Head coach George Horton watched as the ball sailed off the bat of Oregon State left fielder Rob Folsom into center field and over the head of Jett Hart. Horton stared from the bottom step of the dugout as third baseman Stefen Romero raced home from second, scoring the winning run and completing the sweep of the No. 15 Oregon Ducks 6-5.
The ending to Sunday’s game couldn’t have been any different. After two straight games of walk-off scores by Oregon State (24-17 overall, 7-11 Pacific-10 Conference), there had to be another dramatic finish at Goss Field in Corvallis.
“Deja vu,” Horton said after the game. “Congratulations to the Beavers. They did more than us at the right time. Three pretty devastating losses for us.”
Beaver head coach Pat Casey had a different feeling after the sweep.
“I’m proud of our club for the things we’ve talked about for the last three weeks in not getting down,” Casey said, referring to the losing streak in conference that extended back to the beginning of April.
In game one of the series Friday, Oregon starter Tyler Anderson went 6 1/3 innings, giving up three hits and one run. Oregon State pitcher Greg Peavy gave up five hits in 7 1/3 innings, also giving up one run, but it was the game’s end that set the tone for the series.
In the bottom of the tenth inning, reliever Scott McGough hit the first two batters of the inning. Then McGough got the next batter to hit a pitch back to the mound. McGough went to second for the first out, and shortstop KC Serna tried to turn the double play, and threw to first. However, no one was covering the base, and the ball sailed to the fence, allowing the runner from second to score, giving OSU the 2-1 win.
Then in game two, Oregon (30-18, 10-11) came back from a 3-0 deficit in the top of the ninth to tie the game. Oregon out-hit the Beavers 13-6, but the team left 14 runners on base in the 11-inning game, and ultimately another error doomed them.
Reliever Joey Housey came into the game in the 11th inning with runners on first and second. He struck out the first batter but allowed the next runner to reach base on an error. Then Housey bounced a ball into the dirt and it slipped to the backstop, allowing the runner from third to score the winning run of the game, with the final score reading 4-3 OSU.
But it was Sunday’s game that really hurt the Ducks. Oregon entered the ninth down 5-1 and with almost all hope of avoiding a sweep gone. But just like on Saturday, they never said die.
Second baseman Danny Pulfer led off with a single, followed by another single from catcher Eddie Rodriguez. Then right fielder Steven Packard reached base on a slow chopper to the third baseman that was bobbled. First baseman Jack Marder followed with a sharply hit ball to the shortstop, where the Beavers tried to throw to second for a forceout, but everyone was safe, and it was 5-2 OSU.
After designated hitter Paul Eshleman struck out, pinch hitter Shawn Peterson slapped a single into right field, scoring one, but Packard was caught in a rundown and tagged out. But both Curtis Raulinaitis and KC Serna followed with RBI singles to tie the game, and Oregon had come back for the second straight game.
“We had three outs left in the game, so of course everyone was like, ‘OK, let’s do this.’ I just wish we could do that the entire game, you know?” Serna said. “Put up runs in the third, the sixth, the seventh and now have to worry about those tie games.”
Then the bottom of the ninth happened, the Beavers scored the winning run off closer Drew Gagnier, and the Ducks went back to Eugene as losers of four straight.
Horton met with his team for 30 minutes after the game in right field, and everyone had somber expressions on their faces. It was a weekend of close calls. He says it’s never easy to swallow losing three games on three walk-off plays.
“We can reflect on the last three plays of these games and say, ‘Gee whiz, had gone differently…’ but there is a 130 or 140 pitches on both sides that can be won or lost a little bit more effectively so you don’t get down to that one play in the ninth inning,” Horton said.
The Ducks have now lost four games in a row, which is the most since the 13-game streak the team had to finish last season. Next up, the Ducks face San Diego on Tuesday at PK Park, followed by a three-game series with East Tennessee State next weekend at home.
Horton thinks they’ll be ready.
“If I have my finger correctly on the pulse of this team, this may serve us well for the stretch drive,” he said. “Maybe it’s a wake-up call.”
[email protected]