Oregon State Wins Super Regional Game One 5-4 In Extra Innings Over Florida State
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The Oregon State Beavers came from behind to defeat the Florida State Seminoles on Friday night in the Corvallis Super Regional. It took until the bottom of the tenth inning, but the Beavers secured a 5-4 victory to go up 1-0 in the best-of-three series.
Dax Whitney was given the start on the hill for the Beavs. Whitney started strong, collecting three strikeouts to begin the first inning. FSU pitcher Joey Volini would take care of the Beavs in the bottom half of the inning.
Whitney was untouchable at times in this one, picking up his fifth strikeout of the game in the top half of the second inning. However, the seminoles would pick up a run in the second with an RBI double from Hunter Carns to take an early lead.
Volini once again stymied the Beavs in the bottom of the second. Whitney ran into trouble in the top half of the third inning, with FSU having runners on the corners with one gone. Whitney locked in and struck out Myles Bailey for the second out, and collected his seventh strikeout of the afternoon in the next at-bat to keep things at 1-0 FSU going into the bottom of the third.
Tyce Peterson collected the Beavs first hit of the ball game in the bottom of the third. Jacob Krieg followed that up with a double in which Peterson was waved around third, but tagged out at home. While that out wasn't the last of the inning (which came in the next at-bat), it seemed to suck the life out of Goss Stadium in that moment.
Whitney continued to dominate on the mound, striking out two in the top half of the fourth inning. Whitney had nine K's through four innings of work. Oregon State's offense finally came alive in the bottom half of the fourth inning thanks to a Wilson Weber RBI double that would bring Arquette home safely from first. Things moved to the top of the fifth tied at 1-1.
Whitney's day would be done in the middle of the fifth inning, with one earned run and 10 strikeouts. Nelson Keljo came on in relief and got the Beavs out of the top half of the inning. At that point, Oregon State dipped back into their offensive strategy from the regional round, as Canon Reeder reached on a bunt single, followed by Easton Talt who did the same. The Beavs however would plate nobody and things went to the top of the sixth tied.
Myles Bailey homered off of Keljo to start the top half of the sixth and the place was deflated again. Keljo would rebound and issue back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. In the seventh, FSU added insurance run with an RBI single from outfielder Max Williams to extend their lead to 3-1.
Volini's day would be done for FSU in the bottom half of the seventh. Joe Charles would come on in relief and get Jacob Krieg to pop out to center to send things into the eighth.
AJ Hutcheson came on to relieve Keljo in the top half of the eighth and ran into trouble quickly. He issued a walk and allowed an RBI single to extend the Seminoles' lead to 4-1. The Beavers couldn't respond in the bottom half of the inning and went quietly once again.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Beavers needed three runs to keep the game alive. Wilson Weber got the rally started with a leadoff double. Trent Caraway followed it up with a questionable strike three call that sat him down. A.J. Singer grounded out to short following Caraway's strikeout, and the Beavs were down to their last out.
Bryce Hubbard pinch hit for Tyce Peterson and worked a walk, Dallas Macias would load the bases on a single. A wild pitch scored Weber from third to make it 4-2 FSU with two away. Up stepped Jacob Krieg who singled into the gap to score two Beavs to tie the game 4-4. The Beavers were unable to capitalize anymore and Game One of the Corvallis Super Regional went into extra innings.
Kellen Oakes started the 10th and took care of FSU quickly. With one out and the bases loaded, A.J. Singer singled to bring home Gavin Turley and hand the Beavs Game One.
Oregon State needs one more win to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, for the first time since 2018. Game Two is slated for 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN2, with Ethan Kleinschmit the predicted starter for Oregon State.
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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.