Oregon State and Oregon met again Sunday afternoon, at PK Park in Eugene, with first place atop the Pac-12 conference on the line.
The Beaver’s Michael Conforto delivered a knockout blow, a mammoth grand slam to right field, in the second inning in route to Oregon State’s 12-2 victory.
Conforto got the Beavers on the board in the top of the first inning with an RBI single to left field.
In the top of the second inning, with the bases loaded, Conforto unloaded on the first pitch he saw for a no-doubt grand slam that cleared Oregon’s bullpen and ricocheted off the top of the equipment storage facility.
From there on out, it was all Oregon State as starter Ben Wetzler kept Oregon away from the big inning. Wetzler allowed two runs, one earned, in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out six in picking up his seventh win of the year.
Conforto finished 3-for-5 on the day with six RBI. He was 5-for-12 with 2 HR and 7 RBI in the series.
Right fielder Dylan Davis and third baseman Kevin Keyes each contributed three hits in the win for the Beavers.
Shortstop Tyler Smith also had two hits and two RBI.
Ducks starter Jake Reed only lasted 2 2/3 innings. He allowed seven runs, although only two of the runs were earned, on eight hits.
Oregon, the Pac-12 leader in fielding percentage (.981) entering the day, committed two errors in the first two innings to help Oregon State get rolling.
The Ducks took game one Friday night 3-0, behind starter Tommy Thorpe, who pitched eight innings of shutout baseball. The lefty matched a career high with seven strikeouts while only allowing two hits.
Saturday saw Oregon State even the series with a 9-0 victory. Starter Andrew Moore improved to 11-1 after pitching a complete game two-hitter. He had two strikeouts while only allowing two hits. Michael Conforto and Ryan Barnes each hit solo home runs, and the Beavers poured it on in the later innings to secure the victory.
With the victory, Oregon State holds a two-game lead for first place in the Pac-12. They host Washington State next weekend while Oregon travels to Utah.
Oregon State’s starting trio of Boyd, Moore and Wetzler allowed just four earned runs in 23 1/3 innings pitched this weekend.
Postgame Interviews
