No. 23 Beavers Fall To Gonzaga
SPOKANE, Wash. – A six-run eighth inning erased a one-run Oregon State lead as the 23rd-ranked Beavers dropped a 11-6 decision to Gonzaga Tuesday night at Washington Trust Field.
The Bulldogs scored all six runs with two outs in the eighth. Two of the runs were unearned. Gonzaga took the lead on a two-run single by Evan Wells that scored two.
The six runs gave Gonzaga its second lead of the night and capped off a seesaw battle. With the loss, Oregon State dropped to 20-15 this season while Gonzaga improved to 26-18. The teams conclude the short two-game series Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Daniel Robertson, Drew George and Chris Hopkins each had two hits to pace the Beavers. Robertson hit his first career home run in the fourth inning.
Gonzaga chased Oregon State starter James Nygren after a three-run second inning, with each coming with two outs. Wells tripled to right center to bring in two, then scored when Jason Chatwood reached on an infield single.
Nygren worked 1 2/3 innings in his first appearance since April 5, allowing four hits and three runs while giving up three walks. Nygren did not figure in the decision.
The Beavers answered back in the top half of the third, taking advantage of a throwing error on a pickoff by Gonzaga starter Reedy Berg. With Garrett Nash on third, Joey Wong grounded to first, enabling OSU’s third baseman to score.
Gonzaga got back to a three-run lead with a run in the bottom half of the third, but then watched as the Beavers chipped away at the lead in the fourth. Drew George began the rally by singling with two outs. Robertson, the next batter, took a pitch from Berg and deposited it over the left-center fence for the two-run shot and his first home run at Oregon State.
Oregon State knocked Berg out of the game in the sixth and took the lead after posting two runs in the inning. Pinch hitter John Wallace singled up the middle, driving in Robertson and Jason Ogata for the 5-4 lead. OSU added a run in the seventh when Chris Hopkins singled down the right field line, moved to second on a sac bunt and eventually scored on a George single to take a two-run lead.
Oregon State used nine pitchers in the game. Taylor Starr took the loss after allowing two unearned runs and a hit in 1 1/3 inning of work. He dropped to 2-1 this season.
C.J. McClure picked up the victory for Gonzaga and improved to 4-1 this season.
Oregon State and Gonzaga continue the series Wednesday in a game that begins at 1 p.m. PT. Catch the game live on the Beaver Sports Network, Beaver Nation Online () and Yahoo! Sports.
OSU Notes: Daniel Robertson collected his fourth assist of the season when starting a 9-2 double play on a fly out in the third ... Robertson’s fourth-inning home run was the first of his NCAA Division-I career ... The Beavers are ranked 23rd by Baseball America, 20th by Rivals.com and 25th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll and by Collegiate Baseball ... OSU is receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll ... Josh Keller’s appearance Tuesday was his first since March 31 against Portland ... Kyle Foster’s appearance, meanwhile, was his first since April 4 at California.
