Graham leads Stanford to first Pac-12 tourney title
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Carter Graham had four hits and drove in three runs, Drew Browser hit a tie-breaking home run in the seventh inning, and top-seeded Stanford beat second-seeded Oregon State 9-5 Sunday night in the first-ever Pac-12 Tournament.
It was the 16th-straight win for the third-ranked Cardinal (41-14), the longest since they won 18-straight in 1996.
Stanford, ranked third in the country, and fourth-ranked Oregon State will both host NCAA regionals next week. The field for the NCAA Tournament will be announced on Monday.
After the Beavers, who gave up three runs in the first inning, finally caught the Cardinals at 5 with an unearned run in the top of the seventh, Bowser hit a solo home run leading off the bottom of the inning.
Stanford tacked on an unearned run in the seventh and Kody Huff hit a two-run homer in the eighth, his third of the tournament.
Oregon State (44-14) finally ran out of gas after splitting games with UCLA on Saturday to reach the championship. The Beavers lost 25-22 in 11 innings after giving up nine runs in the bottom of the ninth that tied the game at 21. In the second game they scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win 8-7.
After giving up 37 hits and 42 runs while throwing 430 pitches, OSU pitchers gave up 12 hits, eighth of them for extra bases, and threw 163 pitches.
Jacob Melton had four of Oregon State’s seven hits and drove in two runs. His two-out triple in the ninth was the Beavers’ only extra base hit. Wade Meckler scored three runs.
Ryan Bruno (5-1) threw two innings for the win and Brandt Pancer followed with the last two for his second save. Four pitchers struck out 13 but allowed seven walks
Reid Sebby (1-2), the fifth of six OSU pitches, took the loss.
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