The Oregon State baseball team’s midweek tuneup featured a little speed, another victory and a record-setting performance by Travis Bazzana.
Bazzana swiped a school-record five stolen bases and the No. 21 Beavers easily dismissed the Seattle Redhawks 8-2 Tuesday night at Goss Stadium, extending their winning streak to seven games.
Oregon State (25-11), which has won 13 of the last 16 games overall, is one victory shy of equaling its season-long winning streak. And Bazzana is a massive reason why.
The sophomore second baseman opened the first inning with a walk and then took over the game, stealing second base, stealing third base and scoring the Beavers’ first run on a Mason Guerra single to right-center field. The jaw-dropping inning was only the beginning for the reigning First Team all-Pac-12 performer.
Bazzana added stolen bases in the third, sixth and eighth innings, breaking the record previously held by Steve Lyons (1979) and David Anderson (1991). Bazzana also added two hits and tied his career-high with four runs scored, continuing his strong recent play.
The 6-foot Australian is 7 for 15 with 10 runs scored, nine stolen bases and four walks over the last four games, during which he has helped the Beavers sweep the USC Trojans and beat the Redhawks. Over the last five games, the OSU leadoff hitter has 11 stolen bases, a prolific run that has pushed him into second place in the Pac-12 with 18 steals.
As Bazzana was circling the bases Tuesday, a plethora of teammates took turns driving him in. Guerra went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, a run scored and walk, Garret Forrester and Ruben Cedillo had two-run singles, Tanner Smith had an RBI double and Micah McDowell added an RBI single.
All the while, the Beavers’ pitching staff, which entered the game ranked second in the nation in ERA (3.14) and fourth in WHIP (1.18), continued its strong play, as six hurlers combined to record nine strikeouts and allow just two earned runs. Rhett Larson (2-1) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win.
Kian Hogan (0-6) took the loss for the Redhawks (11-22), allowing four runs on six hits in 2 2/3 innings.
In the end, it was a businesslike win for the Beavers ahead of an important weekend series against the No. 19 Arizona State Sun Devils. Oregon State opens a three-game series against the Pac-12 leaders Friday in Phoenix.
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.