Oregon State
1-0
Utah Valley
1-1
Rodriguez Paces No. 6 Beavers To Opening-Day Win
February 15, 2013 | Baseball
Feb. 15, 2013
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Jake Rodriguez, Kavin Keyes and Michael Conforto all had two hits to pace the sixth-ranked Oregon State baseball team to a 5-2 win over Utah Valley in the club's 2013 season opener Friday.
Rodriguez drove in two runs on a two-out single to left in the third inning that served as the game-winner. Conforto had driven in the Beavers' first run of the game earlier in the inning, and he and Danny Hayes scored when Rodriguez lined the first pitch he saw into left.
The win marked the Beavers' fourth consecutive season-opening win and improved head coach Pat Casey's mark to 13-6 in the first game of a season during his tenure at OSU.
"This is a good win against a talented Utah Valley club," Casey said. "We competed today after falling behind early and I was very happy to see that."
Keyes singled twice and scored one run - coming home on a single by Andy Peterson in the fifth. Joey Matthews had driven in the Beavers' fourth run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the previous at bat.
Tony Bryant with a runner on first in the sixth inning. Child allowed six hits and two runs while striking out four and walking two. He picked up the win to go to 1-0 on the season.
Max Engelbrekt made his first career appearance and picked up the save after 2 2/3 innings of relief.
Utah Valley starter Adam Gunn worked three innings before being replaced in the fourth by Ty Hansen. Gunn allowed five hits and three runs while striking out three and walking three. He took the loss to drop to 0-1 on the year.
Utah Valley opened the game's scoring on a single down the right-field line in the first by Kai Hatch for a 1-0 lead. The Wolverines made it 2-0 when Jordy Hart drove home Riley White with an infield single.
Hart and Sean Moysh led Utah Valley with two hits apiece.
The Beavers continue play at the Palm Springs Tournament Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT. The game can be heard live on the Beaver Sports Radio Network and Beaver Nation Online (ousbeavers.com).
For more information on the Oregon State baseball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/Beaver_Baseball or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateBaseball.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Child, Dan (1-0)
L: Gunn, Adam (0-1)
S: Engelbrekt, Max (1)
Batting:
RBI: Hatch, Kai 1 ; Hart, Jordy 1
SH: Berg, Taylor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Moysh, Sean 1 ; White, Riley 1
PO: Hart, Jordy 1
Batting:
2B: Conforto, Michael 1
RBI: Conforto, Michael 1 ; Rodriguez, Jake 2 ; Matthews, Joey 1 ; Peterson, Andy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Tyler 1 ; Conforto, Michael 1 ; Hayes, Danny 1 ; Casper, Jerad 1 ; Keyes, Kavin 1
SB: Conforto, Michael 1 ; Hayes, Danny 2
