Oregon State Loses Game Two In Phoenix

PHOENIX – Troy Claunch tied a career-high with three hits and Andy Armstrong, Matthew Gretler and Wade Meckler all homered but Oregon State lost to Arizona State, 11-5, Saturday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
 
Gretler and Meckler hit back-to-back two-out home runs in the ninth but Oregon State's rally came up just short.
 
Claunch singled in the second, fourth and sixth innings to tie a career-high previously reached five times, most recently April 16 of this season versus California. In doing so, he extended his hit streak to nine games, where he is 13-for-33.
 
Armstrong belted his solo home run to lead off the sixth inning, making it a 9-2 game. It marked his third home run of the season.
 
The home run came as the Beavers' (31-17 overall, 13-10 Pac-12 Conference) second run of the game, following an RBI single from Claunch in the fourth. Joe Casey led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a balk, enabling him to score on Claunch's single up the middle.
 
Gretler drove a two-run blast in the ninth for his second home run of the season. Meckler followed that with a solo shot, his fourth home run of the season.
 
Arizona State (30-15, 14-9) hit four home runs in three innings off Oregon State starter Cooper Hjerpe, who allowed six hits and seven runs in his 13th start of the season. He took the loss to drop to 2-5 on the year.
 
Arizona State's Justin Fall went 7 1/3 innings to earn his seventh win of the season. The lefty held the Beavers to nine hits and two runs while walking two and striking out one.
 
The Sun Devils hit five home runs in their win.
 
Next Up
Oregon State and Arizona State conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon with a 12:35 p.m. PT first pitch at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
 
Follow The Series
The series with the Sun Devils will have a live stream provided by Arizona State; visit osubeavers.com for the live video direct link. Live stats, info on the Beaver Sports Network and TuneIn and more can also be found by visiting osubeavers.com.
 
Notables
- Justin Boyd made his first career start in the outfield. He started in left and batted in the eighth spot of the lineup.
- Boyd is the fourth Beaver to start in left this season, joining Joe Casey, Micah McDowell and Wade Meckler.
- Boyd recorded his first career outfield assist in the sixth. He dove for a fly ball and threw out an ASU runner at first for an inning-ending double play.
- Kyle Froemke started at the designated hitter spot for the third time this season.
- Meckler batted in the leadoff spot for the fourth consecutive game and for the 10th time in the last 11 games.
- Troy Claunch extended his hit streak to nine games with a single in the second. His streak is now tied for the second-longest by a Beaver this season. He is one game shy of tying Andy Armstrong for the longest by a Beaver this season.
- Meckler also extended his hit streak to five games with a leadoff single in the first. That ties for his longest hit streak of the season.
- Claunch tallied his 12th multi-hit game of the season.
- Andy Armstrong's sixth-inning home run marked his first since March 21 versus Washington State.
- Bryant Salgado threw a season-long 2 2/3 innings in relief. He did not allow a hit, issued one walk and struck out three.
 
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