Oregon State hosted a top-10 showdown Tuesday night at Goss Stadium but fell 8-4 to in-state rival No. 6 Oregon, marking just their second home loss of the season.
Oregon struck early with a solo home run from senior first baseman Jacob Walsh in the first inning. OSU quickly answered as junior outfielder Gavin Turley launched his 15th homer of the year, evening the score at 1-1. Turley’s blast ties him with Al Hunsinger (1981) for the eighth-highest single-season home run total in program history.
Sophomore infielder Trent Caraway led the Beavers’ offense, recording half of the team’s six hits, including an RBI single up the middle in the second inning. Oregon responded in the third when infielder Ryan Cooney homered on the first pitch, narrowing OSU’s lead to 3-2.
Oregon State’s final run came in the fourth inning when Dallas Macias reached base for the second time with a single. Caraway followed with his second hit, setting up runners on first and second with no outs. Aiva Arquette moved Macias to third with a fly out to right field.
In a rare moment, Oregon reliever Ryan Featherston slipped while pitching and was called for a balk, allowing Macias to score and giving OSU a 4-2 advantage. The Beavers held that lead until the top of the sixth.
Senior pitcher Wyatt Queen made just his third start of the season, allowing two runs on two hits and five walks while striking out five. But it was junior Tanner Douglas who was tagged with the loss for Oregon State after surrendering a hit and three runs in the sixth inning.
Douglas’ outing was cut short after he issued a walk to Maddox Monlony, loading the bases with one out. Oregon capitalized with a single and a fielder’s choice to plate three runs and take a 5-4 lead.
The Ducks extended their lead with two more runs in the seventh and added a final insurance run in the ninth.
Oregon State couldn’t mount a comeback in the 8-4 defeat, which followed a weekend sweep by Oregon.
Senior Jaxon Jordan earned the win for Oregon after throwing a scoreless fifth inning with two strikeouts, improving his record to 1-0 on the season.
Next, Oregon State will head to Honolulu for a four-game series against the University of Hawai’i.
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