Oregon State
17-1, 1-0
Arizona
15-6, 0-1
Conforto, Boyd Shine As No. 3 Beavers Open Pac-12 Play With A Win
March 15, 2013 | Baseball
March 15, 2013
TUCSON, Ariz. - Matt Boyd limited Arizona to two hits and two runs in seven innings to pace the third-ranked Oregon State baseball team to a 6-2 win over the 20th-ranked Wildcats to open Pac-12 Conference play Friday night at Hi Corbett Field.
The win pushed Oregon State to a 17-1 mark while Arizona dropped to 15-6.
"This is a very good start to Pac-12 play," Oregon State head coach Pat Casey said. "Both teams came into the game playing well so it was important to get out to an early lead. Michael did that for us and Matt pitched very well in the win."
Conforto staked the Beavers to the 3-0 lead before Arizona could register an out in the first inning. Tyler Smith was hit by a pitch, setting the table for Conforto. The sophomore hit a towering fly that cleared the fence in left for his fifth home run of the season.
Boyd, meanwhile, held perhaps the Pac-12's hottest offensive club to just two hits and two runs - one earned - over seven innings in his first career start against a league foe. He earned the win to improve to 4-0 this season.
Boyd improved to 6-0 in seven career starts and the lefty is 5-0 in March in 20 appearances, lowering his earned run average in the month to 1.69.
Up 3-1 after two, the Beavers pushed their lead to 5-1 when Joey Jansen infield single in the fifth.
Conforto ended the game with a team-leading three hits as Oregon State finished with 14 overall. Smith, Keyes, Jansen and Dylan Davis all had two to support Conforto's night.
The Beavers hit Arizona starter Konner Wade hard, to the tune of 12 base hits. The righty gave up six runs and walked one while striking out two. He was saddled with the loss and dropped to 2-1 on the year.
Oregon State and Arizona continue the series Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. PT and the can be watched live via a stream on pac-12.com.
The game can be heard on the Beaver Sports Network with the following stations carrying the game: KEJO 1240-AM in Corvallis/Albany, FOX Sports Radio Portland (620-AM), KICE 940-AM (Bend), KSKR 1490-AM in Roseburg, KAKT 104.7-FM (Grants Pass, Medford), KLAD 960-AM (Klamath Falls), KBZY 1490-AM (Salem) and KKNX 840-AM (Eugene).
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: Boyd, Matt (4-0)
L: Wade, Konner (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Keyes, Kavin 1
HR: Conforto, Michael 1
RBI: Conforto, Michael 3 ; Keyes, Kavin 1 ; Rodriguez, Jake 1 ; Jansen, Joey 1
SH: Peterson, Andy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gordon, Max 1 ; Smith, Tyler 1 ; Conforto, Michael 2 ; Davis, Dylan 1 ; Keyes, Kavin 1
HBP: Smith, Tyler 1
Batting:
2B: Field, Johnny 1
RBI: Field, Johnny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Moore, Riley 1 ; Dixon, Brandon 1
SB: Dixon, Brandon 1
