Feb. 23, 2007

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - Defending national champions and 15th-ranked Oregon State scored five runs in the second inning and five more in the ninth to run away with an 11-2 victory over UC Davis in front of 579 fans at Dobbins Stadium on Friday afternoon.

The Beavers are now 10-1 overall this season while the Aggies drop to 3-6.

Chris Hopkins went 2-for-3 on the day with two RBI's while Drew George tripled home two runs in his only at-bat in the ninth inning to lead Oregon State. Mike Lissman, Darwin Barney, Jordan Linnerton and Mitch Canham each drove in runs for the Beavers.

For the Aggies, Grant Hirneise and Jacob Jefferies had the team's only RBI's as they both drove home runs in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Hirneise's RBI came off a double.

Trevor Fox started the game for the Aggies and allowed three earned runs while striking out three batters in 4.2 innings of work in the loss. UC Davis allowed three unearned runs off two errors.

Mike Stutes got the start for the Beavers and shutout the Aggies through 5.2 innings while striking out three to earn his second win of the season.

The turning point in the game came in the second inning as Oregon State was able to score five runs with two outs. After striking out the batter, a botched pick-off play at third allowed the Beavers to continue the inning. Hopkins then doubled in two runs before three-straight singles brought home another three runs.

The score remained 5-0 until the fifth inning when Oregon State scored their third unearned run of the game.

UC Davis finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh inning behind an RBI from Jefferies. After Oregon State put up another five-run inning in the ninth, Hirniese doubled home the Aggies only other run in the bottom half of the inning to make the final score 11-2.

The Aggies had a number of opportunities to put runs on the board throughout the game as they stranded 13 runs over the course of the day.

"Right now we just need to get back to playing fundamental baseball," said head coach Rex Peters. "We can't continue to give up three unearned runs a game, especially when we're playing a quality team like Oregon State. We have a tough schedule this season and we need to get our defense on track to have a chance to win."

UC Davis continues its string of home games tomorrow as they cap the River City Classic with a 1:00 p.m. game with San Francisco.