CORVALLIS — If you find yourself fretting over the Oregon State baseball team’s late-season slide or concerned about its chase for a Pac-12 regular season championship, the Beavers have a reassuring message:
Don’t worry about it.
After suffering a hard-to-swallow 4-1 defeat to the UCLA Bruins Thursday night in the opener of a crucial three-game series at Goss Stadium, the Beavers nonchalantly shrugged it off.
Sure, it was their first three-game losing streak of the season. Yes, it sent them tumbling into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 standings with two games left. But afterward, the second-ranked Beavers responded with a big old “Oh, well.”
“I know for sure that we’re going to go out there and win two more ball games (Friday) and the next day,” ace left-hander Cooper Hjerpe said. “So that’s all we can focus on and whatever else happens … happens.”
Added coach Mitch Canham: “Our guys are tough man. I’m not concerned how they’re going to respond (Friday). They care. They love this place. They want to win. And so I know they’re going to go out and give their best effort (Friday).
And it will take a far better effort the rest of the series for the Beavers to hang with No. 23 UCLA and hold on to the Pac-12 title. Thursday’s opener was unlike any other game this season for OSU.
The Beavers’ relentless lineup was held in check. Their best-in-the-nation defense committed a costly blunder. Their lights-out bullpen blew up in the ninth.
Things started ominously in the first, when Cody Schrier opened the game by ripping a lead-off double to right-center field. After Justin Boyd chased down the ball at the wall, he bobbled it — twice — as he tried to scoop it up with his barehand, and Schrier easily cruised into for third. Jake Palmer followed with a sacrifice fly to left and UCLA took an early 1-0 lead.
Hjerpe shook off the early trouble and mowed through UCLA’s lineup until one out in the sixth, when the Bruins scored again on another unusual sequence. After Hjerpe beaned No. 3 hitter Michael Curialle, the right fielder stole back-to-back bases, sliding into third safely after catcher Gavin Logan pumped twice because he couldn’t get the ball out of his mitt. Ethan Gourson drove Curialle in with a sacrifice fly to center.
With one hit, two stolen bases, two sacrifice flies and multiple bobbles, the Bruins inexplicably led 2-0.
And considering the Beavers managed a measly three hits all night and went 1 for 14 with runners on base — including 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position – the lead might as well have been 7-0.
Oregon State threatened in the bottom half of the sixth, loading the bases with one out. Logan drove in a run with an RBI groundout, but Bruins starter Max Rajcic escaped the jam one batter later, freezing Greg Fuchs with a backdoor breaking ball to end the threat with a strikeout.
Rajcic, who flummoxed the Beavers all night, celebrated the clutch out by belting out a scream and pumping his fist as he strolled back to the visiting dugout. The 6-foot right-hander allowed one run on just two hits, while striking out eight, over six innings to improve to 8-4.
“He just did a great job of mixing pitches, keeping us on our toes,” Canham said. “And then when he started to wear down a little bit and spray the ball (in the sixth), we just didn’t capitalize on it.”
The Bruins added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth, touching up reliever DJ Carpenter with two hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning. The towering 6-8 right-hander is a key back-of-the-bullpen piece for the Beavers, but he has fizzled down the stretch of the season, allowing at least one run in five consecutive appearances, including eight over the last three.
Thursday’s shaky outing comes one game after Carpenter allowed four runs — including three on a game-changing three-run homer — as he suffered the loss in the rubber match of a brutal defeat at Arizona. After the latest stumble, Canham expressed confidence in the hard-throwing junior, saying the Beavers would continue to lean on him moving forward.
“He’s upset with himself, because he wants to do it for the guys,” Canham said. “It’s not for him. He wants to do it for the guys and make sure that he’s coming in and shutting them down. But he’s also a big piece, and in order for us to go deep in the postseason and win it, we’re going to need him. So (he’ll) keep getting the touches and just keep hammering away at the rock and he’ll break.”
Lost in everything Thursday was another electric start by Hjerpe, who lost despite striking out 10 and allowing one earned run and three hits in six innings. Hjerpe, who fell to 9-2, moved into second place on the Beavers’ single-season strikeout list with 135. He needs 25 strikeouts in the postseason to pass Luke Heimlich (159) for first place.
But it’s the here and now that’s most important to the Beavers. And after a remarkably consistent and successful season — during which they didn’t lose consecutive games — they suddenly find themselves in the midst of a losing streak at the worst possible time.
Oregon State entered the series controlling its destiny for the conference championship. But now, with two games left in the regular season, the Beavers (40-12, 19-9 Pac-12) are tied with Stanford (35-19, 19-9) for first place and UCLA (34-19, 18-10) is lurking just one game back in third place.
“We have to flush it,” Canham said. “Tomorrow’s what’s important right now. It’s going hurt, it’s going cut, because we’ve lost three in a row now. That hasn’t happened all year. So it’s new. But it’s nothing we’re going to get used to.”
Next up: The Beavers and Bruins continue their three-game series Friday at 6:05 p.m. at Goss Stadium.
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
