CORVALLIS — It was a rainy night at Goss Stadium in Friday’s matchup between Oregon and No. 2 Oregon State in front of 3,915 fans. The Ducks battled through multiple rain delays as they faced Cooper Hjerpe, one of the top pitching prospects in the country. There were 39 scouts from 25 major league teams in attendance to watch the lanky left-hander.
The Ducks put up a fight, but the pitching staff was plagued by 12 free passes and the offense was shut down by the vaunted Hjerpe. The Beavers won 5-1, taking the opener of the three-game series in Corvallis. They also clinched the season series over the Ducks with their third win in as many games.
“I thought we played good defense,” Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski said. “I didn’t think we pitched very well, and I didn’t think we hit very well.”
After a rain delay that lasted over an hour, Hjerpe took the mound for the Beavers at 8:15 p.m. He hit Drew Cowley with a pitch in the first inning, but Jacob Walsh struck out looking to end the frame. Walsh was back in his usual cleanup spot after a day off Tuesday.
RJ Gordon walked Wade Meckler to lead things off for the Beavers, but he utilized a sharp breaking ball to strike out Justin Boyd in a scoreless bottom of the first.
He walked the leadoff batter again in the second. With one out, he gave up the first hit of the game for either team. Oregon State’s Matthew Bretler then laid down a sacrifice bunt, allowing the Beavers to take a 1-0 lead. Gavin Grant then made a leaping catch to save another run and end the inning.
After Grant drew a one-out walk in the third, Tanner Smith lined the Ducks’ first hit of the night into right field. Cowley was able to bring home the tying run with a comebacker to Hjerpe. Each team scored its first run on an RBI grounder to the pitcher.
Gordon got into more trouble in the bottom of the third after a single and a walk. At the time, he’d thrown 27 balls and just 22 strikes. But he worked out of it, inducing a popup to the catcher and striking out Travis Bazzana.
“He didn’t win a count until about the fourth inning,” Wasikowski said. “RJ wasn’t on his game tonight. When you’re matching up against Hjerpe, you need to be on your game.”
Jacob Walsh scratched out an opposite-field leadoff single in the fourth. Hjerpe shrugged it off, striking out the side with his nasty arsenal.
Gordon’s control problems continued, as he issued back-to-back walks in the bottom of the fourth. The rain started to pick up with the crowd’s cheers growing louder. After Gordon hit a batter to load the bases with one out, the game was once again delayed.
Christian Ciuffetelli replaced Gordon after an 18-minute delay. He recorded a massive strikeout of Meckler for the second out, but then walked Boyd to force in the go-ahead run. Jacob Melton put up another tough battle against Ciuffetelli, but he drew another walk to make it 3-1.
The half-inning saw four walks, a hit batter, two runs, two pitchers and a rain delay, yet no hits.
Hjerpe stayed in the game and dominated. He baffled Oregon hitters with his backdoor slider, striking out the side for the second straight inning.
Ciuffetelli walked two more in the fifth, but he also struck out two more and threw a scoreless inning. He struck out four and walked four in 1 2/3 hitless innings.
“He was either striking them out or he was walking them,” Wasikowski said. “I’m sure he wasn’t really thrilled with his outing, but still yet he made some critical pitches. Just wasn’t good enough.”
Brennan Milone ended Hjerpe’s streak of seven consecutive strikeouts with a fly out to left in the sixth. Hjerpe still punched out two in the inning, bringing his total to 11 strikeouts in six masterful innings.
“Credit goes to the Hjerpe kid,” Wasikowski said. “As the conditions got worse, he got better. As the conditions got worse, we got worse.”
Josh Kasevich and Anthony Hall led off the seventh inning with back-to-back singles, bringing an end to Hjerpe’s night. Right-hander Ben Ferrer came out of the bullpen and struck out two batters before walking Grant to load the bases. Smith grounded out as the Ducks wasted a scoring opportunity.
Mercado gave up another walk and a single in the bottom of the seventh. Meckler lined out to end the inning as the Beavers stranded their 12th and 13th runners of the game.
Oregon State got two more baserunners with a single and a walk in the eighth against Matt Dallas. This time, the Ducks weren’t so fortunate. Dallas gave up a two-run double, breaking it open to 5-1.
Kasevich drew a leadoff walk in the ninth, but the next three hitters struck out, including Tyler Ganus’ first strikeout at the collegiate level in his 27th career plate appearance. The Ducks struck out 16 times on the night.
Oregon (28-17, 13-9 Pac-12) will continue Saturday at 6 p.m. against Oregon State (36-9, 16-6 Pac-12).
