Beaver Baseball Drops Friday Series Opener to UC Irvine
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The Oregon State baseball team was looking to bounce back against UC Irvine after a concerning series loss last weekend against Nebraska. Instead, the bats never woke up as the Anteaters dominated the entire stretch, taking the series opener 12-0.
Oregon State had won 15 consecutive games inside of the friendly confines of Goss Stadium dating back to last season, but that streak comes to an end while being shutout for the first time this season. It was the most lopsided loss at Goss for the Beavs since the 2014 season. With the loss, the No. 11 Beavs fell to 20-7 on the season as the Anteaters improved to 23-5.
Nelson Keljo, who was rested during the Nebraska series got the start on the bump for the Beavs Friday night at Goss Stadium. The Anteater bats got to work quickly with Frankie Carney connecting on a leadoff double. Keljo would then deliver a walk, a groundout, and another walk to juice the bases for Chase Castagonola. Castagonola slammed a two-RBI single into the outfield to give UCI a 2-0 advantage after the first half inning of play.
The Beavs bats struggled early and often Friday night, as they had their side retired in order in their first trip to the plate. Keljo's day would be done after just 41 pitches, as he was pulled for Zach Kmatz in the top of the second.
Kmatz restored some balance to the contest and weathered the storm as he picked up two strikeouts in the top half of the second. Oregon State would go quietly again in the bottom of the second.
Kmatz got into a bit of trouble in the top of the third, juicing the bases on a walk to Castagonola but would show resilience and get out of the jam. Easton Talt doubled in the bottom of the third to put two runners in scoring position but a Trent Caraway strikeout ended the inning. Eric Segura would come in to relieve Kmazt and pitched a scoreless fourth inning. Oregon State was stymied in the bottom of the fourth once more.
The Beavs would finish the game going 0-5 with RISP and two-for-12 with runners on base. Segura tossed another scoreless inning in the top of the fifth. The Beavs had their best chance to claw back into this one in the bottom of the fifth when Aiva Arquette was plunked to juice the bases, but Caraway would groundout into a double play on a fastball thrown by reliever Ricky Ojeda. Ojeda would finish with 4.2 innings pitched, allowing just one hit and punching out seven.
The wheels fell off in the sixth inning as the Anteater lineup finally figured out Segura. UCI would plate four in the top of the sixth. Wyatt Queen came out of the bullpen to relieve Segura and pitched a scoreless seventh.
Queen would trot back out to the hill in the eighth after the Beavs were blanked once again in the bottom of the seventh. Queen allowed a solo shot in the eighth to run the score up to 7-0.
Zach Edwards came in to relieve Queen in the top of the ninth and allowed a two-RBI double to push the UCI lead to 9-0. Rowen Felsch and Will Bermudez connected for RBI-doubles in the top of the ninth and made it a 12-0 ballgame.
Oregon State struck out 15 times Friday night, one shy of their season high.
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Kyle is a 2019 graduate of Southern Oregon University and currently does play-by-play for SOU football and men’s and women’s soccer. He hosts a daily sports show in southern Oregon on The Ace Sports Radio, 107.9 FM and 1300 AM. Kyle also does play-by-play for the Rogue Valley Royals hockey team and the North Medford High School Black Tornado for TableRockSports.net. Kyle lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife and a Dalmatian named Penny.