In the final Civil War game of the regular season, the Oregon baseball team finally got a win after losing the first four to its in-state rivals. Shaun Chase — for the second straight Tuesday – hit two home runs en route to a 6-2 victory over No. 1-ranked Oregon State.
Jack Karraker was given the midweek start and pitched three scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and no walks before handing the ball off. And the relief pitching was just as good. Darrell Hunter and Jake Reed both kept the Beavers scoreless and Porter Clayton allowed just two runs in his 3.1 innings of work.
“Karraker wasn’t extremely sharp, but he got three zeroes,” head coach George Horton said.
The game was scoreless for the first three innings but the Beavers had a big scoring opportunity in the first. With the bases loaded, two outs and a full count, Karraker got Michael Howard to line out to left to end the threat.
The scoring began in the bottom of the fourth inning with some pop. Chase was sitting on a 2-0 count launched a fastball well over the center field fence, flipping his bat in the air moments after.
But the Beavers responded in the very next inning. Clayton walked the first two batters to begin the fifth, but seemed to be getting out of the jam when he struck out Nick Rulli and Michael Conforto — Oregon State’s best hitter. But troubled ensued. Dylan Davis singled home a run and Gabe Clark responded with a perfectly executed hit-and-run to score Jeff Hendrix from third. But the two runs were all the Beavers manufactured in the inning and the game.
The game remained in Oregon State’s control until the seventh inning when the Ducks opened up the scoring in a loud way. Aaron Payne led off the inning with a fly ball to left but it was misplayed by the left fielder Conforto, who moved there from third base at the beginning of the inning. The misplay resulted in a triple for Payne. A squeeze bunt from Baumgartner scored Payne from third to tie the game at two.But Horton said it wasn’t supposed to be a squeeze — someone missed a sign.
“We would have a little bit of egg on our face had that not worked,” Horton said.
Baumgartner then stole second and Kyle Garlick worked a walk. Mitchell Tolman stepped to the plate and was looking for some redemption after going 0-3 with three strikeouts in his previous at-bats. Tolman was first-pitch swinging and lined a double to right center field, scoring Baumgartner from second and giving the Ducks a 3-2 lead.
“I was frustrated but I needed to get over it,” Tolman said about his previous three at-bats. “In the dugout talking with teammates, they helped me get over the hump.”
Chase then came up to the plate with runners on second and third. Steven Packard was in the on-deck circle and he was 2-for-3 at that point in the game. The Beavers decided to pitch to Chase, and it cost them. Chase controlled the at-bat. He fouled off every strike he was given and worked a full count after starting 0-2. He said after the game he was frustrated during the at-bat because Oregon State pitcher Jake Thompson was having trouble communicating signs with his catcher.
But the frustration only fueled his bat. Chase connected for his second long ball of the game. This time, though, he didn’t flip his bat. He held onto it for a few steps, then flexed his muscles as he approached second base.
“I just wanted to put the ball in play and get one or two runs if I could,” Chase said. “I just didn’t want to strikeout.”
Horton was impressed with his catcher’s at-bat.
“The second home run was spectacular,” Horton said. “It doesn’t get much better than that.”
The Ducks held onto their 6-2 lead thanks to Hunter and Reed not allowing a single baserunner.
The Ducks host their final series of the regular season starting Thursday, May 22 against California. The game will start at 7 p.m.
Follow Andrew Bantly on Twitter @abant3