Takeaways from Oregon State baseball's pivotal Pac-12 Tournament win over Arizona State
Oregon State baseball staved off elimination from the Pac-12 Tournament — for now, at least.
Facing a win-or-go-home scenario, the Beavers emerged with a 3-2 victory over Arizona State Thursday at Scottsdale Stadium. While the win got OSU back on track following Wednesday's upset loss to Stanford, it does not guarantee a spot in the tournament semifinals.
In order to get there, the Beavers will need Arizona to beat California when the two teams face off at 7 p.m. Thursday evening.
Here are three takeaways from Oregon State's Pac-12 Tournament win over the Sun Devils.
Significance of OSU's Thursday win in Pac-12 Tournament
Oregon State's Thursday win was pivotal for multiple reasons.
Of course, the Beavers are hoping to make a deep run in the conference tournament. But they also need to keep winning in order to bolster their postseason outlook.
In its latest 64-team NCAA Tournament projection, D1Baseball tabbed Oregon State as a regional host. But the Beavers are still very much on the bubble for an all-important top-eight seed. That's significant because each top-eight seed automatically receives the right to host a super regional if they win their regional.
In order to earn that luxury, the Beavers will have to hope they earn a spot in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, and then may need to run the table in Scottsdale.
Oregon State's Mason Guerra gets back on track vs. Arizona State
For all the hitting talent that the Beavers feature up and down their lineup, there aren't many players on OSU's roster — or in the entire Pac-12 — who posses as much raw home run power as Mason Guerra.
The junior infielder smashed six homers throughout the first 20 games of this season but is in the midst of a monthlong slump during which his batting average has plummeted from .283 to .240. As a result, Guerra has fallen down the Beavers' batting order; after hitting in the No. 3 spot during the early portion of the year, OSU coach Mitch Canham penciled him in at No. 7 against Arizona State.
Despite his recent struggles, though, Guerra's bat came to life when the Beavers needed it most on Thursday.
With Oregon State trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Guerra turned on a fastball and deposited it into the left field bleachers for a two-run homer. It was his first long ball since April 19 and OSU's first of the Pac-12 Tournament.
It proved to be all the offense Oregon State would need.
"I feel like it's just about drawing more walks, getting pitchers to throw more pitches early in the game. Hitting the bullpen hard," Guerra said during a Pac-12 Network interview when asked what Oregon State's offense needs to do to find more consistency. "We do a great job up and down the order of just grinding out at bats."
Nelson Keljo shines in relief duty in Beavers' win vs. Sun Devils
One of the few bright spots during Oregon State's Wednesday loss was the performance of its bullpen in the middle and late innings.
That proved to be the case once again on Thursday as sophomore lefty Nelson Keljo produced one of the best outings of his career.
Keljo took over for starter Aiden May in the top of the fifth and proceeded to throw four scoreless innings. During that time, he struck out four, walked one and did not allow a hit.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore retired the final 11 batters that he faced.
Keljo's big outing helped bridge the gap from May to all-conference closer Bridger Holmes, who shut the Sun Devils down with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal the win. It also helped keep the rest of the bullpen fresh for the weekend, which could be key if Oregon State hopes to make a deep tournament run.
Jarrid Denney covers high school sports and Oregon State for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at JDenney@salem.gannett.com or on X @jarrid_denney
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon State baseball beats ASU in 2024 Pac-12 Tournament
