Courtesy: OSU Sports Information

EUGENE, Ore.– Michael Conforto hit a second inning grand slam and the sixth-ranked Oregon State baseball team finished with 17 hits in a 12-2 win over No. 10 Oregon Sunday at PK Park. The game marked the series finale of the Civil War.

Oregon State’s victory gave the Beavers a 2-1 series victory over Oregon and the team now holds a two-game lead with three games to play in the race for the Pac-12 Conference championship. The club’s last Pac-12 series begins Friday against Washington State.

Conforto’s grand slam in the second inning started an offensive onslaught for the Beavers, who led 1-0 after the Oregon State (43-9 overall, 22-5 Pac-12) sophomore singled in the first. He proceeded to hit the first pitch he saw from Oregon (43-13, 20-7) starter Jake Reed over the right field fence to push the lead to 6-0. Tyler Smith had driven in the inning’s first run on a bases loaded walk.

The home run was the ninth of the season for Conforto, who has two grand slams on the year. It was also his second home run of the series after his game-winning solo shot on Saturday.

Conforto capped off his afternoon with a run-scoring double in the ninth, giving him six RBI on the day.

Smith singled to left in the third for a 7-0 Beavers lead. Oregon State broke the game open with a four-run eighth that saw Dylan Davis, Kavin Keyes, Ryan Barnes and Jake Rodriguez drive in runs.

Ben Wetzler was solid in 6 1/3 innings of work to earned his seventh consecutive win and improve to 7-1 this season. The lefty scattered six hits and two runs – one earned – while walking one and striking out six.

Wetzler earned his seventh quality start in nine Pac-12 games this season, and extended the pitching staff’s streak to 21 games against league foes.

Reed worked 2 2/3 innings for Oregon, allowing eight hits and seven runs – only one of which was earned – while striking out two. The right-hander dropped to 6-4 on the year.

Conforto, Davis and Keyes all had three hits to pace the Beavers, while Smith, Hayes and Barnes pitched in with two as well.

Oregon State and Oregon compete again Tuesday in a 5:35 p.m. PT game at Goss Stadium in Corvallis. The game is considered a non-conference tilt and will not count toward the Pac-12 standings.

Courtesy: OSU Sports Information

EUGENE, Ore. – Andrew Moore tossed a two-hit shutout and Michael Conforto and Ryan Barnes each hit solo home runs to send the sixth-ranked Oregon State baseball team to a 9-0 win over No. 10 Oregon Saturday afternoon at PK Park.

The Beavers evened the series with the shutout, which was the team’s 10th of the season and second of the year for Moore, who improved to 11-1, becoming the Pac-12 Conference’s first 11-game winner. The victory pushed the Beavers back ahead in the chase for the Pac-12 Championship, and now lead the Ducks by one game.

Oregon State (42-9 overall, 21-5 Pac-12), up 2-0 after seven, scored five in the eighth and two more in the ninth for the convincing win. The nine-run victory margin was the largest between the teams in a game that counts toward the Pac-12 standings since Oregon (43-12, 20-6) reinstated its program in 2009. It’s the second-highest overall.

“This was a very important bounce back win for us,” head coach Pat Casey said. “We battled through five tough innings against a very good starter in Cole Irvin. We were focused today and it showed.”

Moore held Oregon to just two hits – a double by Ryon Healy in the fourth and a single by J.J. Altobelli in the sixth – while walking one. He only picked up two strikeouts, with both coming in the eighth.

Pitching in his hometown of Eugene for the first time at the collegiate level, he did so in fine fashion, and in the process, set the Oregon State freshman record for victories in a single season, surpassing Sam Gaviglio’s 10 in 2009.

Moore also pushed his earned run average to 1.34 on the year.

The teams were embroiled in a scoreless tie through six but Conforto lofted a home run over the left field fence in the sixth off Irvin. Barnes did so in the seventh as well to put the Beavers in the driver’s seat, 2-0.

Then came the eighth inning. Oregon State sent 10 batters to the plate with Barnes and Danny Hayes highlighting the inning. Hayes hit a two-run single and Barnes tripled to right for three of the inning’s five runs. Andy Peterson, who went 4-for-4 with a walk, also drove in a run during the inning, which he followed in the ninth with another RBI.

Peterson’s four hits led the Oregon State offensive attack, which finished with 12 hits off four Oregon pitchers. Hayes and Barnes each had two hits as well.

Irvin took the loss and dropped to 10-3 on the year. The Oregon lefty allowed six hits and two runs with a walk and three strikeouts in seven innings.

Oregon State head coach Pat Casey:

Oregon State pitcher Andrew Moore:

Oregon State second baseman Andy Peterson:

Courtesy: Oregon Sports Information

EUGENE, Ore. – Tommy Thorpe picked the right night to have the best start of his career at Oregon. The sophomore was dominant holding No. 4 Oregon State to just two infield hits in eight innings in a 3-0 win for the sixth-ranked Ducks on Friday night.

Thorpe matched a career-high with seven strikeouts while only allowing infield singles in the second and third innings. The sophomore, who moved to 6-4 on the season with the win, only faced real trouble in the third. The Beavers (41-9, 20-5 Pac-12) put runners on second and third with a bunt single, a hit batter and a wild pitch, but Thorpe struck out Michael Conforto to end the inning.

Thorpe took the mound in the ninth and walked the leadoff hitter forcing Oregon (43-11, 20-5 Pac-12) to go to closer Jimmie Sherfy. The Ducks’ All-American picked up his 20th save, breaking the Oregon record of 19 he set in 2012, to help UO pull into a first-place tie with the Beavers in the Pac-12.

The Ducks jumped out early scoring two runs in the first and one run in the second. Ryon Healy, who returned to the starting lineup after sitting out the last three games, put Oregon on top 1-0 with a base hit to left field scoring Brett Thomas. After a Mitchell Tolman sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third with one out, Aaron Payne scored to make it 2-0 on a slow roller to first by Scott Heineman.

Freshman Nick Catalano led off the bottom of the second with a double and scored on a RBI flare single by J.J. Altobelli to give the Ducks a 3-0 lead.

Thomas and Payne led Oregon with both going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Matt Boyd (10-3) took the loss for Oregon State.

The Ducks and Beavers meet Saturday at 2 p.m. at PK Park in game two of the three-game series with both teams scheduled to throw freshmen. Cole Irvin (10-2) will pitch for Oregon, while Andrew Moore (10-1) gets the start for Oregon State.

Click above to see our one-on-one interview with former South Medford and University of Oregon star E.J. Singler.

ASHLAND, Ore. — It takes arm strength, instincts and drive, but perhaps more than any other position in sports, pitching is an art. That’s one of the reasons Jamie Flynn devotes countless hours to improving as Ashland’s star pitcher.

“I realize that pitching is what I love to do,” said Flynn. “Just being able to touch the ball before every play is what I want. So I definitely specialized towards becoming a pitcher.”

That specialization included dropping all other sports just to focus on baseball.

“I’ve always played three sports so I never had that much time off before,” said Flynn. “My parents were always like, if you specialize in one sport, you’re just going to sit around on the couch and eat potato chips and do the classic teenager thing like play video games. I really think that it didn’t really change for me as far as getting after it.”

That’s where the art of pitching comes in. Jamie works hard in the weight room and on the field, but he also values his time spent watching tape.

“By watching tape and watching other pitchers that have had success, that’s really helped me also. Pitching’s a mind game, and so it’s really good to be able to focus on that mental part of the game.”

“He always had a lot of questions about the game,” said pitching coach Chuck Thacker. “He always had a desire to learn and make himself better.”

When he’s on the mound, Jamie takes that mind game even further.

“It’s my time,” said Flynn. “I can make a game last four hours, or I can make it last an hour depending on what speed I’m at, and just having that contorl and that power is probably the best feeling for me.”

There’s no question that Jamie brings the control and power, but longtime pitching coach Chuck Thacker sees a little more.

“He knows how to pitch, but I think probably the quality for me that sets him apart is that he’s just such a tremendous competitor. He will literally, in some games, he’ll just refuse to lose. You can see it in his face. It’s not going to happen today.”

That competitiveness, along with his mental approach, make every pitch a work of art.

CRESWELL, Ore. – St. Mary’s Dylan Wu wins the individual championship. He shot a one-over 73 for the day and was even par for the tournament. He edged out Rogue River senior Kevin Murphy who was two-over for the tournament. Wu lead by three strokes with three holes to play, but double bogeyed the 16th, leaving the door open for Murphy. However, Wu chipped in for birdie on 17, while Murphy three-putted for bogey. Wu wasn’t the only Crusader who did well on Tuesday. St. Mary’s shot a 299 for the second straight day, winning the team title by 77 strokes. It’s the third straight state championship for the Crusaders, who return all but one varisty player next year.

MEDFORD, Ore. — Basketball stars E.J. and Kyle Singler may have discovered a new talent. The Singler brothers teamed up with Dutch Bros. on Friday afternoon, to help cool off some customers and raise awareness for this weekend’s Singler Open. E.J. and Kyle manned the windows of the Dutch Bros. on Stewart Avenue in South Medford for nearly two and a half hours on Friday. At times, the lines spilled out into the streets as fans waited to get autographs and be served by their favorite players.

It’s just the start of a very busy weekend for the Singlers. The Singler Open begins on Saturday and will be held across seven different locations throughout Medford and Phoenix. There’s also a dinner and skills clinic Saturday night.

MEDFORD, Ore. — Early this spring McLoughlin seventh grader Jaron Emerson added sprinting to his athletic repertoire. A few months later, he was blowing past the competition.

“I knew I was fast, but I didn’t think I was the fastest kid out here, but I started catching on,” said Jaron. “Some of the eighth graders started helping me, and I got my form down.”

He may have never realized his potential if his mother Laurie, a former track athlete herself, hadn’t encouraged him to give it a try.

“We had seen him run in basketball and baseball so we thought, ‘why not try track,’” said Laurie. “Because it was something that I love to do, I was encouraging him. So I’m excited.”

Jaron says it was a growth spurt that really took his athletic abilities to another level.

“Fifth grade to sixth grade summer I grew five inches, and I got really tall and suddenly I got really fast,” said Jaron.

He got fast enough to nab the best time in the country. Shortly after an April 17th meet, Jaron’s parents found out his time in the 200 meter dash ranked first in the United States.

“We were shocked, said Laurie. “We were just shocked. I mean, it’s exciting. It’s really exciting.”

“She told me over the phone and I told her I didn’t believe her,” said Ralph. “I told her to go double check.”

“When my dad first told me, I didn’t believe him,” said Jaron. “Then I went and asked him again. I made him show me. Then we saw it on the Internet and my time beat everybody else. So I was excited.”

It’s an amazing feat for someone who just started running, but sports have always dominated Jaron’s life.

“He’s always been athletic,” said Laurie. “In every sport he’s ever done, he’s always exceeded in it.”

“I always wanted to play some type of athletic sport as a professional, but I never really thought about it at this level,” said Jaron.

Grants Pass junior Drake Brennan is one of the top throwers in the state in the discus. Drake chats with Newswatch 12′s Chris Leone about the form that has helped him become one of the top contenders for a state championship.

Oregon State pitcher Jace Fry:

Oregon State pitcher Ben Wetzler:

Oregon State outfielder Michael Conforto:

Oregon State infielder Tyler Smith:

Courtesy: OSU Sports Information

CORVALLIS, Ore.– Jake Rodriguez, Danny Hayes and Tyler Smith all homered Sunday, helping the sixth-ranked Oregon State baseball team to a 6-4 win over California in front of 3,121 fans at Goss Stadium.

Hayes’ served as the game-winner as the two-run shot sailed over the stands in right field in the fourth inning. It snapped a 1-1 tie and put the Beavers in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the game.

Hayes’ home run was sandwiched between Rodriguez’s solo shot in the second and Smith’s round-tripper in the fifth. The Beavers added two runs in the seventh on a groundout by Andy Peterson and single by Michael Conforto.

The three home runs by the Beavers marked a season-high for the club and boosted the team’s total to 14, including seven in league play.

Rodriguez and Conforto each had two hits for Oregon State (37-8 overall, 17-4 Pac-12 Conference), which ran its win streak to eight games after taking its seventh consecutive game from the Golden Bears (21-26, 9-15).

Ben Wetzler made the start for the Beavers and gave up 11 hits but also struck out 10 California batters. He gave up two runs – one earned – and did not walk a batter to get the win and improve to 5-1 this season.

Wetzler’s start qualified as a quality start – his fifth – and the 15th consecutive by OSU starters against Pac-12 opponents.

Dylan Nelson started for the Golden Bears and worked five innings before being relieved by Logan Scott to open the sixth. Nelson took the loss after allowing five hits and four runs with one strikeout. He is 1-5 on the year.

Cal scored solo runs in the third and seventh innings before Andrew Knapp doubled off the right field fence to trim OSU’s lead to 6-4 with two down in the ninth. Scott Schultz, however, got Devon Rodriguez to ground out to Smith to end the game.

Oregon State makes the short trek to Keizer, Ore., to take on Portland in a non-conference game Wednesday at Volcanoes Stadium.