Four straight games, four straight losses to the Oregon State Beavers, all by one run.
In the fifth and final installment of the 2010 Civil War, Oregon State (29-21) outhit, outpitched and outplayed the Oregon Ducks (37-20) for a 2-1 victory.
Unlike the three games in Corvallis three weeks ago, it wasn’t a walk-off play that won it for Oregon State, but instead the steady pitching of five Beavers, along with a fire Oregon didn’t have. Oregon State’s coach Pat Casey was kicked out, and every big play by OSU was followed by a mini-celebration.
“We didn’t battle, we played crummy,” head coach George Horton said. “I thought my team took about three steps backward tonight. We got outcoached, we got outpitched, we got outhit, we got outdefensed, and I don’t know where that effort came from.”
Both teams had a lot of runners on base, but neither got the amount of big hits that happened during the three-game series in Corvallis a couple of weeks ago. Oregon was held to four hits (OSU had 11). It wasn’t until the fourth inning that a run was scored, and both starting pitchers were out of the game by then.
The Beavers and Ducks both had runners on first and second in the first inning, but both starters managed to get out of trouble. However, as soon as the inning was over the grounds crew came out and covered the base pads, and fans sat through a half-hour rain delay. When it was all said and done, it had been more than an hour since the first pitch was thrown — and the teams were just in the second inning.
Alex Keudell came back after the delay and got through the second unscathed besides hitting a batter with two outs, but the third inning was his downfall. There were runners on the corners with one out when Horton pulled the trigger, and left-hander Christian Jones came in.
Jones wouldn’t remain unscathed for long. In the fourth, designated hitter Parker Berberet led off with a double to right field, and after two quick outs second baseman Tyler Smith singled to center field to score Berberet.
The Beavers would score another run in the fifth off Jones, and reliever Joey Housey came in, and he loaded the bases before he struck out catcher Andrew Susac to end
the inning.
The Ducks finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. First baseman Shawn Peterson led off with a double, and third baseman J.J. Altobelli singled up the middle to score Peterson. After that, Oregon managed one more hit against the Beaver pitching.
“We were way out of character and way off the process,” Horton said. “We gave away at least the first four or five innings of the game, and you can’t do that against a good baseball team.”
The sixth inning was when the fireworks really happened. The aforementioned ejection of Casey happened after Smith was hit while pulling back from a bunt attempt. Originally the home plate umpire called him safe, but the first base umpire said he went and called a strike. Casey stormed out of the dugout, first yelling at home plate, before getting in close with the first base umpire. Before Casey even reached first he had been tossed, and he took his time going back to the dugout to pack his things.
The ninth ended much like the other innings did: with a runner left on base. Pinch hitter Mitch Karraker walked with two outs, but Peterson struck out looking on a full count to end the game.
The marathon game featured a lot of back and forth with one side only being put down in order once (Oregon in the seventh). Oregon State left 11 runners on base to Oregon’s six. Combined, the two teams used 11 pitchers.
Altobelli was 1 for 3 with an RBI to lead the Ducks.
In the end, Horton said the game was one of the most disappointing games he’s coached as a Duck.
“This is about as disappointed I’ve been in a long time about the effort and the way we went about it,” Horton said. “But we’ll get back to work and hopefully we can fix it in the nick of time for Cal.”
The Ducks now go home to face California this weekend in the last Pac-10 series of the year for both teams.
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