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PHOENIX – Jake Pfennigs held Grand Canyon to two hits in six scoreless innings to pace Oregon State to a 9-2 win Saturday afternoon at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark.
Pfennigs tossed his second career quality start after striking out four in his second appearance of the 2021 season. Grand Canyon (3-4 overall) managed to put just two runners in scoring position against the sophomore.
Pfennigs picked up the win to improve to 1-0 this season and 4-3 lifetime.
Neither team managed much offense through the first five innings, but the Beavers broke the game open by sending 10 batters to the plate in the sixth. OSU scored first when Preston Jones walked with the bases loaded.
OSU (6-1) made it 2-0 via a wild pitch and then 3-0 when Joe Casey was hit by a 3-1 pitch. Troy Claunch capped off the inning with a two-out, two-run single to center for the five-run lead.
Grand Canyon plated two in the eighth when Elijah Buries singled to left off reliever Jaren Hunter, bringing in two. It snapped a streak of 13 scoreless innings by the OSU pitching staff.
Chase Watkins came on in relief of Hunter in the eighth and picked up the final two outs of the inning to preserve the 5-2 lead.
Oregon State scored four runs in the ninth. Andy Armstrong, Kyle Dernedde, Ryan Ober and Joe Casey all drove in a run apiece to push the OSU lead to 9-2.
Armstrong doubled twice and led the Beavers with three hits. Ober finished 2-for-3 with three walks, while Casey and Kyler McMahan had two hits apiece as well.
GCU starter Jack Schneider lasted four innings before being pulled in favor of right-handed reliever Keaton Glover. It was Glover who took the loss after allowing two hits and five runs in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out five but also walked three. Glover is now 0-1 on the year.
Next Up
Oregon State and Grand Canyon conclude their four-game series Sunday. First pitch at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark is slated for 11 a.m. PT (12 p.m. in Arizona).
Follow The Game
Follow Sunday’s game via TuneIn radio on the Beaver Sports Network as well on a live stream produced by Grand Canyon. Both links can be found by visiting the schedule page on osubeavers.com.
On The Hill
Oregon State is slated to start right-handed pitcher Will Frisch (1-0, 3.60 ERA). Grand Canyon is countering with right-handed pitcher Carter Young (1-0, 3.60).
Big In The Sixth
Oregon State’s five runs in the sixth inning pushed OSU’s season total to 19 in the frame this season. OSU has scored more runs in the sixth than the total its pitching staff has allowed overall this season.
Starters Through Three Games
Oregon State’s starting pitchers – Kevin Abel, Cooper Hjerpe and Pfennigs – have combined to limit Grand Canyon to just seven hits and a run in 17 innings. They’ve combined to issue just five walks with 17 strikeouts.
Top Six
The top six batters in Oregon State’s lineup – Jones, Ober, Casey, Claunch, McMahan and Armstrong – combined to go 11-for-27 with four doubles, nine walks and seven RBI.
Six-Game Streak
Oregon State’s victory pushed the Beavers’ win streak to six games, the longest since the 2019 club won its first 10 games of the season.
13 Walks
The Oregon State offense tallied 13 walks to just seven strikeouts. The 13 walks surpassed the team’s previous best of 12 against Gonzaga on Feb. 21.
Back In The Lineup
Matthew Gretler, Justin Boyd and Dernedde all made their second starts of 2021. For Boyd, it was his first since the season opener Feb. 19 versus Kansas State. Gretler and Dernedde, meanwhile, both made their first starts in the third game of the season, Feb. 21 versus Gonzaga. Fifteen different position players have made at least one start in 2021, with 14 making two or more.
OSU Athletics
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