Baseball Rallies To Beat UNLV, 4-3
Feb. 26, 2000
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Oregon State's eighth-inning rally was enough to get the Beavers a 4-3 win over Nevada-Las Vegas in the Coors Desert Classic baseball tournament Saturday evening at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
OSU (4-6 overall) scored three times in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn pitcher Stephen Copeland his first collegiate victory.
Oregon State, which has won three of its four games in the tournament, wraps up the seven-team event Sunday against Cal State-Northridge at 2:30 p.m. and the game can be heard on KLOO-AM (1340).
An OSU win, coupled with a CSUN win over Santa Clara in one of Sunday's early games, would earn the Beavers the tournament championship.
Copeland, a freshman righthander making his first start for OSU, pitched eight-plus innings and gave up three runs (all earned) on seven hits and two walks, striking out four. All three runs for UNLV (5-12) scored in the first inning, then Copeland threw five straight scoreless innings before Nick Renault came on in the ninth to earn his first career save.
"They key was Stephen Copeland coming out and pitching like a veteran," OSU head coach Pat Casey said. "He kept us in the game. We don't have any chance if he doesn't go out there and hold them."
Copeland had pitched just 2 1/3 innings in two appearances prior to Saturday evening's game.
"I just relaxed and tried to stay aggressive," Copeland said. "The defense did a really good job - Tim (Dryden, at third base) made a diving catch and the outfielders ran down some balls that were hit hard."
The only real trouble Copeland ran into was in the third inning, when the Rebels took a 3-0 lead on two hits, a walk and a hit batter. Tony DeMarco drove in two runs with a double and Trent Kitsch added a sacrifice fly.
"I just lost it for a second," Copeland said. "Then I took my time, relaxed and got aggressive again. I got into a little groove, the defense did a good job, and I knew the hitters would come around."
OSU squandered a bases-loaded, none-out chance in the third inning and picked up one run on Bryan Ingram's run-scoring single in the fifth against UNLV righthander Justin Fairbanks. The Beavers finally hit the jackpot in the eighth.
Drew Hedges and Ingram led off with back-to-back infield singles against reliever C.J. Martin, and Nevada-Las Vegas brought in closer Andy McCulloch to face Joe Gerber, who had already stranded three runners in scoring position.
This time, Gerber drove a no-ball, two-strike fastball to the wall in left-center for a two-run double making it 3-3. Still with none out, cleanup hitter Josh Carter sacrificed Gerber to third base. UNLV drew its infield in, and Dryden poked a soft line drive into short right-center field to score Gerber and make it 4-3.
"The thing that was really important was that we executed when we had to," Casey said. "Joe Gerber comes up with a hit after he'd struggled, Carter sacrificing him to third was huge, and Tim Dryden had a great game.
"We're trying to find ways to make it happen with (centerfielder) Eric Stark out (with a groin pull), and seeing guys execute is important for this club. It's a young club - it's easy to win when you have a four- or five-run lead, but we've got a one-run lead and then Nick Renault comes in and is outstanding."
Renault entered the game after Copeland hit UNLV's Brad Maloff with the first pitch of the ninth inning. Pinch hitter Garett Shitanishi popped up a bunt that OSU catcher Ingram caught sliding on his knees toward the first base dugout, Renault then got pinch hitter Nate Kaup to pop out and he struck out Harold Betts to end the game.
Ingram and Hedges were both 2-for-4 for Oregon State and Will Hudson was 2-for-3. Hedges is now batting .467 (7-for-15) and Hudson .462 (6-for-13) in the tourney, while Dryden is hitting .385 (5-for-13).
