Beavers complete sweep on Sunday

BRYANT SWEPT BY NO. 5 OREGON STATE

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State opened up a 2-0 lead with 11 runs over the course of the sixth and seventh innings on its way to a 14-0 victory and series sweep of the Bryant University baseball team on Sunday afternoon at Goss Stadium.

With the loss, the Bulldogs (0-6-1) are off to their worst since the 2010 team dropped the first six games of the season. The Beavers improved to 12-0 for the first time since 1962.

After pitching dominated the first three innings, the Beavers finally broke through in the fourth. Dylan Davis produced Oregon State's first hit of the afternoon – a one-out double to right – to put runners on second and third, and Gabe Clark produced the first run with a ground out to short. The second run scored on the next play as Danny Hayes hit a dribbler to first and beat the flip, allowing the run to score.

Pitching determined the rest of the game, however. Making his first appearance of the season, Oregon State lefty Ben Wetzler worked 3.2 scoreless innings, striking out three and allowing just one hit. He had faced the minimum until he walked Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) with two outs in the fourth. Wetzler retired the side in order in the first, induced a 5-4-3 double play to end the second and set the Bulldogs down in order in the third.

The Oregon State bullpen did the rest as Brandon Jackson, Zack Reser and Tyler Painton combined to shutout the Bulldogs over the final 5.1 innings. Jackson faced little trouble over three innings of scoreless relief, inducing a 4-6-3 double play after a leadoff single in the sixth. He struck out five and allowed just two hits. Reser worked a perfect 1.1 innings and Painton closed the door with a scoreless ninth.

Leading 2-0, the Beavers put the game away with eight runs in the sixth and three runs in the seventh. Back-to-back doubles started the sixth and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. Graduate student John Healy (Cranston, R.I.) struck out the next batter for the first out but Joey Matthews's little chopper in front of the mound resulted in a third run for the Beavers. Peterson followed with a ground ball that rolled inside the bag at first for a two-run double and Michael Conforto belted a grand slam, his third home run of the weekend to make it 9-0. A Danny Hayes single to left completed the scoring in the inning. Conforto's second home run of the game, a three-run shot to right-center, closed the scoring in the seventh inning.

Bryant senior Joseph Michaud (Milford, Conn.) made his first start of the season and pitched well. He retired the first six Beavers he faced and didn't allow a hit until Davis's double in the fourth inning. Michaud allowed two runs on just two hits, walked three and struck out a pair. Sophomore Trevor Lacosse (Watervliet, N.Y.) came on in the fourth with two runners on base and was able to get out of the jam by inducing a fly ball to right. He then struck out a pair of batters in a scoreless fifth.

The Bulldogs head to Dayton, Ohio, next weekend to begin an eight-game spring break trip. They'll face Wright State on Friday, Dayton in a doubleheader on Saturday and Bradley on Sunday.