Gonzaga Upsets No. 15 Oregon State, 6-5

Gonzaga has beaten OSU in Phoenix-area tournaments in each of the past two seasons.

Photo: OSU Athletics

SURPRISE, Ariz. - Oregon State rallied to tie the game in the seventh and eighth innings, but Gonzaga pushed across the winning run in the top of the ninth as the 15th-ranked Beavers fell to the Bulldogs 6-5 in the first game of the Coca-Cola Classic baseball tournament Friday afternoon at Surprise Stadium.

OSU (7-1 overall) had won nine straight games over two seasons, dating back to its wins over North Carolina for the 2006 College World Series championship last June.

OSU continues action in the tournament when it meets 14th-ranked Arizona State on Saturday at 2:00 PM PST, and the Beavers wrap up their trip against Missouri on Sunday at 8:45 AM PST.

Both games can be heard live via subscription at www.osubeavers.com; KUIK-AM 1360 will broadcast the games in the Portland area live on Saturday and tape delayed Sunday at 2:30 PM.

On Friday, the Beavers outhit Gonzaga (2-5) 12-11 but left 12 runners on base and eight of those were in scoring position. OSU left the bases loaded in both the third and eighth innings.

Trailing 5-4 going into the eighth inning, the Beavers got a one-out single from Joey Wong and then loaded the bases as Gonzaga reliever Matt Fields issued two-out walks to Koa Kahalehoe and Mike Lissman.

That brought Mitch Canham to the plate; he worked a full count, fouled off a trio of pitches, and then watched ball four to force in the tying run but Oregon State couldn’t push across the go-ahead run in the inning.

In the top of the ninth, OSU reliever Mark Grbavac retired the first Gonzaga hitter, then fooled Evan Wells but Wells nubbed the ball back toward the mound.

It died between Grbavac and catcher Canham for an infield single; Canham’s throw got past first baseman Jordan Lennerton to send Wells to second.

Aaron McGuiness followed with a single up the middle to score Wells with the winning run.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Beavers couldn’t manage to put the tying run on base against Gonzaga reliever C.J. McClure.

Oregon State – which staged a pair of late-inning comebacks in earning a sweep at Georgia last weekend – trailed 4-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning but scored twice to knot the game.

Darwin Barney led off with a double, then with two out Canham singled him home and then Canham scored when Lennerton poked a double down the leftfield line.

Canham finished 3-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in for Oregon State, while Lissman was 2-for-4 with a double and Lennerton was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Kahalehoe had a five-game hitting streak snapped for the Beavers.

Oregon State righthander Mike Stutes worked a season-high six innings, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks while striking out five.

OSU’s 7-0 start matched the Beavers’ best in 45 years; the 2004 team had also won its first seven games.

That’s the best start for Oregon State since it won 18 straight games to start the 1962 season.

Gonzaga had also beaten OSU in Phoenix-area tournaments in each of the past two seasons.

In 2005, the Beavers went on to win the Pac-10 championship and reach the College World Series; in 2006, Oregon State repeated as Pac-10 champs and won the national title.

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