Oregon State Baseball Downs Northern Illinois To End Trip To Tempe

All told, the Beavers managed four hits off four Northern Illinois pitchers.

Salem-News.com Sports

TEMPE, Ariz. - Jorge Reyes scattered three hits and one run over five innings and Oregon State’s two-run fifth gave the Beavers a 2-1 victory over Northern Illinois Sunday morning at Packard Stadium.

“Jorge had a very good start today,” head coach Pat Casey said. “He started the game off well and we had three other good efforts from our relievers on a day when we didn’t have much offense. You have to give credit to their pitching staff for holding us to two hits.”

Reyes improved to 2-0 this season. The right-hander, making his first start of the season and second appearance overall, improved to 11-6 all-time as a starter. The start Sunday was the 26th of his career.

Overall, Reyes and three Oregon State relievers combined to limit Northern Illinois to just four hits. The Huskies managed three in the first four innings – two came in the fourth – before a lone hit in the ninth off closer Kevin Rhoderick gave them four.

Rhoderick struck out three in the ninth for his second save of the season. He allowed a hit to Dave Reynolds to open the inning, then struck out Justin Behm and Matt Behren before walking Joe Etcheverry. Troy White then walked on a 3-2 count to load the bases with two out. But Rhoderick fought back, striking out the next batter, Alex Jones, to end the game.

Down 1-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, Oregon State put its only two runs of the game on the board. Blake Gibbs started the inning off by getting hit by a pitch. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by John Wallace, where he didn’t stay long. Carter Bell, the next batter, hit a double down the right field line, scoring Gibbs to tie the game.

Northern Illinois starter Chuck Lukanen proceeded to walk the next three batters, John Tommasini, Joey Wong and Adalberto Santos. The walk to Santos brought in Bell from third and served as the winning run.

All told, the Beavers managed four hits off four Northern Illinois pitchers. Wong tripled in the third but was stranded. Santos doubled in the first and Bell’s double in the fifth served as second of three extra-base hits for the Beavers, who improved to 4-2 this season. The Huskies, meanwhile, dropped to 2-6 this season.

Northern Illinois scored the first run of the game off Reyes. Jordin Hood doubled off the first base bag, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a double to left by Matt Behren.

Osich made his first appearance of the season, coming on in relief of Reyes in the sixth inning. He walked one and struck out two in his only inning of work. James Nygren worked two solid innings after replacing Osich. He walked two and did not allow a hit in two innings of work.

Chuck Lukanen took the loss for NIU, dropping to 0-2 this season. He lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and two runs. He struck out five but walked four.

Oregon State returns to Corvallis tonight, then heads to the Palm Springs Tournament Thursday through Sunday. The Beavers’ opponents in Palm Springs include San Francisco, Oklahoma State, UC Riverside and Texas Tech. For tickets to the tournament, which will be held at Palm Springs Stadium, call (760) 778-HITS (4487). All-day passes are $20 while all-tournament passes, good for all 12 games over the four days, are going for $50.

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