Oregon State Baseball: Beavers Take Series vs USC

LOS ANGELES – Jacob Kmatz scattered two hits and a run in a season-long six innings as No. 5 Oregon State defeated USC, 3-2, Saturday afternoon at Dedeaux Field.

The win gave the Beavers a series victory over the Trojans and Oregon State will now go for the sweep Sunday with a 1:05 p.m. PT first pitch in Los Angeles. Oregon State is looking for its first ever sweep of the Trojans in Los Angeles.

Kmatz gave up a second-inning home run to Garret Guillemette, a solo shot that tied the game at one. Kmatz, however, recovered to retire the next 12 batters he faced. He gave way to Ben Ferrer in the seventh and improved to 5-0 on the year.

Jacob Melton drove in a run on a double in the first, Garret Forrester hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Brady Kasper singled in a run in the eighth to provide the Oregon State (23-7 overall, 9-5 Pac-12 Conference) offense. Forrester and Justin Boyd each had two hits to pace the Beavers’ offense, which finished with nine overall.

Tyler Stromsborg was sharp for the Trojans (17-11, 4-7) but took the loss to drop to 1-2 on the year. He allowed six hits and two runs in six innings of work.

Ferrer worked 2 1/3 innings of relief of Kmatz, but the Trojans managed to score one on a run-scoring single from Guillemette in the ninth. Ryan Brown, making his team-leading 14th appearance of the season, came on and closed out the game for his third save of the season. He induced Trevor Halsema into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.

Next Up

Oregon State and USC conclude their three-game series Sunday with a 1:05 p.m. PT first pitch at Dedeaux Field.

Oregon State Notes

- Gavin Logan made his first start since March 29 at Nevada.

- Melton’s RBI double in the first extended his reached base streak to 32 games – all 30 in 2022 plus his final two games played last season.

- Boyd also extended his reached-base streak to 28 when he walked in the first.

- Wade Meckler pushed his hit streak to 11 games with a single in the fifth. He’s reached base safely in all 30 games this season and his streak stands at 33 thanks to reaching in the last three games of 2021.

- Kmatz’s outing marked a career-long for the freshman. He surpassed his 5 2/3 innings against Arizona State on March 19.

- Kmatz is 4-0 away from Goss Stadium at Coleman Field this season.

- Oregon State’s starting pitchers have gone 3-0 in the month of April, scattering 19 hits and five walks in 33 2/3 innings – a 0.71 WHIP. They’ve also struck out 43. They’ve allowed just six earned runs in the month for a 1.60 ERA.

- Oregon State’s pitchers have gone two consecutive games without issuing a walk. It’s the first time that has happened since March 13 and 18, 2016 against San Francisco and Arizona State.