FINAL: Oregon State 5 – Texas 4
The Texas Longhorns lost a heartbreaker to Oregon State in Game 1 of the Dallas Regional. The Beavers won the game 5-4 on an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The game was filled with dramatic plays on offense and spectacular plays on defense. At the plate, Brooks Marlow’s 8th inning homerun that tied the game at 4-4 was one of the most memorable moments of the day.
Texas struck first in the top of the fourth inning when Tres Barrera hit an RBI single, scoring Joe Baker, and giving the Horns a 1-0 lead. Four batters later Kacy Clemens struck out with the bases loaded, ending the Texas scoring threat.
OSU seized momentum at that point, scoring four runs over the next three frames. The Beavers countered Texas’ brief lead by scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, using a hit batter, a wild pitch and three consecutive singles to take a 2-1 lead.
Trailing 4-1, Texas scratched a run across in the top of the seventh frame on a sacrifice fly by Ben Johnson. Marlow’s blast knotted the game an inning later. Zane Gurwitz robbed OSU of a homerun in the bottom of the seventh inning, keeping Texas within striking distance.
Starting pitchers Andrew Moore (Oregon State) and Parker French (Texas) kept the game scoreless for the first three innings. Both pitchers allowed four runs on the day, and neither factored in the decision.
After recording the last out in the top of the eighth frame, Sheldon Church (1-0) got the win for Oregon State courtesy of their game-winning hit later that inning. Kirby Bellow walked the batter that scored the game-winning run, and although Jake McKenzie gave up the RBI double, the runner belonged to Bellow. Bellow suffered the loss, dropping to 3-2 on the year.
The Longhorns fall in the loser’s bracket and are scheduled to play an elimination game on Saturday morning at 11:00am. Texas will face the loser of the game between Dallas Baptist and Virginia Commonwealth.
POST-GAME
Augie Garrido
Parker French
Brooks Marlow