Oregon State Baseball: Beavers Beat Utah 9-1

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Jacob Melton went 3-for-5 with three runs driven in to pace the second-ranked Oregon State baseball team to a 9-1 win over Utah Saturday at Smith’s Ballpark.

Jacob Kmatz scattered five hits and a run in 5 1/3 innings to help the Beavers to even the series at a game apiece. Kmatz became the second Pac-12 Conference pitcher to eight wins this season, joining teammate Cooper Hjerpe. He’s also just one of two in the conference with five victories in Pac-12 play – joining UCLA’s Max Rajcic - after striking out five.

Melton pushed his Pac-12 leading RBI total to 51. He drove in OSU’s (33-9 overall, 14-6 Pac-12) first run on an infield single in the third. He singled again in both the seventh and eighth innings, driving in a run each time.

Matthew Gretler hit his third home run of the season, a three-run blast in the ninth inning, to cap Oregon State’s offense, which finished with 12 hits as a team. Justin Boyd and Greg Fuchs also had two hits for the Beavers, who maintained their lead on first place in the Pac-12.

One of Boyd’s two hits was a seventh-inning triple, his second in as many games. That started a two-out rally that saw OSU produce four consecutive hits, scoring three. Melton’s single began the inning’s scoring and was followed by a double by Garret Forrester and pinch-hit RBI single from Jabin Trosky.

Forrester finished with two RBI; he drove in what amounted to the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly in the third.

OSU chased Utah (25-16-1, 10-10) starter Jaden Harris after five innings. The righty took the loss to drop to 1-2. He allowed three hits and two runs with four walks and five strikeouts.

Next Up

Oregon State and Utah conclude their three-game series Sunday night at Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. PT (7 p.m. in Utah). The game will air live on the Pac-12 Networks.

Oregon State Notes

- Oregon State’s last four runs all came with two outs.

- Boyd extended his hit streak to nine games with a fifth-inning single.

- Melton finished with his third multiple-steal game of the season. He swiped three bases to give him 17 on the year, two behind Boyd’s team-leading 19.

- The three tie Boyd for the most in a single game. Boyd had three versus Gonzaga earlier in April.

- Meckler walked in the third inning and has reached base safely in all 42 games this season.

- Meckler extended his hit streak to 11 games with a single in the ninth.

- Melton has also reached base safely in all 39 games he has played this season.

- The Beavers are now 9-0 following a loss this season.

- Oregon State is 11-4 when an opponent scores first.

- Utah was just 1-for-9 with runners on base.

- The Beavers set a season-high by turning four double plays.

OSU

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