Baseball Tops Portland State, 8-7
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Drew Hedges' two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Oregon State an 8-7 win over Portland State in Pacific-10 Northern Division baseball Friday afternoon at Coleman Field. Hedges' sharp grounder through the right side of a drawn-in infield handed the Beavers (17-7-1 overall, 2-2 Northern Division) their fifth straight victory and their 11th win in their last 13 games.
"It's a big win," said Hedges, who finished 4-for-5 with a stolen base. "Hopefully, we can carry this through the weekend."
The Beavers and Vikings (9-15, 0-5) meet again Saturday in a noon doubleheader at Portland Civic Stadium. They close out their weekend series with a single game Sunday at 1 p.m. at Coleman Field, where the Beavers are unbeaten in eight home games this spring.
On a cold, mostly cloudy Friday afternoon, OSU led 6-2 after six innings. But the Vikings tied it at 6-6 on Rusty Keith's two-run homer off Joe Gerber in the top of the eighth inning, and then went ahead on Erik Remington's run-scoring single against Paul Hansen with two out in the top of the ninth.
Going to the bottom of the ninth, OSU heard the announcement that Washington State had beaten Washington 12-8 in Seattle, giving the Beavers a chance to gain on the Northern Division leaders.
"We heard the Washington-Washington State score, and we were looking at each other like, `We're stupid if we give this game away'," Hedges said.
Ben Bertrand led off with a double to right-center off PSU pitcher Travis Rainwater, who then gave way to lefthander Adam Flohr. He walked pinch-hitter Curtis Davis, then Brian Duerr sacrificed the runners to second and third .
Casey, faced with having Hedges' left-handed bat going against a left-handed pitcher, decided to focus on the hits Hedges had already collected Friday rather than on his .209 batting average.
"He already had three hits in the game, and confidence is a big thing," Casey said. "I thought Drew had it, and it showed. We keep finding ways to win."
On a two-ball, two-strike count, Hedges grounded the ball through the drawn-in infield and into right field to score Bertrand from third and pinch runner Jason Stranberg from second.
"I was a little surprised," Hedges said of not being lifted for a right-handed pinch hitter. "But I was having a good game and I'd had a couple of hits Wednesday at Portland. I think he (Casey) felt comfortable with me hitting against a lefthander and I'm glad he had the guts to stick with me."
Hedges is 6-for-9 over the past two games after starting the week with a .179 batting average.
"I started the year struggling and really in a slump," Hedges said. "Last week, I made some adjustments in my swing - I tried to shorten it and be quick to the ball, and it worked today."
Val Mencas, the fifth Beaver pitcher of the day, picked up the win for getting the final out in the top of the ninth inning. Portland outhit the Beavers 13-9 in the game and had forced OSU starter Chris Pine from the game after five innings; Pine allowed two runs on six hits, walking four and striking out eight.
OREGON STATE 8, PORTLAND STATE 7Portland State 000 200 221 - 7 13 3Oregon State 031 011 002 - 8 9 1
Pine, Bronson (6), Gerber (8), Hansen (9), Mencas (9) and Bertrand.
Pearce, Cedergreen (6), Rainwater (8), Flohr (9) and Andrade.
WP-Mencas (2-0). LP-Flohr (4-4).
2B-Andrade (PSU), Riehl (PSU), Bertrand (OSU).
HR-Keith (PSU).
HITS: Portland State 13 (Remington 1-5, Ferres 1-6, Southall 2-4, Keith 1-4, Andrade 3-5, Rainwater 2-4, Riehl 2-4, Curry 1-5), Oregon State 9 (Bertrand 1-5, Gerber 1-4, Lipe 1-4, Hedges 4-5, Bailie 1-3, Schader 1-3).
RUNS BATTED IN: Portland State 7 (Remington 1, Keith 2, Andrade 1, Rainwater 1, Riehl 2), Oregon State 6 (Colley 2, Hedges 2, Bailie 1, Schader 1).
