ROUND ROCK, Texas The Oregon State Beavers had a chance to maintain their early-season momentum after winning the Round Rock Classic with an overwhelming and intimidating victory, earning compliments from opposition coaches and appearing to be the finest team in collegiate baseball.
They flopped instead.
Whitney, Daxhad a difficult collegiate debut; the lineup waned and the bullpen collapsed, causing Oregon State to lose to the Oklahoma Sooners 8–4 on Saturday night in front of 4,151 at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas. It was the team’s first loss of the season.
If Friday’s strong performance strengthened the seventh-ranked Beavers’ national status and RPI, they took a disappointing step back about twenty-four hours later.
OSU coach Mitch Canhams stated, “Obviously, it wasn’t our best baseball,” but he added afterward that yesterday’s victory was nice. However, given what transpired today, it is no longer relevant.
That might have been exaggerated. At the very least, the Beavers displayed some flaws against a good Oklahoma (5-0) team after playing nearly flawlessly in their first five games of the season.
With runners in scoring position, OSU’s lineup finished a pitiful 2 for 11 (.181) with just five hits. The Sooners’ sluggers were regularly set up by the pitching staff, who gave up nine free passes, including eight walks. The defense, which has been outstanding throughout the season, gave up an undeserved run as well.
The worst part, according to Canham, was that his players’ body language—particularly that of his pitching staff—made it clear to everyone that OSU was having trouble.
What are you trying to say? “Canham said.” Are you attempting to strike someone? Alternatively, are you prepared to tear it through the zone? For all of those guys, it’s a powerful teaching moment. The expression on a man’s face while he’s on the mound tells you.
You experience a small amount of hardship and grow from it. It’s a gift all around. We have a cause to realize that we should never become complacent. And sometimes it’s necessary to fall in order to rise even stronger.
The Beavers (5-1) actually looked pretty good for three innings. Whitney was even more impressive than he was in his debut last week, destroying the Sooners’ seasoned, potent attack while striking out six of the first 11 batters he faced, including the game’s first four. Additionally, OSU’s lineup gave them an early lead, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a leadoff single from Trent Caraway and a two-run home run from Aiva Arquette.
However, the top of the fourth inning feels wrong. Whitney gave up a double to Trey Gambill, hit No. 3 hitter Easton Carmichael with the first pitch, and then coughed up a bloop single to Kyle Branch, which sent two Oklahoma runs home for the first time in Whitney’s brief career.
They wouldn’t be the last, either.
Scott Mudler gave the Sooners a 4-2 lead two pitches later when he clobbed a 0-1 fastball over the left-center field bullpen for a two-run homer. OSU pitching coach Rich Dormanto pulled Whitney from the game after he failed to rebound and walked the next two batters.
Last week, the 6-foot-5 rookie earned Perfect Game National Pitcher of the Week after throwing five shutout innings with a fastball that reached 98 mph. And he sat about 96 when the game started on Saturday. However, when he struggled through the tough inning in the fourth, his velocity dropped to the low-90s.
Following his first loss, Canham stated that Whitney (1-1) was in good physical condition. For a teenager starting his second job, it just so happened to be one of those evenings.
Canham stated, “I believe that was a significant outing for his development.” must be able to flip through pages fast and prevent one thing from becoming two. You want to spend as much time as possible inside. Nobody should ever take the ball away from you. I am aware that Dax is That Guy, so he will benefit from learning how to deal with it, pitch by pitch. Against a strong offensive, it was his second start as an NCAA athlete. We are all aware that he will not only be outstanding but also elite. Thus, sometimes you have to go through some of this in order to gain knowledge.
After Whitney left, the situation for the Oregon State staff only became worse.
15 of Laif Palmer’s 22 pitches were balls, while he walked three of the five batters he faced.Palmer was replaced by AJ Hutcheson, who immediately sent a runner to third base by airmailing a second-base pick-off attempt into center field. Later, the runner scored. With three runs on two hits and two walks in two thirds of an inning, AndDrew Talavs let the game slip away in the sixth. Carmichael’s two-run bomb to deep left field ended his night and put Oklahoma ahead 8–2.
With two and a half scoreless innings pitched and three strikeouts recorded, Wyatt Queens stemmed the bleeding. However, the harm was already done. It was evident in the Beavers’ pitching staff’s body language.
I advised everyone to return and watch the game again during Wyatt’s pitching, Canham added. Don’t stress over the outcome or where (his pitch) was in the zone. Simply observe his movements around the mound, his emphasis in retrieving the ball, his expression, and his release of the ball. Additionally, you may observe how loudly the other men’ body language is when things are going well.
On Saturday night, there weren’t many loud at-bats for the Oregon State offense. AJ Singer extended his impressive early-season run by hitting a two-run single in the seventh inning, and Arquette went 2 for 3 with a walk and that two-run homer. For an offense that came into the game averaging 12.8 hits and 10.8 runs per game, it was a quiet night overall.
The Beavers didn’t have to wait long to react, even if it was their first blunder of the season. On Sunday, Oregon State will play in the Round Rock Classic final.
Canham is confident that he will witness a greater performance.
“There’s no other choice,” he continued, “and they’re going to wake up with a lot of energy.” This is the kind of bunch that will wake you up if you were hit in the chest. You don’t simply crawl into a corner and exclaim, “Whoa, who am I?” We don’t have time for that. I have faith that they will bring it.
Next up: On Sunday at 10 a.m., the Beavers take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Dell Diamond.
503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman|@freemanjoe.bsky.social| Joe Freeman|[email protected]| Get the newest news and the best stories by subscribing to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts.
