CORVALLIS, Ore. – Jake Thompson struck out a career-high 11 in eight innings and KJ Harrison drove in three runs, including a two-run home run, to pace top-ranked Oregon State past USC, 10-1, in front of a sold out 3,351 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.
Thompson scattered five hits and a run in eight innings, and his 11 strikeouts eclipsed his previous best of 10 set earlier this season against Arizona State. The redshirt junior won his ninth game – tying him for the nation’s lead.
Harrison gave Thompson plenty of offensive support, doing so with a two-run home run in the first, then an RBI double – missing a home run by a couple feet – in the sixth inning that pushed OSU’s lead to 4-0 at the time. Harrison finished the day 2-for-4.
Oregon State (34-4 overall, 18-3 Pac-12 Conference) scored six in the eighth, sending 12 batters to the plate, to break the game open. It highlighted an offensive day that saw the Beavers tally nine hits and nine walks with two hit by pitches, both of which came during the eighth and gave Trevor Larnach and George Mendazona RBIs.
Nick Madrigal recorded an RBI single in the eighth and finished with two hits for his 19th multi-hit game of the season.
Marrick Crouse took the loss for USC (19-22, 6-12) after allowing five hits and four runs in five innings. He dropped to 2-6 on the year.
Over His Last Four
Jake Thompson has been dominant over his last four outings. The right-hander has thrown 31 innings over that stretch, limiting opponents to 15 hits, three runs and nine walks with 29 strikeouts. That’s an earned run average of 0.87. With Sunday’s win, and one run allowed over eight innings, his season ERA barely jumped – to 1.07 from 1.06.
More Attendance Numbers
The Beavers saw 3,351 in attendance at Sunday’s game, and 10,138 for the three-game series, which is a Goss Stadium record for a regular-season series. OSU set a regular season single-game record with 3,420 on Saturday, and opened the series with a crowd of 3,367.
Attendance Average
The Beavers have totaled 44,275 fans through 15 home dates this season – 16 games, with one counting as as a single-ticket doubleheader. That is an average of 2,951 per home date.
Eighth-Inning
Oregon State sent 12 batters to the plate in the eighth, the seventh time this season the Beavers placed nine or more in an inning. Four of those seven have come in Pac-12 play, with the first against Arizona State and twice versus Stanford.
Another Conference Series Win
The Beavers’ victory over USC pushed Oregon State to its ninth consecutive series win dating back to 2016. OSU has won all seven series this season, after wrapping up victories over USC and UCLA.
Next Up
Oregon State and Oregon match up Tuesday at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field in the Civil War, presented by PacificSource Health Plans, Spirit Mountain Casino, Safeway/Albertsons and Your Local Toyota Dealers First pitch is set for 5:35 p.m. PT and the game can be heard live on the Beaver Sports Network, TuneIn and OSUBeavers.com.
TV Tuesday
Tuesday’s game can be seen live on Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Oregon, Pac-12.com and via the Pac-12 Now app for subscribers.
story courtesy of osubeavers.com
BeaversEdge.com postgame videos
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