The Oregon State baseball team enters the weekend in an unfamiliar situation, riding a two-game losing streak in Pac-12 play.
Right on cue, the scheduling Gods have done the fifth-ranked Beavers a favor, sending the Arizona State Sun Devils to Goss Stadium for a three-game, get-right series.
The Sun Devils not only offer a little motivation for OSU — they punked the Beavers last season at the Pac-12 baseball tournament — but also enter the weekend with pitching problems (see below). That’s a dangerous combination against one of the most lethal lineups in college baseball.
(Weekly trivia: The last time Arizona State visited Goss Stadium, Travis Bazzana had a monster performance, finishing 3 for 7 with a grand slam and eight RBIs. Bazzana, then a freshman, fell just one RBI short of tying the single-game school record. Can you name who owns the record?)
Here’s a primer for this weekend’s series, which opens at 5:35 p.m. Friday at Goss Stadium:
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Oregon State suffered its first conference series loss of the season, dropping a pair of games against USC in Irvine, California, before rebounding with two midweek victories over Gonzaga at Goss Stadium. The Trojans eked out a 2-1 win in Thursday’s opener, then mauled the Beavers 17-4 a day later to take the series. Game 3 was rained out. The defeats did not cause a hangover, however, as Oregon State responded with back-to-back decisive wins, routing the Bulldogs by a combined score of 27-5.
THE POLLS
After a steady climb that saw the Beavers (23-4, 5-3 Pac-12) rise to No. 2 in the national rankings, Oregon State slipped in the polls after their stumble in Southern California. Oregon State landed between fourth and ninth in the latest batch of rankings, including No. 5 in the D1Baseball Top 25, which The Oregonian/OregonLive uses for its rankings.
A LOOK AT THE SUN DEVILS
Arizona State (15-14, 6-6) visits Goss Stadium riding a five-game winning streak, which includes a three-game series sweep against the Cal Bears and a walk-off 9-8 midweek victory over Grand Canyon. It’s the Sun Devils’ longest winning streak of the season.
But, on paper, they are headed toward a Corvallis buzzsaw. Arizona State features the worst pitching staff in the Pac-12, entering the series ranked last in the conference in ERA (6.67), WHIP (1.71), hits allowed (283), walks allowed (152) and runs allowed (213). Making matters worse, the Sun Devils’ Friday night starter — freshman Thomas Burns — is expected to miss his second consecutive start with an injury. Coach Willie Bloomquist entered Friday uncertain who would take Burns’ place at the top of the rotation, but the most likely candidates are freshman left-hander Bradyn Barnes (0-0, 5.40 ERA) and senior right-hander Matt Tieding (1-0, 4.91). Barnes hasn’t pitched since March 3 and neither has started a game this season.
That could be a recipe for disaster against an Oregon State team that leads the Pac-12 in virtually every offensive statistical category.
As for its lineup, Arizona State should provide a nice test for Oregon State’s pitching staff. The Sun Devils rank in the upper half of the Pac-12 in a host of offensive categories, including fifth in batting average (.282), second in runs scored (193), third in homers (43), first in doubles (74), fourth in slugging percentage (.476) and fifth in on-base percentage (.377). Freshman Brandon Compton is hitting .330 with six homers, 10 doubles and 26 RBIs and veteran catcher Ryan Campos, a preseason all-Pac-12 player, leads the conference in doubles (12), ranks sixth in homers (seven), fifth in RBIs (32), and has reached base in 39 consecutive games dating to last season. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils’ hottest hitter is sophomore outfielder Nick McLain, who is batting .438 (14 for 32) with eight extra-base hits and 16 RBIs over the last seven games.
HAPPY RETURNS
The Beavers’ pitching staff welcomed back two impactful arms this week, when freshman Laif Palmer and veteran Kyle Scott returned after being sidelined with injuries. The pair of relievers made one-inning cameos against Gonzaga on Tuesday and flashed dominant stuff.
Palmer tossed a scoreless second, needing just 11 pitches to breeze to a one-two-three inning that featured one strikeout and a fastball that hit 97 miles per hour. The heralded freshman drew a lot of buzz in fall camp and was in contention — along with fellow freshman Eric Segura and others — to be the Beavers’ Sunday starter. But he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb in January and missed the first two months of his college career.
Scott, meanwhile, entered the season as the Beavers’ closer and earned a save against Minnesota in the second game of the year. But the senior transfer from Cal Poly tweaked his arm against the Golden Gophers and did not pitch again until Tuesday. He had an impressive return, striking out two in a scoreless sixth inning.
Palmer and Scott were limited by a pitch count in their returns, but OSU coach Mitch Canham said they will steadily build up their workload moving forward, giving the Beavers’ bullpen a significant boost.
MICAH MCDOWELL DOUBTFUL
When senior outfielder Micah McDowell was a late scratch before last week’s opener against USC, it sent Beaver Nation into a panic (at least according to my email inbox). Canham did not divulge the nature of McDowell’s injury during an interview session on Thursday, other than to say it was not related to the minor quadriceps ailment that sidelined him earlier this season. But the OSU coach suggested it would not be a long-term setback, saying the injury was “not overly concerning” and that McDowell would return. It just likely won’t be this weekend, as the Beavers — who are preparing for a national championship run and want a healthy roster in May and June — plan to handle the injury with caution. McDowell has been a force in the two hole all season, hitting .446 with eight doubles, 23 runs scored and 18 RBIs.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: OSU RHP Aiden May (1-0, 2.76 ERA) vs. ASU LHP Bradyn Barnes (0-0, 5.40 ERA) or RHP Matt Tieding (1-0, 4.91)
Saturday: OSU RHP Jacob Kmatz (3-1, 3.37 ERA) vs. ASU LHP Connor Markl (2-1, 3.86)
Sunday: OSU RHP Eric Segura (5-0, 3.50 ERA) vs. TBA
PAC-12 STANDINGS
1. Oregon Ducks (6-3)
2. Oregon State Beavers (5-3)
3. Utah Utes (7-5)
3. Arizona Wildcats (7-5)
5. USC Trojans (6-5)
6. Arizona State Sun Devils (6-6)
6. Washington State Cougars (6-6)
8. Stanford Cardinal (4-5)
9. Cal Bears (5-7)
10. Washington Huskies (3-6)
11. UCLA Bruins (4-8)
SERIES HISTORY
Arizona State holds a 56-43 all-time edge in the series, but Oregon State has won the last four series at Goss Stadium and owns a 17-7 advantage at home since 2009.
TRIVIA ANSWER
Ken Bowen owns the Oregon State single-game school record for RBIs with nine, which he set in 1985 against Chico State.
(We goofed in our last trivia answer when we said only three Oregon State players had slugged three homers in a game. It turns out the OSU record book is incomplete and EIGHT players are believed to have hit three homers in a game: Mason Guerra (2024), Jacob Melton (2021), Andy Jarvis (2001), Ben Bertrand (1998), Steve Smith (1983), Jim Wilson (1982), Darryl Summerfield (1968) and Jerry Exley (1956). Thanks to OSU radio play-by-play voice Mike Parker for the home run information.)
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.