Beavers' First Appearance In The CWS Since 1952 Ends With Loss To Baylor
June 20, 2005 | Baseball
June 20, 2005
Quotes | Postgame Press Conference
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A bloop single that didn't clear the infield drove home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning as Baylor knocked No. 2 Oregon State out of the College World Series with a 4-3 victory Monday afternoon at Rosenblatt Stadium. In the bottom of the inning, the Beavers advanced the tying run as far as second base but couldn't bring it home as the loss ended the finest baseball season ever for OSU (46-12 overall).
"It's a tough time to talk right now," OSU head coach Pat Casey said. "I don't want our guys to feel like coming in here and not winning a ballgame will take away from the great season we've had. I thought we played really well on Saturday (in a 3-1 loss to top-ranked Tulane) and not as well today. I just want them to understand how well they played all year long."
The deciding run came when Baylor's Mike Pankratz, batting .193, blooped an RBI single over first baseman Andy Jenkins and just out of the reach of second baseman Chris Kunda, ending the Beavers' first appearance in the CWS since 1952.
"It's tough to lose the game and give up a hit on a 50-foot single," said OSU reliever Kevin Gunderson, who pitched the final 4 1/3 innings. "I guess you've got to give him credit for putting the ball in play."
The Beavers set a school record for wins in a season and won the Pacific-10 championship, the NCAA Corvallis Regional and the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional before the two tough losses at the College World Series.
"It was a great experience for Oregon State," Gunderson said of the trip to Omaha. "We weren't even in the top 50 in any polls at the start of the year - in any polls. It's a tribute to our ballclub and our coaches.
"It's a sad day for Oregon State but there's always next year. It was a fun time for us even though we lost. It's just unfortunate that the Beavers have to depart today."
The Bears (45-23) advanced to a Tuesday matchup against the loser of Monday night's game between Texas and Tulane. Jeff Mandel (4-0) got the win for Baylor after holding Oregon State (46-12) to one hit in 4 2/3 innings of relief.
Josh Ford reached base safely leading off the 10th against Gunderson (6-4) after Beavers shortstop Darwin Barney couldn't field a high-bouncing grounder. Ford advanced to second on a sacrifice before Reid Brees singled through the left side of the infield to put runners on first and third.
Pankratz, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning, then got the game-winning hit on a no-ball, one-strike pitch. Gunderson was effective in his 4 1/3 innings of work, holding the Bears hitless until Ford's single in the 10th.
"We were struggling to put runs on the board and he was just lights out," Casey said of Gunderson. "He gave us everything he had today."
Baylor starter Trey Taylor couldn't make it out of the second inning after walking five of the 10 batters he faced. He walked three straight to open the second before Ryan Gipson singled with one out to drive in the Beavers' first run. Taylor was removed after walking Jacoby Ellsbury to force in another run.
The Bears tied it in the fourth after Kevin Russo singled and Seth Fortenberry reached when Gipson couldn't come up with his grounder to second. After a sacrifice moved the runners up a base, Russo scored on Chase Gerdes' grounder and Fortenberry on Kyle Reynolds' single.
Each team added a run in the fifth. Reid Brees doubled and scored on Russo's single to give Baylor a 3-2 lead, but Shea McFeely's RBI single in the bottom half tied it again.
Two stellar defensive plays prevented Oregon State from breaking the tie in the sixth. Center fielder Gerdes threw out Gipson trying to score from second on Ellsbury's single. Then, with the bases loaded, Mandel grabbed Andy Jenkins' hard comebacker to start an inning-ending double play. Beavers starter Dallas Buck, who had gone at least 7 1-3 innings in five starts and six of seven, left with one out in the sixth and the score tied at 3.
