The Arizona baseball team traveled to Corvallis, Oregon, to play No. 22 Oregon State for a three-game series this past weekend. The Wildcats dropped all three games but lost two of them in heartbreaking fashion. Arizona now holds a record of 23-18 (9-15 in Pac-12 play). 

Game 1: Friday, April 28, at 7 p.m. 

The Wildcats and the Beavers got off to a slow start on Friday night, as neither team could find a way to put runs on the board. The first three innings were hitless for the Wildcats as they were unable to produce on the offensive side. However, Wildcat starting pitcher Cam Walty cruised through the Beaver offense, striking out three batters in the first three innings of the game. 

As the game entered the fifth inning, the score was still knotted up at 0-0. Nik McClaughry was able to work a five-pitch walk to give the Wildcats a little bit of life after a quiet start. His walk was followed by a single by Chase Davis, but Davis was thrown out at second trying to stretch his single into a double. Nonetheless, the Wildcats still had a runner on third base as Kiko Romero stepped to the plate. However, Romero did not need to do much, as McClaughry stole home when the Beaver defense let their guards down, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning. 

The Wildcats failed to score again for the rest of the game, but the pitching was phenomenal, especially from starter Walty. Walty went seven strong innings, giving up only five hits, striking out eight Oregon State batters and allowing no runs.

The Wildcats sent Chris Barraza to close out the game, as the Wildcats led 1-0 to enter the bottom of the ninth. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Barraza ran into some early trouble, giving up a leadoff single followed by a four-pitch walk. The Beavers had all the momentum on their side, and with one out in the inning, they had the bases loaded. Oregon State designated hitter Tyce Peterson ripped a walk-off 2-run single giving the Beavers the 2-1 victory. The Wildcats wound up falling in heartbreaking fashion after a phenomenal eight innings of baseball. 

Game 2: Saturday, April 29, at 3 p.m. 

The Wildcats jumped on the board first in game two, thanks to an RBI single by Romero in the third inning. However, the Beavers quickly responded by scoring 3 runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-1 lead into the fourth inning. 

Unfortunately, the Beavers were not done scoring, as they added 5 more runs in the following inning to extend their lead to 8-1. Wildcat starting pitcher Bradon Zastrow did not have his best performance, going 3.1 innings and giving up nine hits and 8 runs while striking out only three batters. Nonetheless, it was still early and there was plenty of time for the Wildcats to respond and come back. 

The Wildcats added another run in the fifth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Cameron LaLiberte, but the Wildcats still trailed 8-2 through five innings. Neither team scored again until the eighth inning, when both the Wildcats and the Beavers scored. 

The Wildcats attempted to rally in the ninth as they loaded the bases with no outs, trailing 10-3. Romero worked a walk to give the Wildcats a run, but the final three batters went down in order, as the Beavers took game two with a final score of 10-4.

Game 3: Saturday, April 30, at 1 p.m.

The Wildcats fell behind 1-0 early in the first inning but quickly responded in the second inning. After a leadoff walk by Romero, Emilio Corona ripped a 2-run home run —  his fourth of the season -– to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead in the second inning. 

In the following inning, McClaughry and Davis were able to work themselves on base. After a strikeout by Romero, Corona stepped up to the plate and launched his second homer of the game, this time a 3-run homer — his fifth of the season — to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 5-1. Arizona scored again in the following inning to extend their lead to 5 runs. 

However, the Beavers came storming back in the seventh and eighth innings, scoring 7 runs to take an 8-7 lead after trailing nearly the entire game. The Wildcats, after looking like they were in control, were now facing a 1-run deficit as they entered the ninth inning. 

The Wildcats saw the hottest bat of the night step up to the plate with two outs, as Corona launched a 3-run homer — his sixth of the season — to give the Wildcats a 10-8 lead. Corona became the first Wildcat to hit three home runs in a game since 2008.

Unfortunately, luck was not on the Wildcats’ side, as the Beavers scored 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Wildcats for the second time in three days and complete the sweep of the series. The final score was 11-10 Oregon State, and the Wildcats came away from the three-game series empty-handed. 

Looking ahead

The Wildcats will play Grand Canyon University on Tuesday, May 2, at 6:30 p.m. in Phoenix before hosting the Air Force Academy for a three-game series from Friday, May 5, to Sunday, May 7.