Oregon State Falls To UCLA 4-1 In Opener

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Cooper Hjerpe scattered three hits and two runs with 10 strikeouts in six innings but he was countered by No. 23 UCLA’s Max Rajcic in a 4-1 loss to the Bruins Thursday night at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.

Hjerpe gave up an unearned run in the first. The Bruins (34-19 overall, 18-10 Pac-12 Conference) then scored another run in the sixth before the Beavers (40-12, 19-9) managed to score a run in the bottom half of the inning on a Gavin Logan groundout.

The Bruins scored two in the ninth for the final three-run advantage.

Hjerpe took the hard-luck loss, dropping to 9-2 on the year. His 10 strikeouts pushed him to 135 on the year, which are now the second-best single-season tally in Oregon State history.

Rajcic picked up the win, his eighth of the year, after holding the Beavers to two hits and a run in six innings. He struck out eight but did issue a season-high five walks.

Garret Forrester singled twice to lead the Beavers offensively.

Next Up

The teams continue the three-game series Friday night with a 6:05 p.m. PT first pitch at Goss Stadium.

Oregon State Notes

- Hjerpe’s move into second for single-season strikeouts at OSU surpassed three Beavers. He moved past Luke Heimlich (128 in 2017), Mike Stutes (129 in 2007) and Jonah Nickerson (131 in 2006). Hjerpe trails only Heimlich, who struck out 159 in 2018.

- Hjerpe also moved into a tie for 10th in the Oregon State career record books, totaling 249 strikeouts. He ties Scott Christman, who pitched from 1991-93.