The No. 1 ranked Oregon State baseball team swept the top-ten ranked RPI Arizona Wildcats in a drama filled series that saw the Beavers finishing 3-0, sweeping the Wildcats for the first time at home since 1998. Oregon State is now 20-1, on a 15-game winning streak and undefeated in conference play.
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1. Luke Heimlich shined under pressure
In his only game Friday, Heimlich looked a bit nervous through the first two innings when he allowed a rare run in the top of the second. Heimlich quickly collected himself and made an immediate recovery, finishing with only four-allowed hits through 6.1 innings; lowering his total ERA to a Pac-12 best 0.42. The question has been answered as to how Heimlich would handle the pressure of the best-hitting team in the country.
2. There was not one, but two walkoff wins for the Beavers
The top-10 series lived up to its high anticipation when on Friday, KJ Harrison singled up the middle infield line, resulting in a run scored by Adley Rutschman to give the Beavers the 4-3 win. On Saturday, Rutschman was involved once again in the bottom of the 9th when he struck out but reached first base on a wild pitch, allowing Preston Jones to score, giving the Beavers their second walk off win in two days.
3. Madrigal extended his hitting streak to 13 games
During Sunday’s game, Oregon State’s best hitter so far on the season extended his hitting streak to 13 consecutive games; one shy of his career-best 14 game hitting streak set in 2016. Madrigal is shining in his lead-off role position on the season and continues to hit over .400. Over the weekend, Madrigal moved into the first place position as the best hitter currently in the Pac-12.
4. Bryce Fehmel looked impressive on Saturday
The Sophomore had an impressive showing during Saturday’s game despite the threat that Arizona posed. Fehmel threw for a total of 71 strikes on 108 pitches throughout eight innings and allowed just three hits and three runs. Fehmel is someone who hasn’t been mentioned a lot this season because of the strong pitching from Heimlich and Thompson, but he continues to look like an impressive starting option for a pitching staff that has been dominant thus far.
5. The Beavers continued to strike early against Arizona
Oregon State scored first for the 16th time this season on Sunday. The Beavers have now outscored their opponents 28-3 in the first inning alone during the 2017 season. As has been the case in previous games this season, the Beavers struck first during Saturday’s game and again on Sunday thanks to an impressive three-run first inning.
6. Trevor Larnach continues to compliment Heimlich well
Now sitting as the second best hitter on the Oregon State lineup, Larnach extended his consecutive hitting streak to 10 games and contributed three critical RBI’s through the series, which led the Beavers on the weekend. Larnach has been impressive hitting in the four or five spot throughout this season and continues to increase the tempo that the first three at-bats provide during the first inning.
7. Beavers should be the outright number one team in the country
Had the Beavers won the series 2-1 against the Wildcats, they would have had a strong case to be the outright number one team, but with the series sweep, the Beavers proved they are deserving of the number one spot in college baseball. Before this weekend, Arizona had not lost three consecutive games during the season and fall to just 2-4 in Pac-12 play while the Beavers maintain their undefeated streak of 6-0.
8. Oregon State swept a top-ten RPI ranked team
When the series started, Arizona was the best hitting team in the country and led the Pac-12 in hits, runs and RBI’s. This was the toughest test the Beavers had faced to this point on the season and arguably the hardest series they will play during the regular season. Oregon State gave up 17 total hits and 14 runs to a Wildcat team that scored 36 runs in their last four games.
9. Oregon State caught hitting fire on Sunday
After getting 16 hits in their first two games, the Beavers looked to put Arizona away decisively in the third game when they combined for a total of 15 hits on Sunday. The 15 hitting outburst was just one hit shy of tying the Beavers highest on the season which was 16, set against Arizona State in the last series. Oregon State showed that they could play solid defense during the first two games of the series and followed it up with a solid hitting performance on Sunday en route to a 11-7 victory.
10. Oregon State now has the longest win streak in the nation
The Beavers standout season continues as they now have the longest winning streak in the country at 15 consecutive games. Oregon State also adds a 6-0 start to conference play since the 1999 Pac-10 unification. The Beavers are in a good spot as they will likely be the number one team following the Arizona sweep and have played arguably their toughest regular season series.
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Bonus
Oregon State came into the weekend with three No. 1 rankings, and as of Monday morning, Perfect Game and Baseball America have ranked Oregon State No. 1 in the country as well. With the Beavs 20-1 record and impressive resume, they are deserving of their No. 1 ranking.
Next up
March 28 - vs St. Mary's (3pm PT)
March 31, April 1, April 2 - series vs Stanford
