CORVALLIS, Ore. – A late rally by Sun Devil Baseball fell just short in a 3-2 loss to No. 3 Oregon State in the Pac-12 opener on Friday night at Goss Stadium in Corvallis, Ore.
Shortstop Colby Woodmansee drove a solo home run over the wall in left-center field in the ninth inning to pull the Devils within one, 3-2, and catcher Brian Serven followed with a single to put the tying run on base and the go-ahead run at the plate, but a fly ball and a swinging strikeout ended the threat and Arizona State’s eight-game winning steak.
Starting right-hander Seth Martinez (3-1) held the Beavers scoreless in five of the seven innings he appeared in, but took his first loss of the season. He allowed three runs on six hits and three walks, and struck out six in his fifth consecutive quality start this year.
Woodmansee paced the Sun Devils (13-4, 0-1) offensively with two extra-base hits, including a double and a home run, and scored both of the team’s run. Left fielder Ryan Lillard added a RBI single.
A throwing error with two outs in the first inning led to an early bases-loaded jam for Martinez, but he induced a line drive to right field to leave them loaded. He worked two more scoreless innings before a two-run homer by first baseman K.J. Harrison broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning
Woodmansee opened the seventh inning with a double, his ninth of the season, and scored three batters later on a single from Lillard to cut the Devils’ deficit to one, 2-1.
The Beavers (13-2, 1-0) pushed their lead back to a pair in the bottom of the seventh behind a leadoff double and a single, the latter of which ended Martinez’s outing and brought out right-hander Eric Melbostad.
Freshman left-hander Zach Dixon made his first appearance of the season with two runners in scoring position and one out in the bottom of the eight, and issued a swinging strikeout and a flyout to keep the Devils within two.
OSU right-hander Drew Rasmussen (4-0) gave up two runs on five hits and struck out eight in 8 1/3 innings to earn the win, and left-hander Max Engelbrekt (7) recorded the final two outs for the save.
Notes: David Greer extended his hitting streak to nine games, tied for the longest on the team, with a single in the first inning…Woodmansee has reached base safely in each of the team’s 17 games this season, and has reached base at least once in 68 of the past 75 games…Woodmansee recorded his seventh multi-hit game, second most on the team.
Up Next
The Devils continue their three-game road series with Oregon State on March 19 at 1:35 p.m. (AZ/PT). The game will be live streamed here: http://pac-12.com/live/oregon-state-university-2.
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