Riley Henricks |
CORVALLIS, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots brought the tying run to the plate with no outs in the final inning, but Oregon State held on for a 4-1 win on Wednesday afternoon at Goss Stadium. The game was the continuation of a postponed game from earlier this season.
Wednesday’s game, which originally began on April 15 but was halted by rain at PGE Park in Portland, started with the Beavers leading 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
After each team scored a run, the Pilots, who were the home team, entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 4-1. Oregon State reliever Taylor Starr began the inning by plunking junior OF Bryant Kraus. Portland senior OF Danny Meier then just missed a home run with a shot that landed at the base of the wall in right-center field. Kraus advanced to third base on the Meier double, giving UP runners on second and third with no outs.
Kevin Rhoderick then replaced Starr on the mound and promptly retired sophomore 2B Clayton Shaw on a pop-out to first. Rhoderick would strike out the next two batters to pick up his 10th save this season.
Portland drops to 19-27 on the season, while Oregon State improves to 22-18.
James Nygren (1-1), who started the original game, picked up the win for the Beavs. Nygren pitched all three innings during the game in April and continued where he left off on the mound on Wednesday. He worked a total of 7.0 innings and allowed just one run on three hits, while striking out three.
Brennan Thorpe (2-3), Portland’s original starter, picks up the loss for the Pilots. He gave up three runs on six hits in 4.0 innings of work. Freshman Owen Jones allowed OSU’s run on Wednesday, while freshman Tyler Thompson worked 2.0 scoreless innings and junior Matthew Lange pitched a scoreless ninth.
After the Beavers scored a run in the top of the fifth inning to make it a 4-0 game, Portland responded with its only run in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, senior OF Cory Wiltshire kept the inning alive with a single. Freshman 2B Riley Henricks followed with an RBI triple. Wiltshire scored all the way from first on the three-bagger to right field.
During the original game three weeks ago, Oregon State scored all three of its runs in the top of the fourth inning. With no outs and the bases loaded, Drew George scored the game’s first run courtesy a wild pitch by Thorpe. Jordan Lennerton then plated a run with a sacrifice fly before Jason Ogata made it 3-0 with an RBI single to third.
The Pilots next travel to Malibu, Calif., for a three-game, West Coast Conference series against the Pepperdine Waves. The Pilots and Waves are set to play at 3:00 p.m. on Friday and at 1:00 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Friday’s series-opener is scheduled to be broadcast live on ESPNU.
