again: No. 9 Beavers Down Stanford, Win Ninth Straight

April 17, 2011 | Baseball

Box Score

By: TBD

April 17, 2011

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. - Kavin Keyes drove in three, Tyler Smith tallied two hits and the ninth-ranked Oregon State baseball team swept Stanford in California for the first time in school history with a 6-4 win Sunday afternoon over the 17th-ranked Cardinal at Sunken Diamond.

In winning Sunday, the Beavers improved to 27-7 on the year, tying the Beavers' 2005 and 2007 clubs for the most wins through 34 games in a season. OSU is 8-1 in Pacific-10 Conference play as the Beavers won their ninth consecutive game, which is tied for the nation's longest active winning streak.

"We played very well and were very balanced today," Oregon State head coach Pat Casey said. "We have gotten off to a great start thus far and we are certainly playing with confidence. I give credit to our team for focusing on today's game for the sweep."

Keyes finished off his hot weekend by going 2-for-4 with three RBI in Sunday's victory. He ended the series by going 6-for-11 with six RBI.

Smith also had a big weekend for the Beavers, finishing it 5-for-9 after he went 2-for-2 with two walks on Sunday.

Ben Wetzler picked up his fifth win of the season as the left-hander worked four innings in relief. He allowed three hits and one walk while striking out one, allowing Stanford (16-12, 3-6) to score two runs in the ninth.

Tony Bryant came on for the save in the ninth, getting one out for his fifth of the season. He ended a Stanford rally with a strikeout with runners on first and second to end the game.

Stanford opened the game's scoring with two runs in the first and posted its first lead of the weekend. Tyler Gaffney and Kenny Diekroeger both drove in runs during the inning off OSU starter Scott Schultz, who made his third start of the 2011 campaign and first in a league game.

The Beavers, however, made sure that lead didn't last for long when they put three runs on the board in the third off Stanford starter Dean McArdle and reliever Danny Sandbrink.

Ryan Barnes drove in the inning's first run on a single through the left side with one out, driving in Smith. Jared Norris then walked, driving McArdle from the game. That set up a bases-loaded opportunity for Keyes, who extended his hit streak to 14 games with a single off Sandbrink's glove, tying the game, 2-2.

Hayes put the Beavers up 3-2 when he walked on a 3-1 pitch from Sandbrink. All three runs were charged to McArdle, who lasted just 2 1/3 innings, throwing 35 pitches and allowing two hits and two walks with a strikeout.

Keyes continued his hot hitting in the seventh, when a two-out single off his bat against Stanford reliever Chris Reed scored two, giving the Beavers cushion with a 5-2 lead. The RBI were his second and third of the game and fifth and sixth of the weekend.

Schultz worked 4 2/3 innings in his ninth appearance of the season, and pitched effectively, allowing four hits and two runs. He left with the 3-2 lead but was replaced by Wetzler one out shy of becoming eligible for the win.

McArdle took the loss to drop to 4-2 this season.

Oregon State turns its sights to Washington State this week when the Beavers host the Cougars at Goss Stadium. Note, it is a series that runs Thursday through Saturday due to the Easter holiday occurring on Sunday.

First pitch Thursday and Friday is set for 5:35 p.m. PT. Saturday's first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. and can be seen live on ROOT SPORTS and KEZI 9.2.

Catch the game on the Beaver Sports Radio Network and Beaver Nation Online (osubeavers.com). For updates throughout the day, follow the official Oregon State baseball Twitter page by going to www.twitter.com/Beaver_Baseball.

For tickets to the series, go online at osubeavers.com, call the Oregon State ticket office at 1-800-GOBEAVS or visit the ticket office at legendary Gill Coliseum. The ticket booth at Goss Stadium opens 2 ½ hours before first pitch.

OREGON STATE NOTES: Kavin Keyes' 14-game hit streak matches the longest of the season by any Beaver ... It ties Andrew Susac's 14-gamer from Feb. 25 to March 19 ... The Beavers' sweep was their second consecutive after taking all three games against Arizona State last weekend ... It is the first time the Beavers have swept consecutive series from league opponents since OSU downed California and Stanford in 2006 ... The Beavers improved their record to 14-23 all-time at Stanford, and have won nine of the last 12 meetings there dating back to the 2005 season ... The Beavers' eighth league win came in their ninth Pac-10 game ... In 2010, the Beavers won their eighth Pac-10 game in their 19th game of league play ... The Beavers limited Stanford to 18 hits and five runs in the series.

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