OSU Clinches Winning Baseball Season
May 20, 2000 | Baseball
May 20, 2000
PULLMAN, Wash. - Scott Nicholson pitched a five-hitter as Oregon State guaranteed itself a winning season by beating Washington State 4-3 in Pacific-10 baseball Saturday afternoon at Bailey-Brayton Field. OSU (28-26 overall, 9-14 Pacific-10) picked up the winning run in the sixth inning when Chris Biles' two-out single drove in Drew Hedges.
The Beavers, picked to finish last in the Pac-10 in preseason polls, will try to wrap up a sixth-place finish when they meet the Cougars (19-36, 5-18) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the season-finale for both teams. The game can be heard on KLOO-AM (1340).
Saturday's victory assured OSU a winning season for the seventh time in the last eight years and the 14th time in 16 years. The Beavers began the spring with 21 first-year players and were a very lightly-regarded club after Oregon State went 19-35 in 1999.
"They beat all the odds," OSU head coach Pat Casey said of the Beavers. "They were picked to finish last and not have a winning season. Nobody knew some of the guys we had coming in and they didn't get much respect. They handled it well, and they did it against some very good teams."
Nicholson threw his fifth complete game of the season, allowing just one earned run as he walked four and struck out seven. After the Cougars scored a pair of unearned runs to tie the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the third inning, the junior lefthander allowed just two walks (one intentional) and a bad-hop single over the final six innings.
"I didn't have my best stuff today," said Nicholson, who improved his record to 8-7. "But I knew I had to go out and compete and battle. I knew it was my last game of the season, and I left it all out there."
WSU threatened in the bottom of the eighth inning, putting runners at first and second with one out. Nicholson got Jason Grove to fly out to left and struck out powerful pinch-hitter Steve Curran on a full-count fastball to end the inning.
"I got away with one there," Nicholson said. "I was trying to go outside, and the ball tailed in on his hands and he wasn't able to get around on it ... the important thing today was, I was able to get my changeup over. I was struggling to locate my fastball, but getting the change over kept me in it."
Nicholson had to outduel WSU lefty Todd Meldahl, who threw a six-hitter of his own. After giving up a run-scoring double to Curtis Davis in the first inning and a two-run single to Eric Stark in the second, Meldahl blanked the Beavers until the top of the sixth inning.
Josh Carter started the inning with a single off the glove of diving first baseman Stefan Bailie, then Joe Gerber singled just off the glove of second baseman Bookie Gates as Gates ran into short centerfield. Hedges pinch-ran for Carter, who had been hobbling since making a sliding catch in the fifth inning.
Rod Gott grounded into a double play, with Hedges taking third. That left it up to Biles, who was getting a rare start against a lefthander due to a heel injury to OSU starting catcher Bryan Ingram.
Biles almost walked but couldn't quite check his swing on a three-ball, one-strike pitch. On Meldahl's next delivery, he grounded a single through the right side of the infield to score Hedges for a 4-3 lead.
"We had to scramble a little when we found out Bryan couldn't play, because Chris struggled defensively last week," Casey said. "But he was outstanding today. We had people come in and pick each other up, and that's a great thing. We've got some guys who are struggling right now, we're not swinging the bats well, and we found a way to win against a guy who pitched very well."
OSU's three sixth-inning singles were the only hits Meldahl allowed over the final seven innings. The Cougar hurler walked one and struck out five.
OREGON STATE 4, WASHINGTON STATE 3
Oregon State 120 001 000 - 4 6 2 Washington State 012 000 000 - 3 5 3Nicholson and Biles. Meldahl and Smith. WP-Nicholson (8-7). LP-Meldahl (2-9). 2B-Davis (OSU). HR-Bailie (WSU).
HITS: Oregon State 6 (Stark 1x4, Davis 1x4, Carter 1x3, Gerber 1x3, Gott 1x4, Biles 1x3), Washington State 5 (Hecker 2x3, Stevenson 2x3, Bailie 1x2). RUNS BATTED IN: Oregon State 4 (Stark 2, Davis 1, Biles 1), Washington State 3 (Stevenson 1, Bailie 1, Grove 1).
