Beavers Overpower Mountaineers in Series Opener

On a chilly night in Corvallis, Oregon, the Mountaineers dropped their series opener to the #3 ranked Oregon State Beavers 9-2.

The Beavers used a massive 2nd inning, where 7 runs crossed the plate, to jump on WVU ace Alek Manoah early and knock him from the ballgame.

After Oregon State loaded the bases in the inning, Manoah hit back-to-back batters, scoring 2, and then threw a wild pitch to allow another run to score. CF Kyler McMahon then doubled down the right field line, bringing 2 more runners in. Manaoh, who was uncharacteristically wild on this night, then threw another wild pitch that stretched the lead to 6-0 OSU. The inning finally concluded after RF Beau Philip singled to right center, scoring another run, but Darius Hill was able to throw out a runner to earn the 3rd out. After all the dust had settled, the damage was done: Oregon State led 7-0 after 2 innings.

The Mountaineers loaded the bases in the 6th inning, and after Kevin Abel threw a wild pitch, Tyler Doanes scooted in from 3rd to get WVU on the board, 7-1.

Oregon State didn’t like seeing the opposing team score, though, as they were able to tack on 2 more runs in the bottom of that inning, expanding the lead to 9-1.

The Mountaineers never got close again, even as Ivan Gonzalez hammered a solo homer to left field in the top of the 8th.

An altogether poor outing for the Mountaineers is exactly what they didn’t want to happen in their first game in Corvallis. Oregon State is a very, very good program, and they proved that tonight, lashing Manoah for 7 runs in just 2 innings. As we move deeper into the weekend, we can only hope that Jackson Wolf and Kade Strowd are able to keep the Beavers in check and keep our boys in the game.

WVU (5-4) will be back in action tomorrow afternoon, when they take on the Beavers (9-0) at 4:35 PM ET. You can watch the game here, or follow along with live stats here.

Let’s go!