Huskies Unable To Find Spark In Loss To Beavers

CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Huskies took the field today looking to bounce back from a tough one-run loss to Oregon State in the opening game of the series. The Beavers had other ideas however, scoring three runs before their first out of the game. Pitching soon found success however, giving up just one run over the next five innings. The Huskies struggled at the plate with just three hits though, and the Beavers eventually pulled away for the win.

BOTTOM OF 1
RHP Calvin Kirchoff got the start on the mound today, but struggled early. A leadoff double, a walk, and a hit by pitch, loaded the bases. A single up the middle followed plating two for the Beavers. With two on, another hit batter loaded the bases once again. The next batter took advantage of the opportunity singling to right field for another RBI. Down 3-0 with the bases loaded and still no outs, Kirchoff dug deep, found his groove, and struck out the next three batters on swinging strikes.

BOTTOM OF 2
The Beavers led off with a ground rule double to right center. A ground out to Will Simpson at first moved the runner over to third. A full count walk followed putting runners on the corners.  The runner at first stole prompting a throw down from catcher Johnny Tincher, but it got by into center field scoring another OSU run.

Kirchoff held Oregon State scoreless for the next inning and two-thirds. RHP Jack Enger came in at that point in the fourth and ended things with a strikeout. He served up 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth as well to keep the game within reach. Beaver pitching was solid as well though, as they maintained a 4-0 lead through the seventh.

BOTTOM OF 7
Enger struck out the leadoff batter, but a pair of walks brought a call to the bullpen. RHP Ryan Velazquez came in and struck out the first batter he faced. He was unable to escape the inning though as the next batter placed a hit down the right field line scoring both baserunners.  The throw from Colby Morales in right was perfectly relayed through Jarred Mazzaferro at second to Michael Snyder at third to get the batter out as he tried to stretch a double into a triple.

BOTTOM OF 8
A ground out to third base started things off, but a double to right center led to another call to the bullpen.  LHP Bryce Armstrong took the mound and delivered a fly out to center field. The next batter swung at Armstrong's first offering and sent it over the right field fence for a two-run home run and an 8-0 OSU lead. The next batter went down on strikes, but the Huskies were unable to break through offensively in the ninth and that's where the score remained.

Calvin Kirchoff took the loss moving to 2-2 on the season. He went 3.2 innings giving up 4 earned runs on 7 hits with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts.

The Huskies meet OSU for the final game of the series tomorrow at 1:05 p.m.