CORVALLIS — After tossing the 104th pitch of six-inning masterpiece, Oregon State freshman Dax Whitney cracked a large smile, flailed his proper arm skyward and screamed towards the Goss Stadium crowd, urging 4,237 to their ft.
And so they obliged, serenading the 6-foot-5 right-hander with a standing ovation.
How might they not? The child from tiny Blackfoot, Idaho, who first began to fall in love with the Beavers whereas watching the 2018 School World Collection at a Buffalo Wild Wings, helped preserve the top-seeded Beavers’ season alive Saturday afternoon.
Whitney pitched the perfect recreation of his younger profession, befuddling TCU with an overwhelming four-pitch combine, to elevate OSU to a 7-2 victory over the second-seeded Horned Frogs in an elimination matchup on the Corvallis Regional. The Beavers, if for less than someday, stiff-armed elimination, advancing to face the loser of Saturday night time’s winners’ bracket recreation between No. 3 seed USC and No. 4 seed Saint Mary’s.
“You’ve obtained to tip your cap to the younger man,” TCU coach Kirk Saarlos mentioned of Whitney. “He threw it extraordinarily properly and we actually by no means adjusted to what he was doing. I simply felt like he was all the time on the assault and all the time in optimistic counts. He was good.”
Truly, one would possibly argue, he was nice.
Whitney (6-3) toyed with TCU from his first pitch to his final, ending with a career-high 12 strikeouts over a career-high-tying six innings, throughout which he threw 18 first-pitch strikes and saved the Horned Frogs off steadiness with a barrage of 96 mph fastballs, high-70s curveballs and unhittable changeups and sliders that ranged from the low-to-high 80s.
He struck out the facet within the first and second innings, opening the sport with a 1-2-3 body, and went on to fan a number of batters in 4 totally different innings. Whitney allowed doubles within the second and third, however solely confronted actual bother within the sixth, when Anthony Silva smacked a leadoff single to left and Isaac Cadena bashed a 1-2 mistake into the proper area bleachers for a two-run house run. It was about Whitney’s solely mistake of the day, as he allowed simply two runs and 4 hits whereas throwing a career-high 104 pitches, which included 69 strikes.
Maybe probably the most spectacular half was the poise of the 18-year previous, who this time final yr was pitching for tiny Blackfoot Excessive College. As he went by way of his pregame bullpen session Saturday, understanding all too properly that he wanted to ship a clutch efficiency after the Beavers’ beautiful Friday night time no-show within the opening-round of the regional, the load of the second barely registered.
“My mindset was no totally different than every other recreation,” Whitney mentioned. “My stuff’s not going to get nastier. I’m not going to throw tougher. So I simply attacked the hitters the identical approach I do each time, and simply threw each pitch with conviction.
“There was not an excessive amount of going by way of my head, truthfully. I used to be simply sort of getting heat and able to go within the recreation. I didn’t need my thoughts spinning, simply tried to remain calm.”
Any nerves began to dissipate following that electrical 1-2-3 first, throughout which Whitney fanned three hitters on 17 pitches, and fully vanished within the backside half of the inning thanks to 1 swing by Wilson Weber.
The Beavers’ beloved senior catcher annihilated a first-pitch fastball 420 ft off the batters’ eye in heart area, delivering the determined Beavers an early dose of optimistic mojo. It was the seventh homer within the final 12 video games for the red-hot Weber, who hit .381 with six homers, three doubles, 22 RBIs and 11 runs scored over the ultimate 11 video games of the common season, keen himself right into a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award.
And it might not be the final huge fly by the Beavers.
Oregon State went on to mash three extra homers because it constructed a 7-0 lead after three innings, deflating no matter hope TCU held that it might topple the regional hosts. Trent Caraway led off the second with a solo shot to right-center and AJ Singer and Tyce Peterson added solo and two-run blasts, respectively, an inning later, because the Beavers slugged greater than three homers in a recreation for simply the second time since April 19.
It was not an awesome offensive efficiency — OSU managed simply seven hits and struck out 12 extra occasions — however it was greater than sufficient to complement the dominance of the Beavers’ pitching. After Whitney departed with that broad smile on the finish of the sixth, Nelson Keljo closed the door with three scoreless innings of reduction, incomes his second save of the season.
“Clearly shedding (Friday) night time wasn’t very enjoyable, so the vibe wasn’t nice,” Weber mentioned. “However we all know we will win lots of ball video games in a row, so we weren’t urgent, as a result of that’s what it felt like somewhat bit (Friday) night time … it was simply sort of like we have been enjoying to not lose. It was of a kind of little wake-up calls, like, that’s not how we wish to play.”
Whether or not the wake-up name got here too late stays to be seen. The Beavers (42-13-1) nonetheless face a frightening street to the tremendous regionals, needing a pair of wins tomorrow in a double-header (the primary recreation is scheduled for 3 p.m.) and one closing win in a Monday elimination matchup.
But it surely’s a greater spot to be in than TCU, which entered the regional as OSU’s largest menace solely to bow out after simply two video games, throughout which it was outscored 20-3. So when Saarlos climbed down from the postgame interview podium and made his option to the Goss Stadium exit, the one factor left for him to do was chastise a reporter for asking an innocuous query in regards to the problem of dealing with the Beavers’ lineup.
The Horned Frogs left Fort Price, Texas, feeling just like the NCAA baseball event choice committee snubbed them with a two seed. However after a two-and-barbecue in Corvallis, one might argue the seed might need been too excessive.
“We simply actually didn’t play the best way we performed all yr in all three areas, pitching, protection and offense,” Saarlos mentioned. “We simply performed our worst baseball, I really feel like, on the finish of the yr.”
In fact, Whitney and the Beavers had somewhat one thing to do with that Saturday.
“Excellent response to (Friday), particularly by our beginning pitcher,” OSU coach Mitch Canham mentioned. “Everybody confirmed up with electrical energy of their veins immediately. Everybody needed extra house video games, so let’s proceed to try this. Why get three when you will get 5?”
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | @freemanjoe.bsky.social | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the most recent information and high tales.
