The Beavers’ late rally comes up short as Stanford holds on for the narrow victory.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The No. 6 Oregon State Beavers dropped their opener at the Pac-12 baseball tournament on Wednesday, falling 2-1 to the Stanford Cardinal in pool play at Scottsdale Stadium.
Stanford starter Joey Volchko held the second-seeded Beavers in check through the first six innings, striking out nine and yielding just two hits en route to the win.
The Beavers mounted a rally in the ninth inning, getting runners on first and third with one out and scratching out one run. But the eighth-seeded Cardinal held on to pull out the narrow victory.
Oregon State now will need some help to advance out of pool play and into the semifinals at the tournament. The Beavers will need to not only beat Arizona State, but also have Arizona win its pool.
The Cardinal opened with an 8-7 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils on Monday, riding an eight-run fourth inning to an upset. Catcher Malcolm Moore slugged two homers and Stanford pounded out 12 hits to end a 10-game losing streak.
With Stanford’s second consecutive upset, the Cardinal win their pool and advance to the semifinals of the five-day conference tournament.
LIVE UPDATES RECAP
Here’s a recap of how the game unfolded, including insight and analysis from Beavers reporter Nick Daschel and sports columnist Bill Oram. (Newest updates on top.)
LIVE SCORE: STANFORD 2, OREGON STATE 1 — FINAL
Bill Oram: Trosky flies out to left, game ends with Bazzana on deck. A pretty shocking start to the tournament for the Beavs.
Nick Daschel: Not sure why your No. 9 hitter is swinging at ball 4, but that’s is that.
Top 9th: New pitcher comes on for Stanford. It’s Toran O’Harran. Talt reaches on a fielder’s choice. Weber scores. Hainline to second. Oregon State cuts the lead to 2-1. Trosky steps up. Bazzana is on deck. Trosky draws the count to 3-1. Then he flies out to left. And Stanford wins it 2-1.
Nick Daschel: Easton Talt is the pinch hitter (for Guerra).
Bill Oram: Oh Nick, ye of little faith. The Beavers have runners on the corners with one down in the 9th. You really thought they’d go quietly?
Nick Daschel: Rally underway.
Top 9th: Weber walks, so the Beavers have some life. Hainline steps to the plate. He gets behind 0-2. On a 1-2 pitch, Hainline singles up the middle. Weber advances to third.
Nick Daschel: Two hits would tie a season low for Oregon State if this holds.
Top 9th: Kasper gives one a ride to left, but it’s caught for the first out.
Nick Daschel: Kasper-Weber-Hainline for Oregon State in its last-chance ninth.
— End of 8th —
Bottom 8th: Mundt strikes out Reynolds for the second out. Owen Cobb grounds out, and we head to the top of the ninth for OSU’s last chance to rally.
Nick Daschel: I mean, OSU fans never got a chance for a proper goodbye.
Bill Oram: Twist the knife much, Nick?
Bottom 8th: Hoskins pops up and Bazzana gets under it for the first out of the Cardinals’ half of the eighth.
Nick Daschel: This has nothing to do with Oregon State baseball, but just announced: Jonathan Smith’s return to Oregon has moved to a Friday night, Oct. 4 at Oregon. Beavers fans can get to Autzen Friday night to uh, cheer their former coach, then watch the Beavers play Saturday vs. Colorado State.
Bill Oram: The pitcher-catcher duo of Stanford’s Moore & Moore — “Not a law firm!” the broadcast says — has rendered the Beavers offense Less and Less.
— Middle of 8th —
Top 8th: Turley flies out to center field. Macias up now for the Beavers. Macias strikes out, so the Beavers are now down to their final three outs.
Nick Daschel: They’d tell you to stop injecting lemon zest hummus into your veins, Bill.
Bill Oram: I wonder what DraftKings would give me on Oregon State scoring 12 runs in this game now?
Nick Daschel: Since loading the bases in the third, Oregon State has put two runners on base through one out in the eighth.
Top 8th: McDowell leads off the inning for OSU, and he grounds out. That brings up Turley.
Nick Daschel: Last year, Oregon State lost both of its Pac-12 tournament games by scores of 13-12 and 14-10.
— End of 7th —
Bottom 7th: The Beavers get out of the inning with no damage. Becerra flies out to end it.
Nick Daschel: It’s been 86 games since Oregon State’s offense was shutout. April 7 last year vs. Oregon, 2-0.
Nick Daschel: Oregon State hasn’t been shut out all season. Twice It scored 1 run.
Bottom 7th: Lawson strikes out Saum looking. Then Moore draws a walk. The Beavers pull Lawson and Joey Mundt comes on.
— Middle of 7th —
Bill Oram: Brutal day for Bazzana at the plate. Gets jammed up inside and flies out to end the inning, stranding Hainline at second. Beavers have six outs left.
Top 7th: Guerra fouls out. Trosky to the plate. Bazzana on deck. Trosky grounds out, and Hainline advances to second. Bazzana pops up, and the inning ends. The Beavers remain down 2-0.
Nick Daschel: Feels like a big moment for Bazzana. Gotta deliver Hainline from second with two out. It’s only 2-0, but we’re clearly in white-knuckle territory with only 2 more at-bats remaining.
Bill Oram: Hold on to your bu… tter-like lemon zest hummus. It’s about to get real.
Nick Daschel: With Hainline on base, Guerra-Trosky-Bazzana up next against Stanford reliever Trevor Moore. Might be time for a pinch hitter.
Bill Oram: Hainline might just delivered the Beavers’ hardest hit ball since that first inning Turley triple. And Volchko leaves the mound. This is probably the moment Oregon State has to pounce.
Nick Daschel: TV on the wall with the game on, CNBC running on my laptop. No chips and salsa, but crackers and lemon zest hummus. If you haven’t tried lemon zest hummus, you must. It’s like butter.
Top 7th: Hainline leads it off for OSU, and he reaches on an error by the third baseman. Volchko gets pulled.
Nick Daschel: If you had said, Oregon State’s midweek pitching would give up 2 runs through 6 innings vs. Stanford, you’d take it. This is all about Oregon State unable to get to Stanford freshman pitcher Joey Volchko. Beavers must get him out of the game soon, or face the consequences.
Bill Oram: Nick, what does your home viewing setup consist of? Any sweet tech? You got chips and salsa going? A ham and havarti sando?
— End of 6th —
Bill Oram: The Beavers get out of a sixth inning that could have been worse but it won’t matter if the bats don’t get going.
Bottom 6th: Stanford’s Sapien with a one-out walk. Then Cobb singles, but the Beavers get an out as pinch runner Brady Reynolds is caught between second and third. MacDonald singles for his third hit of the day, and the Cardinal have runners at first and second. Lawson strikes out Nati, and the inning is over. Stanford still leads it 2-0.
Nick Daschel: For those getting nervous about OSU’s Pac-12 tourney future, if the Beavers lose today, they’ll need help to advance to the semifinals. Oregon State will need to beat Arizona State, coupled with Arizona winning its pool. OSU is done if Arizona doesn’t win its pool should Beavers lose today.
Bill Oram: Beavers can’t get anything around on Volchko. An infield single in the 6th, but Nick may have been right with his earlier assessment. The Beavers might just have to wait out Volchko’s pitch count and try to rally against the bullpen.
Nick Daschel: Only 1 of OSU’s last 11 hitters have reached base.
— Middle of 6th —
Top 6th: Two quick outs for the Beavers, but then Brady Kasper gets aboard with a chopping infield single. That brings up Weber. Klochko up to 100 pitches. On a 3-1 count, Weber flies out to right field to end the inning.
Nick Daschel: Stanford 2-7-0, OSU 0-1-0 after 5. Let me know if anyone had that on their Bingo card.
— End of 5th —
Bottom 5th: RHP Ian Lawson takes the mound for OSU. Becerra flies out to center, and the inning is over.
Nick Daschel: Rodney McCray crashing through the wall at Civic Stadium trying to make a catch. Look it up, kids.
Bottom 5th: The Beavers intentionally walk Moore. Then Hott doubles down the left-field line to score MacDonald. Stanford leads it 2-0. That’s it for Hunter.
Bill Oram: Dallas Macias saw what I wrote about Bazzana and said, “Hold my beer.” A diving grab in left field to save a run and take away a sure double. Is there a more exciting play in sports than a diving catch in the outfield?
Nick Daschel: Beavers defense coming to play in the B5.
Bottom 5th: A diving catch by Dallas Macias robs Saum of a hit. And holds MacDonald at second.
Bill Oram: That was a great play by Bazzana moving to his right and throwing back across his body and against his momentum.
Bottom 5th: One away as Bazzana snares it and throws out Nati at first.
Bill Oram: Nick, what would it take to get you to sit behind home plate in a banana suit?
Bottom 5th: MacDonald singles to left, for his second hit of the game. Hunter having some control issues, and Ian Lawson getting loose in the bullpen for OSU.
Bill Oram: Juuuuuust a bit inside by Jaren Hunter.
Nick Daschel: Volchkkkkkkkkko. I have no pride.
Bill Oram: That’s nine Ks for Volchko after two more in the fifth. I’m not going to do that thing where I spell his name with extra Ks, but I’d imagine Stanford fans are.
— Middle of 5th —
Nick Daschel: Easy there, Bill. Volchko has 87 pitches. He’s got maybe another inning left. It’s 1-0, not 11-0.
Bill Oram: Through five innings Oregon State’s only hit is still that Turley triple back in the first. I’m not sure what you’re talking about “in an hour” Nick, this is a white-knuckler right now.
Top 5th: Trosky strikes out looking. It was a bit up and in. That brings up Travis Bazzana. He grounds out, so McDowell steps to the plate. And he strikes out looking. Volchko is rolling.
Nick Daschel: You wonder at what point might we see Trent Caraway as a pinch hitter or third baseman today.
— End of 4th —
Nick Daschel: Limited damage there for Stanford, now leading 1-0 after 4. OSU will soon be into the top of its order. It’s time to get going, otherwise this is going to be a white-knuckle ride in about an hour.
Bottom 4th: Haskins walks, and then Sapien singles up the middle. So the Cardinal with two on with two outs. OSU’s Jaren Hunter gets out of it, getting a flyout to center by Cobb.
Nick Daschel: Also only say this once: Oregon State should be the home team. Seeding should trump all in these tournaments.
Bottom 4th: Hott pops up and is out. Becerra lines out to shortstop.
Nick Daschel: I’ll only say this once today: I hate the shift.
Nick Daschel: Since the third inning Saturday at Arizona, OSU has scored 1 run over its last 10 innings.
Nick Daschel: Stanford on the board with a missile to right field.
Bottom 4th: Malcolm Moore gets hold of one and drives it deep to right for a solo home run.
Bill Oram: The Beavers scored 19 runs against Stanford in their weekend series at Goss last month. Where is that offense today?
— Middle of 4th —
Nick Daschel: 1-2-3 in the fourth. Beavers dead at the plate so far. On the other hand, this is postseason baseball. It’s not about style points. Find a way to win and move on to the next game.
Top 4th: Wilson Weber grounds out to begin the Beavers’ fourth. A nice play by Stanford shortstop Trevor Haskins to dig out Hainline’s grounder and throw him out in time. Guerra strikes out, and it’s a quick inning.
Nick Daschel: Beavers dodge a bullet there, getting out of the inning with a Kasper catch at the wall. Bottom of OSU’s order coming up in the fourth. Only 1 hit so far, but 5 baserunners because of 4 walks. Beavers need to wear out Volchko and get him out of the game.
— End of 3rd —
Bottom 3rd: Owen Cobb grounds out to start the inning for Stanford. A single up the middle for MacDonald. Then he moves to second on Jimmy Nati’s groundout. Kasper has to retreat all the way to the wall on Charlie Saum’s drive to right, but he’s able to make the catch and end the inning.
— Middle of 3rd —
Nick Daschel: Leave the bases loaded with the heart of the order at the plate. On the other hand, OSU made Volchko throw 31 pitches that inning. He’s up to 63 through 3. Stanford bullpen will be soon be called into action.
Bill Oram: Oooooooof.
Top 3rd: Now a meeting at the mound for Stanford. Volchko remains the pitcher. Kasper looks at a 2-2 pitch. And it’s a ball to bring the count full. Then he strikes out looking.
Nick Daschel: Bases loaded for Kasper, probably the hottest hitter in the lineup over the past 2 weeks.
Top 3rd: Macias draws a walk to load the bases.
Bill Oram: Going to really hurt if the Beavers leave two runners stranded in scoring position.
Nick Daschel: Tough one for OSU there. Turley 3-0, gets the green light, swing and a miss. Foul off, then a strikeout.
Top 3rd: Bazzana and McDowell get a big jump, the ball gets away from the Stanford catcher, and they are safely into third and second, respectively. Turley strikes out swinging, so two outs for OSU.
Bill Oram: If that had been the case, he would have been named Charlie B, Red, Mo, Bo, Rhino or, um, Union Club.
Top 3rd: With Bazzana at second and McDowell at first, Turley gets ahead 2-0 in the count.
Nick Daschel: Probably some bar in Missoula.
Bill Oram: (Stanford was not named after the university.)
Nick Daschel: Back to back walks for a red hot Turley. Interesting spot for both teams.
Bill Oram: Speaking of walks, Nick, my dog — whose name happens to be Stanford — is whining by the door. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll be following you for updates.
Nick Daschel: Bazzana walks with one out. Put him in motion?
Bill Oram: Stanford’s Christian Lim with the analysis of the game on P12 Net. Speaking about Cardinal pitcher Joey Volchko, who’s dealing, he says, “It’s never a fun thing to step in the box and see 99 (mph) at 10 a.m.”
Top 3rd: Jabin Trosky strikes out. That’s 4 strikeouts for Cardinal starter Joey Volchko. Bazzana walks.
Bill Oram: Was just going to say the same, Nick. Feels like an opportunity for OSU to do some damage. … And Trosky promptly goes down.
Nick Daschel: Trosky-Bazzana-McDowell up for OSU in T3. Beavers need to get something going on offense with their second trip through the lineup.
— End of 2nd —
Bottom 2nd: Another grounder to Bazzana, who tosses to Guerra to put out Stanford’s Jake Sapien and end the inning.
Nick Daschel: That was a quicker hook than I expected, but maybe 30 pitches was the plan for Lattery.
Bottom 2nd: Ethan Hott grounds out to second. Then a single rolls through the left side for Temo Becerra. Trevor Haskins grounds out, with Becerra moving over to second. That ends Lattery’s day. Oregon State brings on right-hander Kellan Oakes. So Lattery goes 1 2/3 innings, giving up two hits with a walk and a strikeout. He threw 30 pitches, 22 of them strikes.
— Middle of 2nd —
Top 2nd: Brady Kasper walks on four pitches to open the Beavers’ half of the second inning. Wilson Weber goes down on strikes. Elijah Hainline strikes out swinging. Kasper steals second. Mason Guerra grounds out to end the frame.
— End of 1st —
Nick Daschel: Nice inning for Lattery in his first outing in nearly 3 months. Now OSU offense needs to give him some help.
Bottom 1st: Lattery induces a groundout to end the inning.
Nick Daschel: I’m interested to see what OSU does with baseball telecasts. I regularly receive email from readers with baseball TV questions, so I know there’s interest.
Bill Oram: For better or worse, Oregon State football games have a home on television next year. But as I’m watching this on the soon to be RIP’d Pac-12 Network, I do wonder where we’ll find the rest of Beaver athletics next year, if we will at all.
Bottom 1st: The Cardinal get runners on first and second with a single and a walk.
Nick Daschel: 10 pitch at-bat for Stanford’s MacDonald turns into a strikeout for Lattery.
Bottom 1st: Stanford leadoff man Owen Cobb grounds out to shortstop. Cort MacDonald strikes out looking.
Nick Daschel: I don’t expect AJ Lattery to pitch more than 3 or 4 innings, but a good outing would be a huge boost to an OSU postseason run.
— Middle of 1st —
Bill Oram: Stanford gets out of the top of the first with no damage. Beavers can’t cash in on Turley’s aggressive base running.
Top 1st: Macias then flies out to end the inning.
Bill Oram: That ball just died in the left field corner. A triple all the way for Gavin Turley.
Nick Daschel: That is some aggressive base running by Turley to turn a shot down the left field line into a triple.
Top 1st: Travis Bazzana leads off for the Beavers by grounding out. Micah McDowell strikes out swinging. Gavin Turley falls behind 1-2. Then he pulls one into left field and slides in for a triple.
Nick Daschel: Echoing Bill’s thoughts on Joe’s piece. June is going to be an interesting time to test my thesis that winning is no longer a priority in college athletics. Women’s basketball was set up to win and win big next season, and none of that mattered. OSU baseball appears to be in a similar situation, even with the draft losses. Will they stay even if OSU promises a quality schedule and an aggressive mindset mining the transfer portal?
Bill Oram: I’d also direct readers to Joe Freeman’s story today on whether realignment will ultimately gut baseball at Oregon State in the same way it has devastated every other major program. Some of the comments may sound familiar to people who tracked the downfall of Beavers football and women’s basketball, but Joe does paint a picture of a program much better positioned to withstand these haymakers. A very good read.
Nick Daschel: It’ll be interesting to see how OSU juggles its pitching staff if it can survive and win today against Stanford while pitching AJ Lattery. If the Beavers win, Arizona State game doesn’t matter and the Beavers can save Aiden May for Friday’s semifinal game. You’d have to like OSU’s chances if it has May for Friday and Kmatz for Saturday.
Bill Oram: Before diving into the specifics of the game, I just want to acknowledge how meaningful it would be for Oregon State to leave Arizona with the final Pac-12 tournament championship. With everything that has gone down over the past year, this is the last chance for OSU to rage against the machine and slap its name into the history books of the Pac-12 as we know it. Maybe that’s trivial at this point in the slow death rattle of this conference, and the Beavers certainly have realistic aspirations beyond this tournament, but in the final days of this Pac-12 one last win for those left behind would feel fitting.
PREGAME INFORMATION
Here are details about today’s game:
No. 6 Oregon State Beavers (41-13) vs. Stanford Cardinal (21-32)
When: 10:05 a.m. PT Wednesday, May 22
Where: Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale, Arizona.
TV channel: Pac-12 Networks.
How to watch live stream online: The game will be streamed live by the Pac-12 Networks, which subscribers can access at Pac-12.com and via the Pac-12 Now app.
Radio: All games air on the Beaver Sports Network. Pregame starts 30 minutes before the first pitch. Affiliates include KEJO 93.7-FM and 1240-AM (Corvallis), KKNX 105.1-FM and 840-AM (Eugene), KCFM 104.1-FM and 1250-AM (Florence), KLAD 104.3-FM and 960-AM (Klamath Falls), KCFM 103.1-FM (Mapleton), KTMT 96.1-FM and 580-AM (Medford), KCMX 880-AM (Medford), KCMX 99.5-FM (Phoenix), KEX 1190-AM (Portland), KSKR 1490-AM (Roseburg) and KBZY 1490-AM (Salem). You can also listen online via the Varsity Network app.
Probable starters: OSU RHP AJ Lattery (0-0, 0.00) vs. Stanford RHP Joey Volchko (1-1, 6.63)
This and that: Lattery, who has been sidelined most of the season with an undisclosed arm injury, is making just his third appearance of the season and first since Feb. 21. Coach Mitch Canham said the 6-foot-5 senior has faced live hitting during midweek throwing sessions in recent weeks as part of his rehabilitation and lobbied to make his return last week. Instead, he’ll start the first game of the Pac-12 tournament on a limited pitch count. The veteran right-hander has made 40 appearances in his college career, going 4-1 with a 3.15 ERA. … The Beavers won the regular season series against the Cardinal, taking two of three games in April at Goss Stadium. The Beavers hit six home runs and outscored Stanford 19-12, including 9-1 in the first two matchups, both OSU wins. … Oregon State is 8-1 in neutral site games this season. … The Beavers are 13-9 in games decided by two runs or less, with eight of their 13 losses coming in one-run outings. OSU finished the regular season 0-6 in one-run games on the road. … Travis Bazzana brings an 11-game hitting streak into the tournament. The junior second baseman is batting .488 (21 for 43) with six homers, seven doubles, 12 RBIs and 22 runs scored during the streak. … Micah McDowell (eight) and Brady Kasper (six) had hitting streaks snapped in OSU’s regular season finale at Arizona. Both players went 0 for 4 in the Beavers’ loss to the Wildcats.
OSU’S STARTING LINEUP
1. Travis Bazzana, 2B
2. Micah McDowell, CF
3. Gavin Turley, DH
4. Dallas Macias, LF
5. Brady Kasper, RF
6. Wilson Weber, C
7. Elijah Hainline, SS
8. Mason Guerra, 1B
9. Jabin Trosky, 3B
— Joe Freeman | [email protected] | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
