OSU Baseball Wins Thriller Over California, 8-5
April 22, 2000 | Baseball
April 22, 2000
BERKELEY, Calif. - - The Oregon State baseball team used some late-inning dramatics to pull off an 8-5 win over California in the 10th inning on Saturday in Berkeley at Evans Diamond. The Beavers (23-19 overall, 5-7 Pacific-10) have now won six of their last eight games, and five of their last eight in the Pac-10.
OSU battled back from an early 4-0 deficit and gained a 5-4 lead in the eighth before Cal (21-22, 9-9) tied it at five to send the game to extra innings.
Eric Stark got the 10th inning started with a single for the Beavers, and Drew Hedges then moved him to third with a single of his own with nobody out. With runners at the corners, Will Hudson came up with his second clutch single of the day to drive in Stark and give OSU the lead. Joe Gerber then loaded the bases with a single to right field to set the stage for Brian Barden's two-RBI single up the middle with Cal's infield drawn in to give OSU its final margin of victory at 8-5.
Both Hudson and Barden started the day 0-for-2, but Hudson came up with a single up the middle in the eighth to give OSU its first lead at 5-4, and Barden finished the game 3-for-6 with 2 RBI.
"I feel real good about how our guys played," OSU head coach Pat Casey said. "We talked before the game about how big this series was, not just for the conference standings, but for momentum for the rest of the season. This wasn't a make-or-break game, but it was pivotal. A game like this can take you down the road a little ways."
OSU fell behind 4-0 after two innings, but three of those four runs were unearned due to a passed ball and an error. After first baseman Joe Gerber brought in Eric stark with a sacrifice fly in the third to make it 4-1, the Beavers put together three runs in the sixth to tie the game.
Andy Jarvis, who went 3-for-4 on the afternoon, ripped an RBI single to start the scoring for the Beavers in the inning, while Tim Dryden and Eric Stark had RBI singles as well. Brian Ingram also went 3-for-5 for the game.
"We could have come out and said `We've got one game (in the series) and looked forward to getting home, but we found a way to score some runs," Casey said of the Beavers resiliency after the 4-0 deficit. "We pieced them together and we came back. We've got to be really pleased with that. We've just got to keep finding ways to get it done and get better, but our club seems to respond to challenges and wants to work."
The Beavers, who won a Pac-10 series for the second straight week, got outstanding pitching from starter James Atwood and then Nick Renault in relief.
Atwood scattered seven hits and struck out a career high eight batters in 7 2/3 innings, also a career high.
Renault came on in the eighth with the score tied and shut out the Bears the rest of the way, including a tough top of the order in the 10th, and allowed only one hit to earn his first career win.
"That's what I was brought here for, to close out games," Renault said. "These were my expectations. That's my job, that's what I'm supposed to do."
OSU takes on Portland in a home game this Tuesday before facing Washington in a three-game homestand Apr. 28-30.
OREGON STATE 8, CALIFORNIA 5 (10 INNINGS)
Oregon State 001 003 010 3 - 8 19 2
California 220 000 010 0 - 5 8 3
Atwood, Renault (8) and Ingram. Shirley, Cash (6), Cuccias (8) and Tonis. 2B- Barden (OSU), Gordon (OSU). HR- Nady (Cal).
HITS: Oregon State 19 (Hedges 2x5, Hudson 2x4, Gerber 1x4, Barden 3x6, Jarvis 3x4, Ingram 3x5, Gordon 1x5, Dryden 1x1, Stark 3x5), California 8 (Tonis 2x5, Nady 2x4, Meyer 2x4, Williams 2x4). RBI: Oregon State 8 (Hudson 2, Gerber 1, Barden 2, Jarvis 1, Dryden 1, Stark 1), California 4 (Tonis 1, Nady 2, Smith 1).
