Two down, and one to go. Thanks to a 11-0 win against Yale (33-17) on Saturday night in Goss Stadium, the Beavers (51-4) have put themselves in firm position to win their first regional since 2013. Thanks to early home runs from Jack Anderson in the first and KJ Harrison in the third the Beavers were able to get a quick lead that they would only add onto as they cruised to victory.
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The game
The storyline of this game was offense, offense, and more offense. OSU tallied xx hits as a team and racked up 11 runs in the process.
Before Luke Heimlich even took the mound (Beavers were visiting team) OSU was in the lead 2-0 thanks to a home run from Jack Anderson and an RBI single from Adley Rutschman.
After that, Heimlich got all the run support he needed as OSU added two in the first, two in the third, one in the fourth, and six in the sixth. All in all the Beavers’ bats were sizzling from the start, and rode their momentum to their highest run total in the postseason since 2013.
Offensively, nearly everyone in OSU’s starting lineup got in on the hit parade. Every single Beaver that started except for Nick Madrigal hit successfully. Steven Kwan led the team with four hits, while Harrison led OSU in RBI’s with three.
On the mound, Heimlich looked like a guy who was Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and was working on eight days rest. From the opening pitch he was in great control of his pitches, and used a variety of speed to get guys to swing and miss with ease. Heimlich threw just 88 pitches before giving way to Sam Tweedt in the 8th who finished the game in fine fashion, striking out three batters along the way and further solidifying himself as a solid right handed reliever out of the bullpen.
Yale head coach John Stuper had nothing but high praise for OSU’s ace.
“I’m sure this joke has been used before, but I feel like I need a Heimlich maneuver right now,” Stuper said with a laugh. “The kid is legitimate. I’ve been here 25 years and I’ve pitched in the major leagues and he is the best pitcher I have ever seen. He is the kinda kid that is going to be a first round pick without question and is a kid who can get drafted right now and help a team in their pennant race in the big leagues later this year. He is that good.”
Upon my retelling of those comments to Heimlich, he nodded kindly and accepted the high praise from Stuper but was the first to say that he can still improve in many ways.
“That’s really cool to hear,” Heimlich said. “There is always something to improve on and tonight I feel that I didn’t command my glove side of the plate very well. I was able to pitch off my fastball and stay ahead in the count.
Player of the game x2
Steven Kwan: 4-5, 1 RBI
Luke Heimlich: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 K, 88 TP
Kwan led the team with four hits and also added and looked very comfortable in the leadoff spot. And perhaps most importantly, he proved that he is perhaps 100 percent healthy since his quad injury against Washington State that caused him to miss time against Abilene Christian.
As for Heimlich, he pitched an absolute gem and proved why he just might be the best college pitcher in the country. He held a very hot Yale team to just two hits for the entire night. Make no mistake, this Yale team was 2nd or better in every single offensive category that the Ivy League kept track of and Heimlich and Co. made them look like a local high school club playing the New York Yankees.
Up Next:
The Beavers will play the winner of Holy Cross and Yale tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. Holy Cross dispatched of the two seeded Nebraska earlier on Saturday by way of a 7-4 win. The Crusaders and Yale will play tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in an elimination game to determine who will go home and who will get another crack at OSU. The matchup will be intriguing because both teams will be throwing their third string pitcher. If I had to make a prediction, I would say that Yale will win a tight game and matchup with the Beavers again on Sunday night.
Head coach Pat Casey was very coy about speaking about OSU being in the winners bracket heading into tomorrow. Instead he deferred to the team’s motto all season.
“We gotta play tomorrow,” Casey said. “We play them one at a time.”
It’s worked for OSU all season to take one game at a time, so why stop now?
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