Auburn made the most of three hits and used clutch relief pitching to beat Oregon State 4-3 and win the Corvallis Super Regional at Goss Stadium.
The Tigers claimed the series by taking Monday’s Game 3. Sonny DiChiara hit a two-run homer and four Auburn pitchers forced Oregon State to strand nine runners as the Tigers earned a berth to the College World Series.
More coming on OregonLive about Monday’s series-clincher.
Here is a live updates recap:
Bottom ninth: Oregon State goes down 1-2-3, as Forrester strikes out to end the game. Burkhalter sets down the final eight hitters. Auburn 4, Oregon State 3
Top ninth: Auburn down 1-2-3. Brown sets down six consecutive Tiger hitters. Auburn 4, Oregon State 3
Bottom eighth: OSU down 1-2-3. Burkhalter has set down five straight since entering the game. Auburn 4, Oregon State 3
Top eighth: DiChiara singles to right to lead off the inning. He’s left at first. Auburn 4, Oregon State 3
Bottom seventh: Dernedde hits a leadoff single to left. Boyd launches a two-run homer to left. With one out, Forrester walks. Melton singles to right, moving Forrester to second. Burkhalter takes over on the mound. Bazzana strikes out. With Dukart at the plate, a wild pitch advances the runners to second and third. Dukart strikes out to end the threat. Auburn 4, Oregon State 3
Bottom sixth: OSU set down 1-2-3. Auburn 4, Oregon State 1
Top sixth: Gebby relieves for Hunter after he goes five innings, giving up one hit (a two-run homer). With one out, DiChiara walks. He advances to third when Peirce doubles off the right field fence. Carlson reaches first on an error by Bazzana, DiChiara scores and Peirce goes to third. Moore bunts up the first base line, and Peirce beats the throw home. The bunt moves Carlson to second, with Peirce at first. Two fly outs end the inning. Auburn 4, Oregon State 1
Bottom fifth: With one out, Meckler beats out a grounder for an infield single. Forrester walks to put runners at first and second. Barnett leaves the game after 4 1/3 innings for LHP Skipper, who strikes out Melton and Bazzana to end the inning. Auburn 2, Oregon State 1
Top fifth: Auburn 1-2-3 again. Hunter has set down seven straight. Given up only one hit through five, but it was a costly one, a two-run homer. Auburn 2, Oregon State 1
Bottom fourth: Dukart raps a leadoff single to left. Dukart moves to second on ground out by Logan. Dukart is left at second. Auburn 2, Oregon State 1
Top fourth: Tigers down 1-2-3. Auburn 2, Oregon State 1
Bottom third: With one out, Boyd tripled to center. Meckler grounds out, scores Boyd. Forrester walks with two out, then advances to third on a single by Melton. They’re stranded. Auburn 2, Oregon State 1
Top third: Foster walks with two out. DiChiara hits a two-run homer to left-center. Auburn 2, Oregon State 0
Bottom second: Beavers down 1-2-3. Oregon State 0, Auburn 0
Top second: Howell hit by pitch. He’s left. Oregon State 0, Auburn 0
Bottom first: Boyd leadoff single to center. Boyd out at second on Meckler’s fielder choice grounder, Meckler at first. Brown walked, Meckler to second. They’re left. Oregon State 0, Auburn 0
Top first: With two out, DiChiara hit by pitch, but the runner is stranded. Oregon State 0, Auburn 0
Jaren Hunter will start on the mound for Oregon State. Mason Barnett (3-2, 4.13 ERA) goes for Auburn. The Tigers are the visiting team.
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CORVALLIS — The Oregon State Beavers host the Auburn Tigers Monday in Game 3 of the Corvallis Super Regional at Goss Stadium.
The winner will advance to the College World Series.
The third-seeded Beavers evened the best-of-three series at 1-1 Sunday night, defeating the 14th-seeded Tigers 4-3 in an entertaining elimination game. Beavers ace Cooper Hjerpe pitched through an undisclosed illness to earn the win, striking out six and allowing three runs in 5 2/3 innings. When he departed with two outs in the sixth, a sellout crowd chanted his name and he returned for a memorable curtain call.
The Beavers will turn to Jaren Hunter with the season on the line. The 6-foot-2 right-hander emerged as their midweek starter in March and finished the season with a 2-1 record and 4.01 ERA in 11 starts. Hunter has pitched three times in the postseason — twice in the Pac-12 tournament and once in the regionals — and has not earned a decision, allowing seven earned runs in 9 2/3 innings.
In Hunter’s last start, a do-or-die game against Vanderbilt last Monday, he surrendered two hits and two runs, while striking out five, in 3 1/3 innings. The Beavers won 7-6. Oregon State elected to go with Hunter over weekend starter Jacob Kmatz, a 6-foot-3 freshman who is 8-2 with a 4.19 ERA this season.
The Tigers will start junior right-hander Mason Barnett (3-2, 4.13), who is coming off the best performance of his career. In a game that lifted Auburn to the super regionals, Barnett tossed a one-hit shutout against UCLA, striking out 10 in 5 1/3 innings.
The Beavers are trying to advance to the College World Series for the eighth time in school history and seventh since 2005. They are 29-11 in elimination games in the super regional era — including 5-1 under coach Mitch Canham — and have already won two elimination games this postseason.
Catch up on the Beavers and the series with the links below:
• Cooper Hjerpe curtain call: Oregon State ace returns for ‘special moment’ as Beavers beat Auburn in elimination game
• The Tigers’ dominant bullpen and Hjerpe’s health were the different in Game 1.
• Series preview: Battled-tested Oregon State ready for ‘Bad News’ Auburn Tigers in Corvallis Super Regional
• Wade Meckler’s story is no fairy tale, but it might seem like one
• Jacob Melton overcame injury, self-doubt with help from fly fishing and the Rogue River
• Hjerpe is a bulldog comedian. But make no mistake, he has unfinished business
• More than a mullet: A look at Garret Forrester’s rise into one of the Beavers’ most clutch contributors
• Going ‘up top’: The secret behind Oregon State baseball’s relentless lineup
• Beavers survive collapse and ‘craziest day of baseball,’ beat UCLA Bruins to reach Pac-12 tournament championship
• Beavers show ‘tremendous amount of heart,’ escape Vanderbilt to win Corvallis Regional
Here are details about tonight’s game:
Oregon State Beavers (48-17) vs. Auburn (41-20)
When: 4:30 p.m., PT Monday, June 13
Where: Goss Stadium, Corvallis
TV channel: ESPN2.
How to watch live stream online: You can watch the game live for FREE with fuboTV (free trial) and on Sling (promotional offers). If you have a cable subscription, visit the OSU baseball schedule page and click the “watch” link, then log-in with your provider info. Also, watch the game online by visiting WatchESPN or through the ESPN app on smartphones, tablets, streaming devices and smart televisions. You can also listen live online by accessing the live broadcast tab on the baseball schedule page or via via the Varsity Network application on smartphones and tablets.
Radio: All games air on the Beaver Sports Network starting 30 minutes before the first pitch. Affiliates include: KEJO 1240-AM (Corvallis), KKNX 840-AM (Eugene), KCFM 1250-AM & 104.1-FM (Florence), KLAD 960-AM & 93.3-FM (Klamath Falls), KTMT 880-AM & 96.1-FM (Medford, weekend games), KEX 1190-AM (Portland), 102.3 FM (weekday games prior to 5:30 p.m.), KSKR 1490-AM (Roseburg) and KBZY 1490-AM (Salem, weekend games).
Probable starters: Oregon State RHP Jaren Hunter (2-1, 4.01 ERA vs. Auburn RHP Mason Barnett (3-2, 4.13)
LIVE UPDATES
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
