The Barometer Online

Issue date: 5/4/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Cory Reed Senior Koa Kahalehoe makes contact Sunday against No. 3 Arizona State. Kahalehoe's walk-off single Saturday night secured Oregon State a victory over the Sun Devils. With the win on Sunday, Oregon State handed the Sun Devils their first Pac-10 series loss.

In what was predicted to be the most highly anticipated Pac-10 matchup of the season, the Oregon State Beavers (27-12, 11-7) played cat and mouse with the Arizona State Sun Devils (33-11, 16-5), taking the series 2-1 in dramatic fashion.

"We came back and we battled hard," designated hitter Adalberto Santos said. "We stuck our nose in there and we kept fighting. We came out here with a desire to win. It just shows that the sky is the limit for us."

Entering Sunday's afternoon game with the series up for the grabs, the Beavers appeared to have the all the momentum as they made a late-night heroic comeback Saturday and had their ace Jorge Reyes scheduled to take the mound for the rubber match.

Reyes' presences was hardly felt as the junior right-hander was taken out of the game after only 2 2/3 innings pitched.

After Reyes struck out the three and four hitters back-to-back, Reyes all but fell apart in the top of the second. Surrendering a leadoff single followed by a hit batsman, Reyes committed a throwing error while grounding a routine bunt, which resulted in the Sun Devils scoring two runs and taking the lead.

Reyes would eventually get a double play to end the inning but exited the game in the top half of the third after giving up two consecutive doubles that resulted in two more runs.

"One good thing out of the whole thing is that Jorge is going to get a lot of rest," head coach Pat Casey said. "He didn't throw hardly any pitches and unfortunately wasn't as sharp as he normally is.

With a 4-0 deficit entering the bottom half of the third inning, the game appeared to be all but over against arguably the best team in the nation. With their backs to the wall and a nothing-to-lose attitude, the Beavers dug deep and delivered one of the most memorable comebacks at Goss Stadium for the second night in a row.

Continued...

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