With one pitch and one giant swing of the bat, the game ““ and possibly the season ““ changed.
The Bruins led Oregon State 7-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday and were four outs away from a series win that would greatly improve their chances to earn a regional bid.
But that win never came.
Oregon State first baseman Ryan Ortiz hit a game-winning grand slam with two outs off Bruin reliever Brandon Crawford, giving the Beavers a 8-7 win and clinching the weekend series over UCLA (25-23, 8-10 Pac-10). The teams split the first two games of the series, with the Beavers (24-19, 11-10) taking the first game 10-1 and the Bruins bouncing back with an 11-4 win on Saturday.
With the loss, the Bruins fell to seventh place in the Pac-10, half a game behind Arizona, with two conference series left in the regular season.
“We’re a couple pitches away from a series win,” coach John Savage said. “It was a tough loss ““ probably the most difficult of the season. We had an opportunity to come back and take the last two games of the series, but we could not. It was a disappointing weekend.”
For much of Sunday’s game, it seemed as if the Bruins would be able to come away with the final game of the series. The team bounced back from an early 2-1 deficit to take a 7-4 advantage going into the bottom of the eighth inning, but the game unraveled from there. Bruin left-hander Matt Drummond came on in relief of Jason Novak, and the normally reliable Drummond struggled with his command, walking one batter and hitting another. With the bases loaded with one out, Crawford came in to pitch, and after inducing a flyout, gave up the grand slam to Ortiz.
“(Sunday) we played great, but a little of this, a little of that and we end up with the loss,” designated hitter Cody Decker said. “It’s one of the most frustrating ways to lose a game.”
Despite the disappointing end to a potentially season-changing series, the Bruins were able to take a few positives from the trip. One such positive was the pitching performance of Charles Brewer. Brewer (6-4) threw 7 1/3 innings, allowing four runs ““ only two earned ““ off five hits while striking out nine in the Bruins’ 11-4 win on Saturday.
“It was good to step up,” Brewer said. “It was a big series, and I wanted to step up for my team and wanted to get it done.”
Another positive was the offensive production of Decker, who went 4-for-11 with seven RBIs and two home runs over the weekend.
“It’s not been my best season, but I’ve tried to stay positive, and I’ve kept working,” Decker said. “It felt great this weekend.”
Following the game, the Bruins remained positive that the team has the ability to finish the season strong and earn a playoff berth.
“(We learned) that we can play with anyone,” Savage said. “It’s a fine line in the Pac-10, where a pitch here, a pitch there can make the difference. But we still have hope that we still have a chance to make the postseason.”