Tag Archives: Tyler Malone

Oregon State beats Mississippi State, advances to CWS finals

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Tyler Malone slugged a three-run homer to support the clutch pitching of freshman starter Kevin Abel Saturday night, lifting the Oregon State Beavers into the College World Series finals with a 5-2 victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Mississippi State battled to give itself a chance in the bottom of the ninth by scoring once and loading the bases with two out.

But Beavers reliever Jake Mulholland escaped the jam by coaxing Bulldogs designated hitter Jordan Westburg, a freshman from New Braunfels, into a fielder’s choice ground ball to end it.

In winning a fourth straight game after losing the tournament opener, Oregon State advanced to play Arkansas in a best-of-three series for the NCAA Division I baseball title.

The third-seeded Beavers and the No. 5 Razorbacks open the series Monday night in Omaha, Nebraska.

“I’m proud of our club to fight through the losers’ bracket and get the opportunity to play for a national title,” Oregon State coach Pat Casey told the Corvallis Gazette-Times. “It’s special. Our guys, as you could see, were running on fumes.”

Adley Rutschman and Michael Gretler started the scoring in the third inning with RBI singles off Mississippi State ace Ethan Small. Malone, a sophomore from Roseville, California, followed with his eighth homer of the season to make it 5-0.

Meanwhile, Abel worked seven full innings, yielding only a run on three hits. He walked three and struck out five. Mississippi State scored a run in the third and had opportunities to get more in the fifth and sixth, only to come up empty.

In the fifth, with a runner aboard, Jake Mangum tried to stretch a single into a double but got thrown out at second base to end the inning.

In the sixth, with runners at second and third and Abel struggling with his control, Elijah MacNamee hit into a bang-bang double play to kill the rally.

MacNamee’s liner was snared by Gretler at third, who turned and fired to second base to double off Hunter Stovall for the last out.

In the ninth, a couple of two-out walks and an RBI single by Luke Alexander pulled the Bulldogs to within 5-2. But with the bases loaded, Mulholland put an end Mississippi State’s improbable playoff run.

Westburg, an all-state shortstop last year at New Braunfels High School, hit a ball to short that was bobbled briefly.

But Cadyn Grenier regained control and flipped to second for the force, sealing Oregon State’s second victory over Mississippi State in two days.

Westburg finished the game 0 for 4 at the plate. He was 0 for 6 in two games since a 3-hit, 7-RBI performance Tuesday afternooon against North Carolina.

Notable

Oregon State won CWS titles in 2006 and 2007 under Casey but hasn’t been able to reach the finals since then.

Mississippi State interim coach Gary Henderson told reporters he hoped to be back as head coach next season.

Quotable

Commenting on the team’s playoff run, Henderson told the the Jackson Clarion-Ledger:

“… It’s been an unbelievable time in my life, for a guy like me who has coached as long as I have and never been close to anything like this.”

Records

Oregon State 53-11-1
Mississippi State 39-29