No. 7 Oregon State baseball (40-12-1) clinched a series-win over Long Beach State (22-30) with a 12-8 victory Friday, May 16 at Goss Stadium.

The Beavers held a commanding lead for much of the game, but had to stave off a late-inning comeback attempt by the Dirtbags. Long Beach State plated eight runs over the final three innings, tearing into the Beavers bullpen.

“I think you can see from my face (how I feel),” Oregon State head coach Mitch Canham said, frowning. “My expectations of us are just extremely high. Every game, I expect us to score in double digits and I expect us to limit them to one (run) or none.”

The Beavers’ offense lived up to its head coach’s expectation, plating 12 runs on 16 hits.

A two-out RBI-single from sophomore third baseman Trent Caraway got the Beavers on the board in the second inning, driving in junior centerfielder Canon Reeder.

The floodgate of runs broke open an inning later thanks in large part to the duo of Reeder and Caraway. They each launched multi-RBI home runs in the home half of the third inning and accounted for all seven RBI of a seven-run frame that saw the Beavers take 13 at-bats.

Reeder launched a grand slam, scoring second baseman AJ Singer, catcher Wilson Weber and outfielder Gavin Turley. First baseman Tyce Peterson and designated-hitter Dallas Macias backed up Reeder’s blast with a pair of singles, before Caraway came to the plate and blasted a three-run shot of his own. It was the sophomore’s first home run since a two-homer day against Cal State Northridge on April 18.

“(Hitting coach Ryan) Gipson called it today. He said, ‘(Caraway) is going to go off,'” Canham said. “(Caraway) is getting in there and moving in the batter’s box with a lot of confidence… That’s the guy we know.”

Caraway finished off his day going 3-for-5 at the dish with the home run and a double, racking up four RBI.

Reeder rounded out the three-hit club from Friday’s win, going 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs, one walk and seven RBI. His second tank, a two-run blast in the eighth, gave the Beavers some insurance with the bullpen struggling to close out the game.

In two games against LBSU, Reeder has gone 4-for-7 with three homers and 9 RBI.

“The biggest thing is just being on time (for pitches) and keeping it simple,” Reeder said about his success as of late.

Freshman right-hander Dax Whitney (5-3) earned the win, pitching 5.1 scoreless innings while letting up just one hit despite issuing three walks and plunking two. The freshman’s command started to wobble after the long third inning in the dugout, but managed to push through before exiting after recording the first out of the sixth.

“We’re not necessarily on a pitch count,” Whitney said. “But (it’s a) short week, so no need to overextend if I didn’t have to. So, yeah, I felt good about (the outing).”

Right-hander senior Joey Mundt finished off the sixth inning, recording two outs with a pair of ground balls on just 10 pitches. Bullpen performances got rocky from there, with left-hander Tanner Douglas and righty AJ Hutcheson letting up five runs while recording just two outs in the seventh inning.

Zach Kmatz (1.1 innings, one hit, one strikeout) finished off the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth before lefty Nelson Keljo came on for the ninth.

Keljo, who has typically worked as Whitney’s “piggyback” since returning to the bullpen, had a night to forget as the sixth arm on the hill. The Dirtbags rattled off three runs on four hits and a walk in the ninth, cutting the Oregon State lead to four.

With enough lead and wiggle room, Keljo was able to finish off the game after facing eight Dirtbag batters, giving the Beavers the win despite the late-game scare.

Oregon State and Long Beach State’s regular-season finale is scheduled for 12:35 p.m. on Saturday, May 17 at Goss Stadium.