For the first time in nearly a month, No. 3 Oregon State baseball will walk out of a weekend with a series loss.

A 13-1 loss at the hands of No. 13 Oregon on Saturday, April 26 sealed the Beavers fate for their final weekend series of the month. Oregon State’s last dropped series came against Nebraska at the end of March, sandwiching a win between two losses.

A season ago, Oregon State found themselves on the flip-side of back-to-back wins in the state’s rivalry matchup. The 2024 Beavers won Friday and Saturday’s games before dropping Sunday’s series finale and a Tuesday midweek matchup.

Oregon State head coach Mitch Canham leaned on the year-old example in his postgame media availability.

“That feeling we had after we lost the last two was very upset, because thats how we finished the series” Canham said about the 2024 matchup. “Now, the opportunity is how are we going to finish the remaining games?”

The Ducks notched multiple runs in five of their first six innings, punctuating their offensive frenzy with a four-run bottom of the sixth.

The final runs came across courtesy of the left side of the Oregon infield, with shortstop Maddox Molony blasting a two-run homer — his 11th of the season — before third baseman Carter Garate drove a double down the right-field line for a two-RBI knock of his own.

The Ducks logged 14 hits, six of which went for extra bases, en route to the win. It took the Ducks just seven pitches to get on the board, with Oregon State starter Dax Whitney issuing a walk to Mason Neville before Ducks designated-hitter Dominic Hellman turned on a first-pitch fastball for a two-run shot.

Hellman’s tank would be one of four hit by Oregon. First baseman Jacob Walsh lifted one over the fence, as did Neville, adding his 21st of the season.

Five arms saw work for Oregon State in the loss. Dax Whitney (3-3) made his regularly scheduled Saturday start, taking the loss after allowing four runs, four hits and four walks in three frames of work. He punched out four.

Relievers AJ Hutcheson (one and one-third innings) and James DeCremer (one frame) each got tagged for four earned runs in brief stints, with the latter credited with an unearned score as well.

Zach Kmatz (one and two-thirds innings) and Zach Edwards (one inning) finished off the game with scoreless outings, picking up a strikeout each.

The Beavers lone score of the day came in the top of the sixth, with AJ Singer driving a single to left field and bringing Easton Talt home. Friday night’s hitting issues bled through to Saturday. While Oregon State struck out just four times, the Beavers just couldn’t get batted balls away from the gloves of Oregon.

“We were a little timid (at the plate) early,” Canham said. “(We were) narrowing the focus when we’re in (hitters) counts… I saw a couple times in 2-1 counts where the ball was really getting in on us. Or we were looking for something over the plate (Oregon) went inside and we weren’t able to get a barrel on it.”

Oregon State would finish the game notching just five hits, none of which went for extra bases. Outfielder Gavin Turley went 2-for-4, while Singer, catcher Wilson Weber and second baseman Dawson Santana accounting for a hit apiece.

The weekend finale is slated for noon on Sunday, April 27 at PK Park in Eugene. Oregon State will send left-hander Ethan Kleinschmit (6-1, 3.74 ERA) to the hill, while righty Jason Reitz (1-0, 4.33 ERA) will start for Oregon.