OSU's Postseason Baseball Hopes End
May 19, 2000 | Baseball
May 19, 2000
PULLMAN, Wash. - Oregon State's postseason hopes came to an end with a 10-9, 11-inning loss to Washington State in Pacific-10 baseball Friday afternoon at Bailey-Brayton Field. OSU (27-26 overall, 8-14 Pacific-10) can finish no better than sixth in the Pac-10 race after a defeat that was another wild chapter in the two school's long baseball rivalry.
WSU (19-35, 5-17) outhit the Beavers 18-7 in the game, but the Cougars committed seven errors while the Oregon State played errorless defense. OSU took leads into the bottom of the ninth and 11th innings but was unable to hang on either time, in the 11th, it was Josh Carter's two-out solo homer to center that staked the Beavers to a 9-8 lead.
OSU finally fell on four straight Cougar hits after Beaver reliever Craig Hays retired the first batter in the bottom of the 11th. David Perreira doubled down the rightfield line, then scored on Ryan Smith's single to right to tie the game. Justin Williams followed with a single to put runners at first and second, and Stephen Copeland came on in relief of Hays.
Wes Falkenborg then drove Copeland's two-ball, one-strike pitch into the gap in left-centerfield to easily score Smith with the winning run. Falkenborg had also tied the game in the bottom of the ninth at 8-8 with a pinch-hit single.
OSU and Washington State will continue their series Saturday at 1 p.m., the wrap up the season Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games can be heard on KLOO-AM (1340), and Saturday's game will be televised regionally by Fox Sports Net via tape delay at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Beavers need one win to guarantee themselves a winning season for the seventh time in the last eight years and the 14th time in 16 years.
Washington State had nearly won the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, having the bases loaded with one out after tying the game. Evan Hecker grounded to Beaver shortstop Will Hudson to start an inning-ending double play, however.
The Beavers had gone in front 8-7 in the top of the ninth after Eric Stark coaxed a leadoff walk, and that was all for WSU starter Tyson Thompson. Joe Gerber popped up a bunt against reliever Matt O'Brien, but it sailed over the charging Cougar infielders for a hit.
Brian Barden sacrificed the runners to second and third, then Josh Carter delivered a run-scoring single through the left side of the infield for the go-ahead run. The Beavers still had the bases loaded with one out, but O'Brien struck out Zach Gordon and got Bryan Ingram to fly out to centerfield to end the threat.
O'Brien earned the win with three innings of relief, allowing one run (one earned) on three hits and two walks while striking out two. Hays took the loss for the Beavers, going two innings and giving up two runs (two earned) on four hits with no walks nor strikeouts.
Drew Hedges was 2-for-4 and drove in four runs for Oregon State, while Carter was 2-for-4 with a home run and a pair of runs batted in. For WSU, Stefan Bailie was 3-for-6 with a homer and three RBIs and Hecker was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles.
OSU had gone in front 3-1 with a three-run second inning that saw the Cougars commit four errors, including two catcher's interference calls. After WSU tied it in the third, OSU picked up another unearned run in the top of the fourth. Bailie's two-run homer gave Washington State a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth, but OSU scored three runs with the help of a Cougar error to jump to a 7-5 advantage in the top of the sixth.
WASHINGTON STATE 10, OREGON STATE 9 (11 INNINGS)
Oregon State 030 103 001 01 - 9 7 0 Washington State 102 021 011 02 - 10 18 7Johnson, McLemore (7), Renault (8), Hays (9), Copeland (11) and Ingram. Thompson, O'Brien (9) and Baeder, Smith (10). WP-O'Brien (9-5). LP-Hays (1-3). 2B-Hecker 2 (WSU), Perreira (WSU). HR-Carter (OSU), Bailie (OSU).
HITS: Oregon State 7 (Hedges 2x4, Gerber 1x6, Jarvis 1x3, Carter 2x4, Hudson 1x4), Washington State 18 (Hecker 3x5, Stevenson 1x5, Hattenburg 2x5, Bailie 3x6, Grove 1x3, Perreira 2x5, Gates 1x3, Smith 1x1, Williams 1x4, Baeder 1x3, Falkenborg 2x2). RUNS BATTED IN: Oregon State 6 (Hedges 4, Carter 2), Washington State 10 (Stevenson 2, Bailie 3, Perreira 2, Smith 1, Falkenborg 2).
