CORVALLIS, Ore. – This celebration was a long time in the making.

After twice seeing its lead erased Friday night, the Cal baseball team scored late and then held on for a 3-2 victory over No. 7 Oregon State in the opener of a three-game series at Goss Stadium.

Not only was it the marquee victory of the Bears' season to date, it marked Cal's first win over the defending national champion Beavers since 2016. That meant Friday was the first time the junior class on Cal's current squad tasted victory over perennial power Oregon State (there are no seniors on this year's team).

One of those juniors is lefty Arman Sabouri, who came on in relief and walked a tightrope to record the final five outs and preserve Cal's lead.

"Coming back here, and to be able to beat them and hold them down like that, it was surreal," Sabouri said.

The win was big for Cal (11-8, 2-2 Pac-12) because it squared the Bears' conference record after they dropped two of three at home to USC last weekend.
But it meant a lot in other ways. For juniors such as Sabouri, left fielder Cameron Eden, right fielder Max Flower, catcher Korey Lee and first baseman Andrew Vaughn – all of whom contributed to Friday's win – it was a bit of redemption after having gone 0-6 against Oregon State to this point.

It also was a big moment for freshmen such as right-handers Sean Sullivan and Sam Stoutenborough, who combined to hold the Beavers (14-4-1, 1-3) to two runs and five hits over 7 1/3 innings Friday.

Stoutenborough (3-3) was credited with the victory after throwing 5 1/3 innings of relief with five strikeouts.

"I thought our guys did an amazing job," Cal head coach Mike Neu said. "Obviously, they're a great team, and this is a tough place to play. Our guys came through with so many big moments in the game."

A leadoff walk to Andrew Vaughn in the fourth jumpstarted Cal's first scoring rally. He moved to second on a sharp comebacker off the bat of Lee and then Flower brought Vaughn around to score with a double to the gap in left-center.

But the Beavers tied it in the bottom half of that inning, and the run scored when Stoutenborough was called for a two-out balk with a runner at third.

Cal put together a two-out rally to command another short-lived lead in the top of the seventh. Sam Wezniak doubled down the right-field line and then came around to score when the left-handed hitting Quentin Selma yanked a double of his own to the right field corner.

Selma, who has come off the bench for much of the season, drew his second start in a row at third base and made a diving back-handed stop and throw across the diamond as part of his night.

Oregon State tied it in the bottom of the seventh when Alex McGarry hit a 3-2 pitch from Stoutenborough for a homer to right and a 2-2 tie.  

But the Bears went up for good in the eighth, and the speed of second baseman Darren Baker was crucial. He beat out an infield single to the right side to start the inning, then tagged up from first and advanced to second on Vaughn's deep fly to center and advanced to third on an error by McGarry, the Beavers' first baseman.

Baker raced home on a wild pitch to break a 2-2 tie. Then it was up to Sabouri, who relieved Stoutenborough with one out in the eighth and gave up a single and walk to load the bases. But the lefty buckled down, striking out Zak Taylor and coaxing a fly out from McGarry to escape that jam.

Then he set Oregon State down in order in the ninth – including a strikeout of potential No. 1 overall draft pick Adley Rutschman -- to seal the victory and get Cal's weekend started in style.