Oregon State baseball wins Saturday doubleheader to sweep Arizona

Oregon State Beavers baseball vs. West Virginia

Bryce Fehmel is now 32-5 in his career at Oregon State after notching a win against Arizona on Saturday at Goss Stadium. Sean Meagher/Staff

CORVALLIS — Doubleheaders begat by Mother Nature have been an enjoyable experience for the Oregon State baseball team.

The Beavers swept a twin bill with Nebraska back in February and took a pair from Utah two weeks ago at Goss Stadium. Saturday was more of the same as No. 5 Oregon State notched another doubleheader sweep to close out its Pac-12 series with Arizona.

By scores of 15-3 and 9-3, Oregon State improved to 28-8-1 overall and 14-4 in conference play.

“We know it’s a long day and we’ve got to start out hot,” Beavers freshman infielder Jake Dukart said of the doubleheaders. “But once that first game ends, it’s like a new life for the other team. We just have to start off where we left off earlier and continue to put them down.”

Oregon State came back late to defeat Arizona (18-19, 6-12) Thursday night in the series opener. Friday’s game was pushed back a day due to inclement weather.

Before a combined attendance of 7,721, the Beavers had 13 hits in each leg Saturday. The finale drew 3,931 fans, the largest regular-season crowd in Goss Stadium history.

Dukart, a Lake Oswego High School graduate, went 5 for 7 on the day with two walks, two RBIs and a run scored. Eleven different Beavers recorded at least one hit.

“I kept telling people to please be patient with our offense,” Oregon State interim head coach Pat Bailey said. “We just have guys that had to get Division I at-bats. The hitting’s getting better every week.”

Bailey also praised the team’s defense against a talented Arizona lineup that entered Saturday with a batting average of .307, the second-best mark in the Pac-12. Oregon State didn’t have an error during the series and committed just two — both on pick-off attempts — last week at Arizona State.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Beavers starter Bryce Fehmel, who pitched Saturday’s opener. “I feel like with the guys I’ve had behind me all my years here, it just gets better and better. … That’s a huge part of our game as a team.”

Fehmel (6-0) retired the final 15 Wildcats he faced and gave up just three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in seven strong innings. A Matthew Dyer first-inning solo shot was the lone run surrendered by Fehmel, now 32-5 overall in his Oregon State career.

The senior right-hander is four wins shy of tying Ben Wetzler (2011-14) and Luke Heimlich (2015-18) for the most wins in school history.

“He’s awesome,” Dukart said of Fehmel. “It’s the same old (Fehmel) every single time, there’s nothing to worry about. Pounds strikes and gets guys out.”

In three career starts against Arizona, Fehmel is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in 21 2/3 innings.

Dyer provided Arizona’s lone highlight of the opener by taking Fehmel deep to left field. Things rapidly deteriorated from there for the visitors.

Oregon State knocked around Wildcats starter Quinn Flanagan for six runs in the third and two in the fourth, chasing the freshman righty. Ryan Ober and Dukart plated two apiece during the early onslaught.

Joe Casey led the Beavers’ Game 1 attack by going 3 for 4 with two doubles and three runs scored. Dukart and Kyler McMahan added two hits apiece while Alex McGarry and Ober joined Dukart with two RBIs.

Oregon State drew a season-high 12 walks and benefited from five wild pitches.

The nightcap followed a similar formula with Arizona grabbing a 1-0 first-inning lead. The Beavers got to work in the home half, tying the score on a Troy Claunch infield RBI single. Elliot Willy followed with a blooper into shallow center that brought home two more for a 3-1 advantage.

Adley Rutschman made it a three-run game one inning later with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in dead center. Preston Jones’ second homer of the year — a no-doubter over the bullpen in left — put Oregon State up 5-2 in the fourth.

Arizona launched a major threat in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs against reliever Dylan Pearce. Jake Mulholland took over and slammed the door with a strikeout, infield popup and fly out to left.

Bailey thought Mulholland’s sixth-inning performance was the biggest moment of the day.

“I heard them say (over the public address) the player of the game was one of our position players, but I said to (pitching coach Nate) Yeskie the player of the game for me was Jake Mulholland,” Bailey said.

Riding the momentum from Mulholland’s escape act, the Beavers tacked on three insurance runs in the home half to put it away. Rutschman ripped an RBI double — his 200th career hit — while Ober and Willy both stroked run-scoring singles.

Jones, Willy and Jake Harvey all had two hits in the finale. Dukart tallied three.

Rutschman finished the day 2 for 5 with four walks, four RBIs and four runs scored.

Grant Gambrell (3-1) allowed three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in five innings to get the win. Mulholland pitched three hitless innings of relief.

With four conference series remaining, Oregon State trails Stanford (27-6, 13-2) by a half game in the standings. The second-ranked Cardinal swept Oregon at PK Park this week by a combined score of 35-9.

No. 1 UCLA (30-7, 11-4) and No. 14 Arizona State (30-8, 12-6) are right behind the Beavers and Cardinal.

— Bob Lundeberg for The Oregonian/OregonLive

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