Oregon State Edged In Super Regional Opener

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Garret Forrester hit a three-run home run in a four-run first inning but Oregon State was unable to hold on to an early lead in a 7-5 loss to Auburn Saturday night at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.
 
With the Auburn improved to 41-19 overall and is 1-0 in the best two-of-three Corvallis Super Regionals. OSU dropped to 47-17 on the year.
 
Forrester put the Beavers up early, 3-2, via his ninth home run of the season after Oregon State put its first batters of the game on base. Later in the inning, Kyle Dernedde walked with the bases loaded for the Beavers' fourth run of the frame.
 
Auburn, however, evened the score with two in the second, then took the lead on a solo home run in the third. The Tigers added one run in both the fifth and eighth runs.
 
Oregon State attempted a late comeback in the ninth, with Jacob Melton driving him his 82nd RBI of the year on a two-out double. The Tigers, however, were able to end the game on a strikeout.
 
Neither starter worked long. Jake Pfennigs started for the Beavers, working 2 2/3 innings. He gave up four hits and five runs to take the loss, dropping to 4-1. His counterpart, Trace Bright, pitched to nine batters in the first before Auburn went to the bullpen. He did not figure in the decision; the win went to reliever Tommy Sheehan, who allowed just two hits in 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He is now 2-0.
 
Travis Bazzana had two hits for the Beavers, who recorded seven overall.
 
Next Up
Oregon State and Auburn continue the super regional Sunday night at 7 p.m. PT. It will also air on ESPN2.
 
Oregon State Notes
- Jacob Melton set the OSU single-season record with 169 total bases. He doubled home a run in the ninth that pushed him past Trevor Larnach (2018). The RBI was the 82nd of the year for Melton, who now trails single-season leader Adley Rutschman (2018) by just one.
- The hit was also the 91st of the year for Melton, equaling Steven Kwan (2018) and Wade Meckler (2022) for third-most at Oregon State.
- Oregon State scored its four first-inning runs on 51 pitches. The Beavers tallied a home run, two doubles and three walks. OSU chased Auburn starter Trace Bright after 47 pitches and nine batters faced.
- The Beavers have now scored 76 first-inning runs this season, while opponents have scored 30.
- The 4,112 in attendance marked the third-largest crowd in Goss Stadium history. It trails just two attendance figures from this season, 4,128 versus UCLA (May 20) and 4,275 versus UCLA (May 21).
- Oregon State's pitching staff set the program's single-season record for strikeouts for a second consecutive year. The Beavers have 614, eclipsing the 2021 team's 611.
- Garret Forrester's home run gave him 60 runs batted in on the year. That's just one shy of tying Mike Lissman (2007) and Dylan Davis (2013) for ninth-most in a single-season at OSU.
- Justin Boyd extended his hit streak to 11 games with a ninth-inning single. He has 23 hits during the streak.
 
Follow Us On Social
For more information on the Oregon State baseball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverBaseball, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateBaseball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverBaseball.

OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).