In Corvallis, Oregon, Trent Caraway proved instrumental in Oregon State’s commanding 14-1 triumph over Southern California at the Corvallis Regional on Sunday night. Caraway showcased his offensive prowess by hitting a double, a home run, and collecting four RBIs. Gavin Turley also added to the team’s success with a homer. With this victory, Oregon State (44-13-1) is poised to clinch its second consecutive regional title with another win against the Trojans on Monday.
The Beavers have demonstrated resilience in the face of elimination, having lost initially to Saint Mary’s with a score of 6-4 on Friday. They rebounded with wins against TCU on Saturday and Saint Mary’s earlier on Sunday, overpowering the Gaels 20-3 to avenge their opening-round loss. Oregon State has now secured three consecutive elimination game victories.
In the fifth inning, Oregon State starter Wyatt Queen allowed back-to-back singles, then issued a walk to Ethan Hedges to load the bases. However, Kellan Oakes relieved Queen and successfully struck out Adrian Lopez looking, followed by ending the inning with Abbrie Covarrubias’ swing. Oakes, who holds a 3-0 record, achieved four strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings. Zach Kmatz followed with an impressive performance of seven strikeouts across three scoreless innings, securing his first save of the season.
Wilson Weber and Trent Caraway commenced the second inning with consecutive singles, with AJ Singer’s sacrifice bunt advancing both runners into scoring positions. Weber then scored on a bunt single by Canon Reeder. Although Reeder was out at second on a bunt by Dallas Macias, Macias drove in Caraway on a fielder’s choice. Tyce Peteron excelled with four hits, including an RBI single through the middle, while Macias scored on a sacrifice bunt by Easton Talt, extending the lead to 4-0.
USC (37-22) managed a sole RBI single from Maximo Martinez in the second inning. The game also saw Brayden Dowd lead off the first with a single, but he was thrown out at the plate following a double from Hedges. The collision at home plate led to Dowd exiting the game in the second inning after appearing shaken.