#7 Oregon State Wins Series Opener at Long Beach State 7-2
A week after Ethan Kleinschmit gave up three home runs in an upset loss against Cal State Northridge, the junior from Mt. Angel locked in for one of his best showings.
Thanks to Kleinschmit's 6 strikeouts, Oregon State defeated Long Beach State 7-2. The full box score can be viewed at this link, and our game recap can be read below.
In the bottom of the first inning tonight, Oregon State's starting pitcher Ethan Kleinschmit struck out Long Beach State leadoff man Camden Gasser. The next two batters went down in order.
The top of the next inning saw Long Beach State's towering 6'8" righty Kaimi Kahalekai allowing three straight base hits - scoring last Friday's breakout player Ethan Porter - and then surrendering another Oregon State run on a Jacob Galloway sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the second, Kleinschmit went back to work: one strikeout, and two grounders.
Buttressed by a Dirtbags' throwing error in the top of the third - which brought AJ Singer home from second base - momentum surged in favor of the Beavers' new Friday starter. The bottom frame included three Long Beach State batters - Justin Roulston, Conner Stewart, and Damon Valdez - and all three struck out. Through three innings, the junior lefty from Mt. Angel earned five strikeouts.
The Beavers tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth. First, Easton Talt dropped a perfect bunt down the third base line. A Singer single moved him to second base, and then a wild pitch pushed both runners into scoring position. Long Beach State's Hawaiian sophomore Kahalekai failed to rally, throwing another wild pitch, and Talt reached home. Thanks to Paul Vasquez' sacrifice fly to left field, Oregon State led 5-0.
Kleinschmit's outstanding night reached it's conclusion in the bottom of the sixth inning. His demise began with a Stewart double to left, which was soon exacerbated by consecutive singles, scoring Long Beach State's first run of the game. After pitching coach Rich Dorman visited the mound, Kleinschmit walked his next batter, and that was it. Kleinschmit finished with 6 strikeouts, 4 hits, and 1 walk across 5 and 0/3 innings. He was relieved by Isaac Yeager, who was quickly beaten for a run-scoring single, and Long Beach State pulled within 3 runs.
Oregon State extended their lead in the seventh, thanks to Josh Proctor. With his teammate Vasquez at third , the Beavers' impressive 6'5" freshman infielder singled past the hot corner, pushing their advantage to 6-2.
After a rocky start, Yeager settled down. His success was supported by a flurry of substitutions: Talt moved from center to right, Adam Haight moved from right to left, Oregon State's best fielder Nyan Hayes took over in center, and reliable veteran Jacob Krieg filled in for Porter at first. A total team effort forced groundouts, lineouts, and flyouts to keep Long Beach State scoreless in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Oregon State took Yeager off the mound after the seventh. He allowed only 2 hits in 2 innings of work, and saw one unearned run. In the eighth inning, Oregon State's bullpen maintained their fine form: Washington native Wyatt Queen struck out three hitters, and the score remained 6-2 Beavers.
Not content with a four run advantage, Oregon State added one more in the ninth inning. The frame began with a Bryce Hubbard single, and he was replaced by pinch runner Jace Miller. Then, Krieg inched Miller to second base with a single to left. Haight was next up, and slugged Miller home with a double to left center.
Heading into the series, fans on both sides anticipated the return of rockstar closer Albert Roblez - a transfer from Long Beach State - to Blair Field. However, his homecoming will need to wait. Tonight, Queen finished the game with another trio of strikeouts. The junior righty frustrated 6 batters through 2 innings.
Following the final out, Oregon State earned their 38th win of the season - credited to Kleinschmit for his tenth win of the year - and the team's fourth consecutive victory. Oregon State and Long Beach State will play again tomorrow night at 6:05 PM PST. The game will stream on ESPN+, while a radio broadcast can be heard on Beavers Sports Network affiliates across the state.
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Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.