Close but no cigar for Beavers, who fall short of CWS dream: ‘Not where we want to be right now’
Justin Boyd went out in style with a single, triple and home run, but Oregon State fell short of its College World Series goal by losing to Auburn 4-3 in Monday’s deciding game of the Corvallis Super Regional (Scobel Wiggins/OSU athletics)
CORVALLIS — There will be no trip to Omaha. No opportunity for a dogpile at Charles Schwab Field.
Oregon State’s College World Series dreams were erased Monday at Goss Stadium, a 4-3 loss to Auburn bringing a disappointing end to a memorable season.
After winning Monday’s rubber match of the best-of-three Corvallis Super Regional, the Tigers (42-20) will meet Ole Miss in a first-round game at Omaha on Saturday, not Oregon State. The Beavers (48-18) will be watching wistfully on TV.
“Not where we want to be right now,” OSU redshirt sophomore right-fielder Justin Boyd said after the final game of his outstanding college career. “Everyone wants to be in Omaha.”
Oregon State, a fixture in the top 10 all season, rose as high as the No. 1 ranking for a few weeks late in the season and entered the NCAA Tournament as the nation’s No. 3 seed. After surviving the Corvallis Regional, the Beavers went head to head with an underrated Auburn team — the No. 14 seed — that thirsted every bit as much for a CWS berth.
The question was whether the OSU pitching staff could cool an Auburn offense that totaled 51 runs in sweeping three games in its own Regional. The Tigers managed just 14 runs in the three games in Corvallis and won Monday’s game despite getting only three hits.
“We knew coming in here this would be a tall order,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “Last week, we played special offense at home. This week, it was about being competitive — competing for pitches. Our pitching staff was amazing. And we advanced to Omaha by getting three hits today. We were barely able to finish this thing.”
The Tigers won Monday on the strength of a two-run, third-inning homer by first baseman Sonny DiChiara, fielding breakdowns by Oregon State in the sixth and a lock-down, eight-out save by closer Blake Burkhalter.
The Beavers kept it close through excellent pitching, especially by starter Jaren Hunter (five innings, one hit, two runs, 12 ground-ball outs) and closer Ryan Brown (two innings, one hit, no runs, no walks, four strikeouts).
“Jaren threw the heck out of the ball,” Canham said. “He was sinking it down in the zone. That ball was really dropping off. He did a great job with his changeup as well. And even the slider. A great mix. The guy was cruising, getting a ton of ground-balls.
“Brown looked electric at the end. That was fun to watch. He was getting everybody fired up. It was one of those things where you envision an end-of-the-game walk-off happening right there.”
Boyd had put such thoughts in the minds of the Beaver faithful among the sellout crowd of 4,174 with a two-run homer to left field to draw Oregon State within 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh. That’s when Burkhalter came on to douse the fire and earn his 15th save of the season.
“He put the ball where he wanted to, made good pitches,” said Boyd of the junior right-hander. “He did his job and stepped up in the moment. Tip your hat to him, but we left a lot of runners on and didn’t take advantage early in the game. A lot of missed opportunities.”
Indeed, the Beavers left nine runners on base — six in scoring position. And a mishandled defense in the sixth proved costly. With one out and Auburn’s lead at 2-1, DiChiara walked after taking a pitch that looked like a strike on a 3-2 count. Bobby Peirce then doubled him to third.
With OSU’s infield playing at mid-depth, Brooks Carlson hit a soft grounder to second base. As he was fielding it, Beaver second baseman Travis Bazzana snuck a peak at the 6-1, 265-pound DiChiara, who had broken for home. Bazzana bobbled the ball, and his only option was to throw to first. Carlson was initially called out, but the review said otherwise. Bazzana was charged with an error and the Tigers had runners on the corners.
Brody Moore’s ensuing squeeze bunt was fielded by a charging Garret Forrester, the OSU first baseman. Forrester got to the ball in time to have a good shot at nailing Peirce at home, but he tried a backhand toss instead of a step-and-throw and the ball reached catcher Gavin Logan late, making the score 4-1.
Boyd’s seventh-inning homer after a Kyle Dernedde single brought life to the Beavers and the Goss denizens, and when Forrester walked and Jacob Melton singled, the stadium was rocking with noise. Enter Burkhalter, earlier than usual.
“I’m wondering, ‘Am I dumping Burkhalter — my last line of defense— in the game too early?’ ” Thompson said. “But I was thinking, ‘Win the moment.’ I thought that was the game. He’s the closer, not the set-up guy, but he is our competitive-moment pitcher. When Boyd hit the home run, I’m like, ‘We’re going to have to strap it on. The game’s right now.’ We’d worry about the ninth when the ninth got there.”
A Burkhalter wild pitch advanced Forrester and Melton to second and third with two outs, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position. But the right-hander struck out Jake Dukart to end the threat.
The Beavers went down in order in the eighth and ninth innings, and it was left for the Tigers to dogpile near the pitcher’s mound, celebrating their second College World Series visit since 2019.
“It was amazing for the first three seconds, because I was on the bottom,” Burkhalter, wearing an “Omaha” cap as he met with media, said of the dogpile. “Somebody’s knee was on the side of my face. … but words can’t describe how exciting that was. Wonderful time.”
Auburn will have plenty of familiar company in Omaha. Four of the seven teams in the SEC West will be there — Auburn, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas A&M.
“They do all the little things right,” Canham said of the Tigers. “They don’t strike out much, put a lot of balls in play. Their pitchers limit free bases. They have pitching, they have defense — a solid ball club.
“I’ll take our guys over anybody any time, but Auburn handled its business. It was hard to keep trying to chip away and find a mistake or weakness. They didn’t really have any. They played clean baseball.”
Thompson has had strong praise for the Beavers and their fans through the Super Regional, and he reiterated it after Monday’s game for an OSU program that has won three national championships and was denied its seventh College World Series trip in 17 years.
“What Oregon State is doing is what we’ve tried to do in our seven years at Auburn,” he said. “By that I mean build a team that’s competitive like they are, that handles itself, that’s blue collar, and has an unbelievable fan base that fights for every pitch.
“I’ve been (coaching for awhile). This is Year 30, and this is about as impressive a situation. … I don’t go to a lot of postseason tournaments and make these kind of statements just to be a nice guy. This one has a little extra meaning, and it’s sincere.”
Boyd — destined to be a low-round draft pick in the July major league draft — choked back tears as he talked about his time in the Oregon State program.
“It’s hard to say bye to your family,” said Boyd, who had three hits Monday, coming a double short of a cycle. “The guys I’ve been with and I have grown so close my three years here … it’s hard, but we’re friends and family forever. It’s not really goodbye.”
Hunter, a sophomore from Barlow, talked about the relationships he has built with veteran pitchers such as Cooper Hjerpe, Mitchell Verburg and Reid Sebby.
“All three of those guys have had such an influence on me,” Hunter said. “We all dream Omaha. We dream of winning a national championship. When the season comes to an end like this, it’s really difficult. It gets more difficult when you say bye to all the guys who have been in your corner.
“Their leadership has been inspirational to see. It’s molded me over the course of the year. I’m a completely different person than I was at the start of the year, and that’s a testament to those guys.”
It was a successful season by most counts. Only four Oregon State teams have ever won more than 48 games in a season. It was a special group of leaders that paved the way for the Beavers to get there.
Now Hjerpe — a projected first-round draft pick — will be gone. So, too, will Melton, who could go as low as the first round. And Boyd, left-fielder Wade Meckler and All-Pac-12 reliever Ben Ferrer, all expected to sign pro contracts next month.
Canham will have to replace his entire starting outfield and his No. 1 starting pitcher, but there is plenty of talent still aboard. The entire infield should be back — Forrester at first, Bazzana at second, Dernedde at shortstop and Mathew Gretler at third — along with catchers Gavin Logan (unless he signs a pro contract) and Tanner Smith. Starting pitchers Hunter, Jake Pfennigs and Jacob Kmatz should return, along with closer Brown and a lot of other veterans and young, promising arms.
The Beavers will now get some time off to rest and recuperate, but really, the 2023 season starts Tuesday.
Omaha ’23 is already on their minds.
“When you get close and you don’t get it done, it makes you really mad,” Canham said. “We have to pick ourselves back up and move closer. We’ve moved one step closer.
“I already know what everybody’s goals and aspirations are for next year. It’s about winning the World Series. That’s going to be it every year. There’s no veering from that path.”
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