OSU’s Jacob Kmatz, Elijah Hainline lead Oregon State to series-clinching win over Oregon

CORVALLIS — For the second night in a row, Oregon State got a lights-out performance from its starting pitcher en route to a gritty win.

This time around, the Beavers benefited from a few dramatic late-inning moments at the plate to capture a series win over their in-state rival.

No. 9 Oregon State topped No. 22 Oregon, 4-2, Saturday at Goss Stadium. Jacob Kmatz tossed 6 1/3 innings and matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts. Oregon starter Grayson Grinsell battled Kmatz with a strong outing of his own and struck out eight while allowing just two runs on four hits over 6.0 innings.

But Beavers’ shortstop Elijah Hainline came through with the decisive knock when he cracked a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth to give the game its final score.

“I mean, you see how the fans react. … You really feel it. All you ever wanna do when you come to a new program is find a way to help them win,” Hainline, who played at Washington State last season, said. “That’s just been my goal since day one — to win baseball games. There’s no better place than Corvallis to do that.”

How Oregon State baseball beat Oregon in Game 2 of series

Kmatz neutralized a deep Oregon lineup that owns the second-best slugging percentage in the Pac-12. The junior right-hander held the Ducks to one earned run on two hits and did not allow a walk. But by the time he exited midway through the sixth, the game was still in the balance.

Canon Reeder got the Beavers on the board in the second with an RBI single to plate Wilson Weber, who reached on a leadoff walk.

One inning later Oregon second baseman Drew Smith punished Kmatz for one of his few mistakes on the night with a solo homer to left center to level the score.

From there, neither team was able to generate much offense as Kmatz and Grinsell settled in.

“We’re very excited to see (Friday starter Aiden May) and Kmatz go back-to-back — control their energy level and attack the zone,” Oregon State coach Mitch Canham said. “They’re getting ahead and it’s leading to strikeouts.”

In the bottom of the seventh, Oregon opted to send Grinsell back out to the mound with his pitch count sitting at 107. Brady Kasper greeted him with a leadoff double.

The Ducks then turned to flame throwing righty Brock Moore, who touched 102 miles per hour on the radar gun earlier this season. Hainline moved Kasper over to third with a sacrifice bunt, and then Dallas Macias smashed a line drive to the left side — but directly at UO shortstop Maddox Molony for the second out of the inning.

With OSU No. 9 hitter Jabin Trosky at the plate, Moore ran up a 2-2 count and was one pitch away from escaping the jam. But Trosky blooped a soft infield single to score Kasper from third and give the Beavers a 2-1 lead.

“Yeah, the guy was throwing really hard. But I just refused to strike out,” Trosky said. “That was my mindset; I was like, ‘I just have to put the bat on the ball.’ Sometimes good things happen, and luckily good things happened there.”

Trosky, a slick-fielding middle infielder who has made multiple starts at both shortstop and second base this season, made his first start of the season at third base on Saturday.

“He’s taken that on,” Canham said of Trosky’s shift to the hot corner. “He’s got great hands; he’s a defensive wizard. We know he can play (shortstop) and second. So, just being able to add a little depth over there at third is nice.”

After Trosky’s timely hit, Oregon answered back immediately. Mason Neville crushed a leadoff triple off the left field fence to open the top of the eighth. Later in the inning, Smith lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center field to tie the game at 2-2.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Beavers forced Oregon reliever Logan Mercado into a two-out jam when Weber reached on a walk and Jacob Krieg followed with a single to left.

Then, Hainline stepped to the plate and decided the game with a first-pitch single down the left field line.

“You’re really just trying to see the ball and get your swing off in a moment like that,” Hainline said of the at-bat. “The guys before me did a great job getting on base. (Brady Kasper) had a good at-bat; got out, but moved the runners over and put them in scoring position. Gave us a little leeway to just get me swing off and help the team win.”

As was the case on Friday, standout reliever Bridger Holmes shut the Ducks down in the ninth inning to close the door on a potential comeback.

Oregon State vs. Oregon series continues with Game 3 Sunday

The Beavers and Duck will close out the series at 2:05 p.m. Sunday (Pac-12 Oregon).

Eric Segura (5-0, 4.41 ERA) is expected to get the starting nod for Oregon State, while Kevin Seitter (4-3, 5.36) is slated to start for Oregon.

Jarrid Denney covers high school sports and Oregon State for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at JDenney@salem.gannett.com or on X @jarrid_denney