RENO, Nev. – On the first pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning, senior Keaton Smith blasted a home run over the left field wall to give Nevada (23-18) a 7-6 walk-off victory over No. 2 Oregon State (28-10-1) on Tuesday afternoon. The Wolf Pack swept its two-game series with the defending national champions, and has gone to extra innings the past five games with the Beavers dating back to 2012.
"We just kind of chipped away and made good outs," said head coach T.J. Bruce. "These guys are so fun to be around. They're tough."
Relive the sweep over No. 2 Oregon State. 👀#BattleBorn pic.twitter.com/9X5Na2AatV
— Nevada Baseball (@NevadaBaseball) April 24, 2019
Nevada has now won seven of its last eight games, its best stretch of the 2019 season.
Grant Ford (4-1) earned the win in both victories over the Beavers, pitching a hitless 10th inning. Dalton Gomez got the start and pitched 4.1 innings with four strikeouts.
Conor Allard and Daniel Perry each led Nevada with two hits, as Perry blasted his first home run of the season. It came in the fifth inning to get Nevada on the board after falling behind to the Beavers 4-0.
NEVADA BASEBALL: Nevada walks off on No. 2 Oregon State in epic 12-inning marathon
Perry's solo shot sparked the Wolf Pack offense, as Nevada scored two more runs on a Weston Hatten two-RBI single. Allard then recorded one of his two hits to score Hatten and tie the game.
Both teams locked down defensively for the next three innings as neither were able to score a run. Nevada used Tyler Smith, Ben Purcell and Cooper Powell out of the bullpen to only allow four hits and no runs scored during that stretch.
WALK-OFF DINGER 💥@NevadaBaseballpic.twitter.com/4v2Vpf1NPe
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) April 23, 2019
Madness ensued in the ninth inning as Joe Casey launched a two-run homer with one out to give the Beavers a 6-4 lead. Heading into the bottom of the ninth, Joshua Zamora led off with a single to get the comeback started.
Allard recorded his second clutch hit of the day and is currently on a team-high 10-game hit streak as he scored Zamora on a single. Tyler Bosetti launched a deep ball to left field, and his sacrifice fly scored Allard from third base to tie the game.
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In the 10th, Ford found himself with runners on the corners and two outs, but a lineout to Smith at second base ended the threat by the Beavers. The very next pitch thrown was to Smith in the home half of the inning, and the biggest hit of his Nevada career launched the ball over the left-field wall for the walk-off win.
Nevada will travel to Air Force this weekend in a huge series for the Mountain West standings. John Ramey will call the games on 94.1 FM/1450 AM with a live broadcast streamed on the Mountain West Network.
