Hjerpe Shines As Beavers Take Game Two Over Arizona

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Cooper Hjerpe set a career-high with 11 strikeouts as Oregon State defeated No. 7 Arizona, 3-1, Saturday night at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.

The lefty stymied the Arizona offense, which came into the night batting .330. He allowed just two hits and a run – on a sixth-inning double steal – and surpassed his previous career-best of nine strikeouts. The freshman earned the win to improve to 3-5 on the year.

Hjerpe was backed by Will Frisch and Jake Mulholland, who combined for scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth innings.

Frisch forced the Wildcats to strand two in the eighth. Arizona, meanwhile, put two on to open the ninth, then loaded the bases with two down before Mulholland got Kobe Kato swinging to end the game. Mulholland picked up his 13th save of the season and 43rd of his career.

The trio were supported offensively by nine Oregon State hits. Troy Claunch tied a career-high with three to pace the Beavers (33-19 overall, 15-11 Pac-12 Conference).

The Beavers got on the board first thanks to a Ryan Ober infield single in the first inning.

They upped the lead to 3-0 in the third. Claunch singled, then moved to third when Justin Boyd singled to right center. Jake Dukart then laced the first pitch he saw from Arizona starter Garrett Irvin to right center for a two-run, two-out triple.

Irvin took the loss for Arizona (37-14, 20-9), dropping to 5-2 on the year. He allowed nine hits and three runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Next Up

The teams conclude the three-game series Sunday at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. First pitch is slated for 12:05 p.m. PT.

Notables

- Claunch extended his hit streak to 13 games with a double to left in the first inning. It extended his longest streak of the season.

- Wade Meckler pushed his hit streak to eight games when he singled in the fourth. It also marked his longest streak of the year.

- Dukart moved his hit streak to a season-long six games when he tripled in the third.

- Hjerpe’s previous strikeout best was nine, reached three times this season: Feb. 20 vs. New Mexico, April 17 vs. California and May 1 against UCLA.

- Kyler McMahan made his first start in center field this season. It was his first start in center since June 1, 2019 versus Creighton.