Gerber Has Homer, Four Hits, Four RBIs in win
April 18, 2000 | Baseball
April 18, 2000
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Joe Gerber had a home run among his four hits and the senior first baseman drove in four runs to lead Oregon State to a 13-5 win over Concordia in non-league baseball Tuesday afternoon at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. Drew Hedges added an inside-the-park home run and three RBIs for the Beavers (21-18 overall, 3-6 Pacific-10).
OSU has won four of its last five games after beating the Cavaliers (11-16, 8-11 Cascade Collegiate) of the NAIA. The Beavers now go to California for a Pacific-10 series Thursday through Saturday.
"Tuesday games can be hard to play," OSU head coach Pat Casey said. "We used some people who hadn't pitched very much, so it was a little different look there. In mid-week games, you're always coming off a tough conference series but the guys know how important these games are. Concordia came in and played well and swung the bats well ... the main thing on a Tuesday is to find a way to win, and we did that today."
Both teams used eight pitchers in the contest, and Concordia gave 25 players the opportunity to get into the game. OSU outhit the Cavaliers 14-10.
Gerber boosted his OSU career records to 30 home runs and 155 RBIs, and his 4-for-5 day against Concordia gave him 187 hits for his career to move him into second place on the Beavers' all-time list behind Ken Bowen (206 from 1984-87). The senior first baseman now has a seven-game hitting streak during which he's batting .630 (17-for-27) with two homers and 10 RBIs.
Gerber has 53 RBIs this season as he draws closer to the OSU single-season record of 62 set by Jim Wilson in 1982 and matched by Rob Colley in 1998. Gerber's fifth homer of the season was a solo shot to rightfield in the sixth inning, he also had a run-scoring single in the fourth and a two-run single in the seventh.
Hedges' inside-the-park homer was a three-run drive to center in the Beavers' four-run fourth inning. The senior outfielder lined the ball over Cavalier centerfielder Jimmy Heriford and it went all the way to the wall, hitting a fencepost and bounding back along the base of the wall toward leftfield and past Heriford.
OSU took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a run-scoring double by Brian Barden and a two-run single by Andy Jarvis. Concordia got within 3-1 on Chris Baird's solo homer in the top of the third.
Hedges' homer helped the Beavers go up 7-1 after four innings, but the Cavaliers made it 7-4 on Jimmy Heriford's three-run homer in the top of the fifth. After Gerber's homer made it 8-4 in the sixth, the Beavers scored four runs in the seventh on a two-run single by Gerber and a two-run double by Barden to go in front 12-5.
Starter Mark Newell got the pitching win for OSU, going three innings and allowing one run (one earned) on four hits, walking none and striking out five. Hedges was 2-for-3 with a double, a homer and three RBIs and Barden 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs for Oregon State.
For Concordia, starter Aaron Baker took the loss as he gave up three runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks, striking out one. Heriford and Josh Hansen were both 2-for-4 for the Cavaliers.
OREGON STATE 13, CONCORDIA 5
Concordia 001 030 100 - 5 10 2 Oregon State 300 401 41x - 13 14 0Baker, Dudley (2), Schertenleib (3), Jones (4), Merrill (6), Fauth (7), Hathaway (8), Eveland (8) and Stadelmeir, Coit (5). Newell, McLemore (4), Barker (5), Wray (6), Hansen (7), Copeland (8), Wilkins (9), Renault (9) and Biles. 2B-Hedges (OSU), Barden 2 (OSU). 3B-Stark (OSU). HR-Baird (CU), Heriford (CU), Hedges (OSU), Gerber (OSU).
HITS: Concordia 10 (Hansen 2x4, Baird 1x3, Heriford 2x4, Stadelmeir 1x3, Coit 1x1, Krueger 1x3, Taylor 1x3, Bafus 1x1), Oregon State 14 (Hedges 2x3, Coleman 1x1, Stark 1x3, Gerber 4x5, Barden 2x4, Jarvis 1x4, Biles 1x4, Gordon 1x3, Hudson 1x4). RUNS BATTED IN: Concordia 5 (Hansen 1, Baird 1, Heriford 3), Oregon State 13 (Hedges 3, Stark 1, Gerber 4, Barden 3, Jarvis 2).
