PORTLAND, Ore.- Freshmen pitchers Brian Cox and Given Kutz combined to limit the potent Oregon State (27-15) offense to seven hits and two runs as the Portland Pilots (10-33, 5-16 WCC) defeated the Beavers 6-2 Tuesday afternoon at Pilot Stadium. Kutz came on with the bases loaded and nobody out in the seventh, but retired the next three batters to silence an OSU comeback attempt. Travis Vetters had two hits and drove in two runs to lead the Pilots at the plate.

Cox (1-0), making his first start of the season, scattered seven hits and four walks in his six innings of work. Cox gave up a run in the first inning, but the defensive play of the season courtesy of left fielder Nik Kosach saved at least two more runs from scoring. Beaver right fielder Aaron Mathews hit a towering fly ball to deep left field that Kosach traced all the way to the wall. He leaped and extended his entire arm over the fence and pulled back a guaranteed two-run homer for the second out of the inning. After an RBI-single from Mike Lissman, Cox settled into a groove with some more defensive help.

Another important defensive play occurred in the third inning, as Billy Krause snagged a potential home run off the bat of Andy Jenkins in center field. Cox fed off the defensive energy and kept the Beavers off balance with a plethora of breaking balls.

Portland’s offense provided the run support early on, taking advantage of some misplayed balls by the OSU outfield. Gustaf Little led off with a single to right that looked like a routine fly ball off the bat. Kosach then blasted a ball at center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury who misjudged the flight of the ball as it sailed over his head to the fence, bringing home Little all the way from first.

An infield single from Justin Pierce scored Travis Vetters in the fourth inning, putting the Pilots up 2-1. With Pierce at first and Jeffrey Crinklaw at third, OSU starter Andy Baldwin got Pierce in a rundown with a fake-to-third, throw-to-first pickoff. Pierce was tagged out, but Crinklaw beat the ensuing throw to the plate making it 3-1 Pilots.

Portland tacked on three more runs in the fifth inning off Baldwin. A single, error and walk loaded the bases for Travis Vetters with one out. Vetters grounded a single through the right side scoring two runs and Crinklaw followed with a sacrifice fly for a 6-1 lead.

The Beavers got one back in the sixth and looked primed for a rally in the seventh before Kutz came on to shut the door. Kutz earned his first save of the season, not allowing a hit in three innings and striking out three batters.

Crinklaw recorded his 16th double of the season, scored a run and drove in another for Portland. Little scored two runs and Kosach finished 1-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI. Ellsbury was the only Beaver with two hits, while Mike Lissman drove in both OSU runs. Baldwin falls to 5-4 on the season with the loss.

"That was a very, very important win for this group," said Pilots head coach Chris Sperry. "To pitch and play as well as we did against a Pac-10 team just makes me really proud. That's got to give our guys confidence heading into the weekend. It's also got to give this young group confidence heading into the future."

The Pilots hit the road for a three-game WCC series against the Pepperdine Waves this weekend. The action begins Fri., May 7 at 3:00 p.m. Both Saturday and Sunday contests are slated for 1:00 p.m. starts.