PULLMAN, Wash. – Dylan Davis retired Taylor Ard with the tying runs on base in the bottom of the ninth to preserve Oregon State's 7-5 victory over Washington State, Sunday.
The win for the 20th-ranked Beavers (35-18, 15-12 Pac-12) came in the rubber match-up of the three-game Pac-12 series with the Cougars (26-26, 11-16 Pac-12).
"I liked the way we played the last-two days," Cougar Head Coach Donnie Marbut said. "We showed a lot of fight. We need to carry that over into our game with Gonzaga and our series with Washington."
The Beavers scored four runs in the third to take a 4-0 lead against Washington State starter Kyle Swannack (3-6). In the fourth, the Cougars sliced their deficit to 4-2 against Dan Child (6-3).
Taylor Ard led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on an opposite-field double by Derek Jones. Adam Nelubowich and Tommy Richards followed with back-to-back sacrifice flies.
Oregon State tacked on two runs in the fifth as Swannack left after 4 1/3 innings. In the bottom of the frame, Collin Slaybaugh's RBI-triple made the score 6-3.
The Beavers added an unearned run in the sixth and the Cougars responded with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Jason Monda walked with one out and Ian Sagdal doubled. Kyle Johnson drove in Monda with a sacrifice fly.
In the ninth, Patrick Claussen led off with a single. Matt Boyd came out of the bullpen and pinch hitter Ty Jackson flied out. With a 2-1 count on pinch hitter P.J. Jones, Cole Brocker entered in relief and completed the walk to put runners at first and second. A force out off the bat of Johnson put runners at first and third with two outs. Boyd, who had moved to first base, came back to the mound and gave up an RBI-single to Slaybaugh. Davis relieved Boyd and won the battle with Ard for his first save of the season.
GAME NOTES
Kellen Camus made his 26th appearance on the mound to tie for ninth on the Cougar single-season list…Derek Jones was 3-for-3 with a double to raise his career total bases to 407, third-best in Washington State history…Cougars host Gonzaga at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday to wrap up their home schedule.
