Beavers take it to final strike before searing Seminoles
Jacob Krieg’s two-out, two-strike single in the bottom of the ninth scored a pair of runs to tie the game and send it into extra innings
CORVALLIS — As the ninth inning of the opener of Friday’s best-of-three Corvallis Super Regional began, ESPN flashed a graphic:
When leading after eight innings this season, Florida State is 31-0.
When trailing after eight innings, Oregon State 0-12.
Gulp.
“Three huge plays that won’t get enough recognition.”
With Florida State leading 4-1, Oregon State’s odds of winning were like, well, those of the Indiana Pacers coming back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the opener of the NBA Finals.
Slim, but as it turns out, not impossible.
One of OSU coach Mitch Canham’s mantras is, “You never give up. It is unacceptable to ever do that.”
The Beavers didn’t. They scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings, then notched the game-winner in the 10th of an improbable 5-4 victory that put them within a win of a berth in the College World Series.
“Down a few runs in the ninth? This is the way it is supposed to be,” Canham said after one of the great comebacks in Oregon State baseball history. “This is where we get to inspire and continue to have opportunities to inspire. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I think Canham’s nose grew a little longer on that one. A win by the score of 20-3 or 14-1 or 9-0 — tallies in victories over Saint Mary’s and Southern Cal at last week’s Corvallis Regional — would have been easier on the blood pressure of a sixth-year coach trying to make the CWS for the first time.
But a win like this one was exhilarating, not only for the coach, his staff and his players but also for the Beaver fans among the 4,378 in attendance and the many thousands of denizens of Beaver Nation who were watching the game on television.
“I don’t know how anyone can go to sleep after that,” Canham said.
Florida State coach Link Jarrett may not have after Friday’s loss, which was heartbreaking for the No. 9 seed Seminoles (41-15).
“That was awful,” Jarrett told the media. “It doesn’t get much worse than that.”
The Seminoles had the Beavers (46-13-1) on the ropes when they took their final turn to bat in the bottom of the ninth. But the fans hadn’t given up — more on that in a minute — and the Beavers hadn’t, either.
“If you look around in the dugout when we have our backs to the wall, we tend to be a little psycho in there,” said second baseman AJ Singer, one of the day’s heroes. “But we’re all having fun.”
AJ Singer’s base hit scored Gavin Turley with the winning run in the 10th inning
Catcher Wilson Weber — can’t say enough about that young man — ripped a shot to left center that Florida State left-fielder Chase Williams misplayed into a double. Trent Caraway struck out, Singer grounded out, and the Beavers were down to their final out.
Canham and assistant coach Ryan Gipson convened to talk strategy. Facing Florida State right-hander Joe Charles, they called on left-handed-hitting reserve catcher Bryce Hubbard — 4 for 19 this season, but with nine walks — to pinch-hit for Tyce Peterson. Hubbard walked. They brought lefty-hitting Dallas Macias — with a .154 batting average — to pinch-hit for Canon Reeder. Macias ripped a single to right field, loading the bases.
That brought up Jacob Krieg, the 6-5, 240-pound first baseman who has had his travails at the plate this season, with 13 home runs but also a team-high 74 strikeouts and a .240 average.
“I look over at Hubbard and go, ‘That guy’s going to get on base,’ ” Canham said. ‘I look at Macias and go, ‘He is going to get on base, too. Actually, I thought he was going to hit a home run. Every time that guy is up there, I think he is going to put it either off Dutch Brothers (sign) or off Finley (Hall).
“Then I look at the big guy. This is a huge moment and he is going to handle it like a man.”
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On the first pitch to Krieg, Charles threw a wild pitch. Wilson scored to make it 4-2 and Hubbard and Macias moved into scoring position at second and third.
Krieg got down 1-2. At 2-2, he stepped out of the box, knowing he was down to his final strike.
“I took a deep breath and listened to the crowd and realized it was bigger than myself,” he said. “I really wanted to do it for the boys. I was trying to battle. I got a slider I could handle and I just put a swing on it.”
Krieg smacked Charles’ pitch into left field, knocking in Hubbard and Macias to tie the count at 4-4 as jubilant fans brought down the house with noise.
Easton Talt nearly ended it there, but his high flyball was caught at the warning track in right field, and it was on to the 10th.
“Three outs on the base paths. It adds up. When you are in this situation, everything matters.”
Kellan Oakes came on to pitch a scoreless top of the 10th. In the bottom half of the frame, Aiva Arquette led off with a smash down the left-field line that Williams again misplayed into a double. Gavin Turley followed with an infield single that put runners at the corners. The Seminoles intentionally walked Weber to load the bases with no outs.
Caraway’s check swing caught the ball, which bounced a few feet in front of home. FSU catcher Hunter Carns stepped on the plate to force out Arquette.
That brought up Singer, who had doubled to left in the seventh.
“TC (Caraway) always gets the job done, and he didn’t,” Singer said. “We made eye contact, and we both pounded our chests, like we got each other.
“The outfield was moved in a little bit. I was looking to drive the ball over their heads or right at them. Sac fly got the job done, or a hit got the job done.”
Singer drove a pitch over the head of centerfielder Max Williams — it was ruled a single, but it would have been extra bases — to score Turley with the winning run and create a mob scene in right field. As teammates rushed out to greet him, Singer had one quick thought.
“Please don’t get hurt,” he said with a smile. “I lost a shoe, a helmet, an elbow guard. I don’t know how they came off me, but they were all on the ground.
“But I wanted to celebrate that moment with them. It was a team win and wasn’t just one thing.”
Singer was asked if he had ever had a game-winning hit before.
“Probably, but nothing off the top of my head,” he said. “This one is definitely No. 1 in my books.”
It was a bitter blow for the Seminoles, who surely had already mentally bagged a victory.
“Sporadic offensive stuff for both teams, but they stacked some things late to come out on top,” Jarrett said. “You have to finish games and you have to finish pitches. They are a good team, and they earned the win.”
Oregon State totaled 13 hits, but only seven of them were off Florida State starter Joey Volini, and three of those were bunts. The 6-4, 245-pound junior left-hander had the Beavers off-balance through most of his 6 2/3 innings, with no walks, eight strikeouts and only one run. He threw curveballs on probably about 80 percent of his 104 pitches.
“Joey was on it,” Jarrett said. “The big breaking ball, he had that all day.”
Oregon State’s Dax Whitney was up to the challenge, too. The 6-5, 210-pound freshman right-hander allowed only four hits and a run with 10 strikeouts. But with three walks and a number of full counts, Whitney was pulled after 4 2/3 innings and 97 pitches.
“He has four above-average pitches,” Jarrett said. “We were trying to make sure we were prepared for the fastball, and try to figure out if he was landing the other pitches. I was disappointed in the number of strikeouts, but it did get him out of there a little early.”
At the Regional a week earlier, Whitney had gone six innings and 104 pitches in a 7-2 elimination-game win over TCU, allowing four hits and two runs with one walk and 12 strikeouts.
“For a true freshman to start that game and back up the performance he had last week is extremely impressive,” Canham said. (The Seminoles) have a really good offense. They have guys who can run, who can put it in play, and they have a lot of power as well.”
The Seminoles made three outs on the base paths that cost them, all on big defensive plays by the Beavers.
In the second, they scored a run but missed on a second one when James Hankerson was gunned down at home trying to score on a double by Carns. Reminiscent of a play against Southern Cal last weekend, centerfielder Canon Reeder grabbed the ball off the right-field wall and fired it to Arquette, who drilled it to Weber ahead of a sliding Hankerson.
In the seventh, Max Williams singled but was picked off by Weber when he ventured too far off first base.
In the eighth, FSU scored another run, but Chase Williams was nailed on a throw by Talt trying to go from first to third on a single to right.
Each of those put-outs ended an inning.
Canham: “Three huge plays that won’t get enough recognition.”
Jarrett: “Three outs on the base paths. It adds up. When you are in this situation, everything matters.”
The Beavers also got an assist from the home crowd that seemed to eat up every pitch. I have been covering OSU baseball for a quarter-century. Since the 2005 season, when the Beavers went to the CWS for the first time, the fans have been raucous with their support.
Over the last two weekends, though, I think it reached an unprecedented crescendo. Even when the local nine was down three runs in the ninth, the fans were rocking and rolling, staying with it to the final pitch.
Why? Several possible reasons come to mind. The disintegration of the Pac-12 and how it left Oregon State out in the cold. The independent status this season, which took its toll with a plethora of road games. Also, gratitude toward Canham and his players, who stayed rather than bolted for NIL payouts elsewhere.
Mitch Canham is confident going into Saturday’s Game 2: “More often than not, these guys find ways to get the job done.”
“Goss has been absolutely electric,” Canham said. “Last weekend, and today as well. Our guys feed off of it.”
Canham appreciates the way his players came through when the situation grew dire,
“Everything from this game this season has been a part of the same theme, what people perceive as hardship,” he said. “But I look up and down the dugout, there is excitement and (readiness) for that moment. Not fear, not an ounce of being timid. I felt that through the entirety of the dugout.”
Singer reflected back to the way the Beavers responded to their 6-4 loss to Saint Mary’s in the Regional opener. They won four elimination games to advance and did it with ease.
“We have handled some adversity all through the year,” Singer said. “Mitch gave us a blueprint at the beginning of the season to lead us to success. We all bought in.
“When we lost that first game (of the Regional), it wasn’t really a big deal to us. Then it was win or go home. That was a reality check for us. We decided to go out there and play the ball we’ve been taught all year.”
The Seminoles might be suffering from a case of PTSD after experiencing Friday’s shocking defeat. But they are a veteran team that won a pair of games in the College World Series a year ago. The Seminoles saved their ace — junior left-hander Jamie Arnold, a potential top-five pick in this year’s MLB draft — to face Oregon State’s sophomore southpaw, Ethan Kleinschmit in Saturday’s 6 p.m. Game 2.
For the Seminoles, Saturday is a must-win game, or the season is over.
“These guys will regroup,” Jarrett said. “They need to feel this (loss) a little bit. They are not shaking this off right now, and you should not. There were enough good things that happened, but also enough negative things that took away from our chances to have more of a lead or snuff it out. You need to think on it and reflect and learn.
“This is a tough learning situation, but it has to become that. You can’t repeat those things. On this stage and this moment, everything needs to click to get all 27 outs. Every one of them is an accumulation of how you execute. Although it felt like we were in position (to win), we came out on the downside of the execution war.”
For the Beavers, a victory Saturday writes a ticket to Omaha.
“Still a lot of work to do,” Canham said. “But more often than not, these guys find ways to get the job done. They are confident, and their faith is so strong.”
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