Masterpiece theater: Segura, Sanford fuel Beavers, Ducks

Eric Segura delivers a pitch to Yale’s Owen Turner during Oregon State’s 9-2 victory Saturday

EUGENE — Eric Segura. Will Sanford. Electric they were, or better yet, lights out.

Segura kept Oregon State’s season alive with a brilliant pitching performance. Sanford’s mound mastery put Oregon in prime position for a Super Regional.

Segura threw a gem, the Beavers bunted Yale to oblivion and then burst the game open with a six-run eighth inning in a 9-2 victory in Saturday’s elimination game of the Eugene Regional at PK Park.

In the nightcap, Sanford won a sterling pitching duel with Washington State’s Luke Meyers en route to a 4-0 win over Washington State, placing the top-seeded Ducks (42-16) a triumph short of playing baseball next weekebounding from Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Wazzu, No. 2 seed Oregon State (44-14) stayed alive and will face the Cougars (31-27) again in a 1 p.m. elimination game. The winner will advance to a 6 p.m. contest against Oregon. If the Ducks win, they advance. If they lose, that would necessitate a Monday rematch for all the marbles.

“A great response after yesterday,” OSU coach Mitch Canham said. “The guys played loose and had a lot of fun, led by outstanding performance by Mr. Segura.”

It was a snazzy showing on a big stage by Segura (6-2), who spent most of the season as the Beavers’ No. 3 starter behind Dax Whitney and Ethan Kleinschmit. On Saturday, he looked the part of staff ace. The 6-2, 215-pound junior right-hander stymied Yale (30-15-1) on three hits and one run, with one walk and a career-high 10 strikeouts through a season-high 6 2/3 innings and 92 pitches, one shy of his career high.

“After I came out, Kleinschmit came running over to me and said, ‘Dude, 10 strikeouts,’ ” Segura said. “I was like, ‘Oh wow.’ I was happy to be able to perform for the team and get the boys a win. I felt like I was pretty prepared today.”

The Bulldogs, it seemed, weren’t prepared for Segura’s masterpiece.

“Everything seemed to be working for him, both sides of the plate, up, down, mid-90s heater that was moving all over the place and getting a lot of soft contact,” Canham said.

Or, just as often, no contact at all. Through six innings, Segura’s figures were sensational: no runs, one hit, one walk, nine K’s on only 80 pitches. The hit was a double by Larsen that bounced off Josh Proctor’s glove near the left-field fence.

“He was dialing up fastballs, dialing up sinkers, whatever he wanted,” said Yale first baseman Davis Hanson. “He was changing speeds well, he was locating and he was dominating for most of the game.”

That changed on the first pitch in the bottom of the seventh when Bulldog left-fielder Garrett Larsen launched a shot over the left-field wall for a home run to cut Oregon State’s lead to 3-1.

“We tip our cap to Oregon State,” Yale coach Brian Hamm said. “(The Beavers) did a really good job of putting us under pressure both offensively and defensively. We never found our rhythm, at the start, anyway.

“But Tate (Evans, the Yale pitcher) weathered the storm, our offense continued to make adjustments and by the middle of the game it was 3-1. We’re in a 3-1 ballgame going to the back half of the game.”

Segura got two more outs, then allowed a double to Chris DiPrima before giving way to Isaac Yeager, Facing the potential tying run at the plate, Yeager struck out Owen Turner to retire the side.

Segura’s masterpiece included a career-high 10 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings

“I wish we could have gotten that momentum going a little bit earlier, but (Segura) was executing his pitches, executing his spots and changing speeds well,” Hanson said. “That’s the name of the game when it comes to pitching. You do those three things, you are going to be successful.”

It was still 3-1 until the top of the eighth, when Oregon State sent 11 batters to the plate, scored six runs and took away any suspense about which team would advance.

The Beavers lashed three doubles and worked five walks against three Yale relievers in the inning. They finished with 15 hits and six walks. Freshmen Ethan Porter and Proctor each had three hits and Easton Talt, Adam Haight and Tyler Inge had two apiece.

Inge had the biggest hit, a two-run double to right-field off Yale reliever Ted Spadaccini that scored the first two runs of the eighth and pushed Oregon State in front 5-1.

“I was up there looking for spin,” Said Inge, who had three RBIs, including a second-inning sacrifice fly. “I know (Spadaccini) throws about 60 percent spin with runners in scoring position. I tried to hit one the other way and do something for the team. Luckily, I got a slider and it worked out.”

The Beavers employed small ball, especially early in the game. They had three bunt singles and three sacrifice bunts, leaving Yale defenders looking confused and out of position more than once.

“I wanted more (bunts), but Gip (third base coach Ryan Gipson) stopped looking at me,” Canham said with a wink, who inferred that Talt and Haight both bunted for basehits on their own accord.

“Ir shouldn’t even be something we give as a sign if the third baseman is back,” the OSU skipper said. “The closer you get the defense drawn in on you, the more openings you have (to hit a ball through). If (defenses) are going to have to play us straight up and respect us and open up more holes for us, then we have to show we are going to do those things and be successful doing them.

“Not saying that is going to be the case every game, but last postseason we had four bunts in one inning. If the opportunities are there, we’ve got to do it. If we don’t, shame on us for not realizing the situation.”

The eighth inning wasn’t kind to Yale in its two Eugene Regional games. Oregon scored eight in the eighth of a 14-2 win on Friday. Then came Saturday’s Beaver onslaught.

Hamm drew a comparison between the two teams.

“Both are incredibly well-coached, highly disciplined, outstanding competitors,” the Yale coach said. “We couldn’t implement some of our offense because their defense and their pitching was so good. The level of discipline, the level of organization and ultimately the level of skill development that both teams had was incredibly impressive.

“I am impressed at so many levels how far both programs are in terms of how far developed both programs are and the way they compete. As a result, the game sped up on us at times a little bit. We are used to being the team that speeds it up on other teams.”

Canham knows the road is still long for the Beavers to make a Super Regional, but he saw the win over Yale as a positive first step.

“We looked like a much different ballclub than how we performed yesterday,” he said. ‘I enjoyed the energy and enthusiasm. The adjustments those guys made from yesterday to today were outstanding on the offensive side.

“Everyone knows we can’t lose at this point or the season ends. I am proud of the way the guys faced that. We kept chipping away until we had the big inning. So more to come.”

Oregon rode the live arm of Sanford, who tamed Washington State hitters through 6 1/3 innings of one-hit, no-run ball. The 6-2, 200-pound sophomore right-hander set career highs with 14 strikeouts and 111 pitches, earning a standing ovation from partisans in the crowd of 4,278 when he departed in the seventh.

Will Sanford’s electric performance against Washington State included 14 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings

“No getting tired with a crowd like that,” Sanford said. “Pure adrenaline. It was great.”

“Early on, he attacked with a fastball,” Wazzu first baseman Gavin Roy said. “Then he did a good job working his other stuff off it. As an offense, we know we need to do better. I am really confident we are going to do that (Sunday).”.

Meyers was nearly as good as Sanford, holding Oregon to five hits and one run with two walks and seven strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. The Ducks’ lead was still 1-0 when redshirt freshman Naulivou Lauaki Jr. stepped to the plate in the ninth against reliever Scott Rianguette. Oregon’s 6-5, 265-pound designated hitter swatted the first pitch he saw over the fence in right-center for a three-run homer that meant curtains for the Cougars.

Sanford and relievers Tanner Bradley and Devin Bell held Wazzu to two hits with 19 strikeouts.

“What a pitching performance by all three guys,” Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski said. “Will had five straight strikeouts to start the game and another streak of six. Really remarkable.”

Said Sanford: “We have one of the best staffs in the country. Every time someone comes in, there’s no doubt they’re going to get the job done.”

Washington State has totaled seven hits with 35 strikeouts in its games against here Oregon State and Oregon. The Cougars are scrappy and competitive, though, and gave the Ducks all they could handle.

“There are things worse in life than losing without regret,” Wazzu coach Nathan Choate said. “We didn’t lose. (The Ducks) just played better baseball.

“We just gotta flush (the loss). Not the first time we have had a painful loss. Every time, our guys have responded. We just have to win the first game tomorrow.”

The Cougars will likely send Griffin Smith to the mound against Oregon State. The 6-2, 200-pound senior right-hander, 5-4 with a 6.08 ERA in 15 starts, has lasted a collective four innings in his last two outings, yielding eight hits and nine earned runs.

The Beavers will counter with Trey Morris, the 6-2, 250-pound freshman left-hander who is 6-0 with a 2.08 ERA. And they should have a full complement of their relief corps available.

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