CORVALLIS — It was in the seventh inning of a sloppy, error-filled slugfest at Goss Stadium when Oregon State’s Rich Dorman turned to Mitch Canham in the Beavers’ dugout and suggested they look on the bright side.
“We haven’t had a walk-off yet,” OSU’s pitching coach told the team’s head coach. “I think we need to get one of those so we can see what it feels like to have that kind of moment.”
Two innings later, Dorman’s wish was granted.
Dallas Macias drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth inning to deliver the seventh-ranked Beavers an ugly 12-11 victory over the UCLA Bruins Saturday night before 4,032 in Corvallis.
The win not only clinched a series victory, but also moved the seventh-ranked Beavers (38-12, 16-9 Pac-12) into second place in the Pac-12 standings, 1 1/2 games behind first-place Arizona ( 31-18, 18-8) with four games left in the regular season.
It was not a game the College Baseball Hall of Fame will archive and unveil to future generations of fans as an illustration of the beauty and purity of the sport. It featured 32 hits, six errors, four hit batters, 21 runners left on base, six lead changes and scoring in eight of nine innings. And it lasted three hours, forty minutes.
But after surviving the marathon matchup, no one in the home white uniforms was complaining.
“Not the prettiest,” OSU sophomore outfielder Gavin Turley said. “But a win’s a win. That’s all that matters, honestly. A series win is huge. It was an emotional day… but, honestly, in the end, I couldn’t care less. We won the ballgame. “That’s what I’m here to do.”
The Bruins chased OSU starter Jacob Kmatz in top of the third, when they scored five runs to take a 6-1 lead. The inning was fueled by a pair of Oregon State errors, a run-scoring wild pitch, and a Roch Cholowsky wind-aided grand slam that — on most nights — would have been a harmless fly out. When it was all said and done, the Beavers were not only staring at a five-run deficit, but also had to listen to an earful from a spitting-mad Canham.
“I kind of lost it a little bit in the dugout after we went out there and didn’t have Kmatz’s back” Canham said. “It was extremely unfortunate. We’re kicking the ball around and he had to make a quick exit from the game, and we can’t ever let that happen. So that was a bit of the message. “I think they saw that I was upset.”
The Beavers responded by scoring seven runs in the bottom half of the inning, as Turley ripped a two-run single, Brady Kasper crushed a three-run home run and Jabin Trosky hit a solo shot, helping the Beavers retake the lead, 8- 6.
The teams saw each other back-and-forth the rest of the night, scoring runs in every inning but the fourth.
The tide finally seemed to turn in the Beavers’ favor for good in the eighth, when Turley destroyed a 1-1 fastball 436 feet into the trees in left field, giving OSU at 11-10 lead.
But closer Bridger Holmes couldn’t preserve the edge in the ninth, giving up two singles and plunking a pair of UCLA batters. The second came with two outs and the bases loaded, tying the game 11-11.
The letdown didn’t last long. In the bottom half of the inning, the Beavers finally put the Bruins (16-32, 6-20) away.
Easton Talt started the rally with a leadoff pinch-hit single and, two pitches later, Wilson Weber was hit on the shoulder. Trosky followed with a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third. UCLA intentionally walked Travis Bazzana — who earlier in the game made more history — and Macias stepped to the plate with the bases loaded against reliever Rashad Ruff.
Macias worked to a 3-1 count, then battled through a nine-pitch at-bat — fouling off three consecutive pitches along the way — before finally watching a high-and-tight fastball sail past him for ball four.
It sent Talt home with the game-winning run and an army of white uniforms barreling out of the third base dugout. They chased Macias all the way into right field and the sophomore outfielder was mobbed and doused with two buckets of ice-cold liquid.
Long after the celebration ended, as Macias made his way to the clubhouse, he was soaked in Gatorade, water and sweat—and beaming from ear to ear.
“It’s sticky — very sticky,” he said, laughing. “But it’s pretty fun… pretty awesome. The feeling of just laughter and joy with the guys. “It’s pretty cool.”
One of the liquid baths came courtesy of Turley, who sprinted full-speed with a Gatorade bucket from the dugout all the way to the outfield. After performing similar feats last season during walk-off victories, the Beavers’ sophomore slugger was prepared.
“I had the bucket ready at the top of the bottom of the ninth,” Turley said, smiling. “I knew the feeling of we’re going to win this ballgame.”
Holmes (3-3) blew the save, but earned the win, striking out two 1 1/3 innings. But it was the Beavers’ resurgent offense that saved the day.
Oregon State finished with 14 hits, including five home runs, as nine different Beavers recorded a hit. Kasper went 2 for 4 with two homers and four RBIs, Weber finished 2 for 3 with one homer, two RBIs and three runs scored, and Turley went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Bazzana added two hits, including an infield single in the third inning that gave him 238 for his career — tying Darwin Barney for the most in Oregon State history.
In the end, the Beavers overcame a sloppy Saturday to win for the eighth time in 11 games — and give Dorman the joy of a walk-off win.
“It goes to show that our lineup is never down no matter how down it can seem,” Turley said. “If our hitters are fired up, it’s a dangerous spot to be in as a pitcher. You can’t make any mistakes, especially back-to-back mistakes. Momentum will be ours.”
Next up: The Beavers and Bruins play the finale of their three-game series Sunday at 12:05 at Goss Stadium.
—Joe Freeman | [email protected] | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
