PROMO: Join BeaversEdge.com and get 30 DAYS FREE!
With the Oregon State baseball team (42-13) set to face California (29-25) in Pac-12 Tournament play on Thursday evening, BeaversEdge previews the matchup...
MORE: Beavers Beat Huskies 13-8 | Melton Named Pac-12 POY | Postseason Projections | JUCO DL Taylor Lewis Talks OV
WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE
California (6th seed) vs Oregon State (2nd seed)
Scottsdale, Ariz. - Scottsdale Stadium
Thursday - 8:00 p.m.
(NOTE) - First pitch starts 45 minutes after the Stanford/Arizona matchup...
LHP Cooper Hjerpe (9-2, 2.36) vs. RHP Steven Zobac (4-3, 3.95)
TV: Pac-12 Networks (LINK)
Radio: KEJO 1240/Varsity Sports Network (LINK)
Quick Hits
-The Beavers took 2-of-3 from California in Berkeley in March. OSU scored 30 runs over the three games, tallying five doubles and five home runs. The Beavers picked up 40 hits over the three games.
- Jacob Melton became the sixth Beaver in the Pac-10/12 era to be named the conference's Player of the Year. Jacoby Ellsbury (2005), Cole Gillespie (2006), Michael Conforto (2013 and 2014), Nick Madrigal (2017) and Adley Rutschman (2019) are the others.
- The previous five have all played at the Major League level.
- Both Melton and Cooper Hjerpe were also selected as semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award. There are 31 in total.
- Garret Forrester has hit home runs in back-to-back games. He's driven in seven in OSU wins over UCLA and Washington.
- Forrester has four consecutive two-hit efforts.
- Thursday's probable starter, Hjerpe, has struck out 16 and issued just one walk in 11 career innings versus Cal. He is 1-0 lifetime against the Golden Bears, posting a 3.27 ERA.
- OSU has now drawn 330 walks this season. That is seven shy of the school's 337 in 1998, the single-year record.
- The Beavers are 11-0 in neutral-site games this season. Offensively, OSU is batting .369 and is averaging 11.3 runs per game. Oregon State has drawn 76 walks while striking out 76 times.
- Justin Boyd is 7-for-12 in his last three games, drawing three walks (.667 on-base percentage). He pushed his Pac-12 leading stolen-base tally to 23 on Wednesday.
- Oregon State and California are playing their first neutral-site game since the 1993 season. They're tied 2-2 all-time in neutral games.
Pac-12 Tournament Bracket
----
• Talk about it inside The Dam Board
• SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCASTS on APPLE & SPOTIFY
• LIKE US on FACEBOOK
• Follow us on Twitter: @Beavers_Edge, @b_slaught, & @DylanCC_FB
• Subscribe to our YouTube page.
