Justin Boyd hit a home run and robbed Oregon of one as the second-ranked Beavers defeated the No. 25 Ducks, 4-2, Tuesday night in a non-conference matchup at PK Park.
Boyd hit a two-run home run in the top half of the fourth to put Oregon State up 3-0, then robbed Jack Scanlon of a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning. Boyd jumped just above the 6-foot fence in right on a line drive fly ball off the bat of Oregon's catcher, preserving the Beavers' three-run lead.
The game was part of The Rivalry Series is presented by Safeway-Albertsons, Spirit Mountain Casino, PacificSource Health Plans, Your Local Toyota Dealers and First Interstate Bank. With the win, Oregon State improved to 32-8 on the year while Oregon dropped to 26-14.
Wade Meckler and Jacob Melton each tallied two hits to pace the Oregon State offense, which totaled eight overall. The Beavers also took advantage of five walks to push their win streak to five games.
Mitchell Verburg picked up the win to improve to 4-3 on the year. He held Oregon scoreless over two innings, striking out one. Verburg was one of five pitchers in relief of starter Jaren Hunter, who tossed four scoreless innings, striking out two. Hunter, however, did not figure in the decision.
Ryan Brown, the last of OSU's six pitchers, earned his sixth save of the season.
OSU scored first, in the first, when Jacob Melton hit a sharp ground ball to first that enabled the Ducks to turn a double play. Meckler, who had singled to open the game, scored from third on the play.
The Beavers made it a three-run game on Boyd's blast in the fourth. That three-run lead lasted until the sixth when Oregon plated two.
Oregon State scored an insurance run in the seventh when Meckler drilled a single back up the middle off Oregon reliever Caleb Sloan, enabling Jake Dukart to come home from second.
Christian Ciuffetelli took the loss for the Ducks, dropping to 1-3 on the year. He allowed two hits and an unearned run in three innings of work.
Next Up
Oregon State travels to Salt Lake City for a three-game series with conference foe Utah. First pitch Friday is slated for 10 a.m. PT (11 a.m. in Utah). Saturday's game is also at 10 a.m. PT. Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT. All three games will air on the Pac-12 Networks.
Oregon State Notes
- Wade Meckler opened the game with a single past first. He's now reached base safely in all 40 games for the Beavers this season. He is the lone player in the Pac-12 to do so this season.
- Oregon State utilized the same lineup the Beavers had in the Sunday series finale versus Washington.
- Justin Boyd's home run in the fourth marked his fifth of the season.
- The game marked Oregon State's first true road non-conference game on the road this season. OSU came into the matchup having played 10 neutral-site non-conference games.
- Oregon State's starters, after Jaren Hunter's outing Tuesday, have held opponents to 56 hits in 74 1/3 innings in the month of April. The starters have a WHIP of 0.91 as they've walked just 14. The starting staff has also struck out 88 in those 76 1/3 innings.
- The Beavers turned a season-high three double plays, all coming against Oregon first baseman Jacob Walsh. He had hit into just three double plays in 2022 entering the game.
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OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
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