There were no late-game heroics this time, just a lopsided Oregon State victory that leaves the Beavers one victory away from advancing to the College World Series championship series.
Trevor Larnach went 3 for 4 and drove in three runs, and Adley Rutschman and Zak Taylor added two RBIs apiece to lead Oregon State to a 12-2 victory against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Friday at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.
It sets up a Beavers-Bulldogs rematch at 5 p.m. PDT Saturday, with the winner advancing to the CWS finals against Arkansas, which eliminated Florida later Friday.
Oregon State and Mississippi State each have had a penchant for late-game comebacks during the NCAA baseball tournament thus far. But OSU made sure there would be no late drama this time.
The Beavers overcame another short outing from their starter, Bryce Fehmel, thanks to plenty of offense and 5 1/3 shutout innings from reliever Brandon Eisert.
OSU broke the game open with a five-run second inning and never looked back.
Here's a recap of how the game unfolded.
Live score: Oregon State 12, Mississippi State 2 (Final)
Top 9th: Brandon Eisert remains the OSU pitcher. He gets Elijah MacNamee to fly out to center to start the ninth, and Mississippi State is down to its final two outs. That brings up Justin Foscue. He flies out, and then Luke Alexander fouls out to end the game. They'll do it again on Saturday, time TBA. Oregon State 12, Mississippi State 2
Bottom 8th: Michael Gretler leads off the eighth by flying out to center field. After Jack Anderson walks, Zak Taylor pops up for the second out of the inning. Nick Madrigal then pulls one down the left-field line that stays fair and goes for a double. It scores Anderson, and the Beavers are up 12-2. Cadyn Grenier then strikes out swinging, and Oregon State now heads to the ninth, three outs away from a rematch on Saturday against this Mississippi State team. Oregon State 12, Mississippi State 2
Top 8th: Preston Jones moves to center field for the Beavers, replacing Kyle Nobach in the batting lineup, with Jack Anderson shifting over to left. Brandon Eisert remains the OSU pitcher, and he faces Rowdey Jordan. And Jordan strikes out swinging to bring up Tanner Allen. He laces a single to center. Hunter Stovall steps in for MSU with one out. He grounds into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. Oregon State 11, Mississippi State 2
Bottom 7th: Oregon State's Michael Gretler walks on a 3-1 count. Jack Anderson then singles to left to send Gretler to third. Zak Taylor then rips a pitch to deep right-center field. It falls and rolls, clearing the bases. Oregon State goes up 9-2, and Taylor is into third for a stand-up triple. Nick Madrigal steps up for OSU. He walks to give the Beavers runners on first and third with no outs. Cadyn Grenier is up next for OSU. The Bulldogs bring on right-hander Blake Smith to replace Denver McQuary, who lasted an inning-plus. Grenier lines into a double play, and Madrigal is out at first. Two down now for Trevor Larnach. Taylor remains at third. Larnach rips a single past the shortstop, scoring Taylor. The Beavers' lead grows to 10-2. And now Adley Rutschman comes to the plate. He walks on a full count. Now Joe Casey pinch hits for Tyler Malone, and he singles into center to score Larnach. OSU leads it 11-2. Kyle Nobach is the Beavers batter now. He strikes out swinging to end the inning, but not before the Beavers add on four more runs. Oregon State 11, Mississippi State 2
Top 7th: Luke Alexander grounds out to first base. Then Dustin Skelton grounds out to Nick Madrigal at second. OSU reliever Brandon Eisert has not allowed a hit in three innings of work. Now DH Jordan Westburg grounds one that skips off the glove of third baseman Michael Gretler for a base hit. It's scored as an error on Gretler. Jake Mangum steps in for MSU. He strikes out to end the inning. Oregon State 7, Mississippi State 2
Bottom 6th: Adley Rutschman grounds out to first base. Then Tyler Malone bloops a single to right field. Kyle Nobach then grounds into what appears to be a fielder's choice, but it turns into a double play when Malone is called for interference for his indirect slide into second base. Oregon State 7, Mississippi State 2
Top 6th: OSU pitcher Brandon Eisert faces Mississippi State's Hunter Stovall to begin the sixth. Stovall grounds out to shortstop for the first out of the frame. Elijah MacNamee now steps to the plate for the Bulldogs. He lines one hard, but it's straight to third baseman Michael Gretler. He makes the grab for the second out. Justin Foscue then flies out to Jack Anderson in center for a quick inning. Oregon State 7, Mississippi State 2
Bottom 5th: Zak Taylor is hit by a pitch to begin the fifth for OSU. That brings up leadoff man Nick Madrigal. He grounds out to third, and Taylor advances to second on the play. Then Taylor scoots over to third on a wild pitch. Cadyn Grenier is the OSU batter. Grenier flies out to right, and Taylor has to hold at third. Two outs for Trevor Larnach now. He watches strike three go by, and seems shocked at the call. The inning ends. Oregon State 7, Mississippi State 2
Top 5th: Brandon Eisert gets a 1-2-3 inning. Mississippi State's Jake Mangum grounds out. Then Rowdey Jordan walks, but he is erased when Tanner Allen hits into a 4-6-3 double play. Oregon State 7, Mississippi State 2
Bottom 4th: No. 3 hitter Trevor Larnach leads it off for the Beavers' half of the fourth. Also due up are Adley Rutschman and Tyler Malone. Larnach rips one to right, and it rolls to the wall for a double. Rutschman then strikes out to bring up Malone. He draws a walk, so that gives the Beavers runners at first and second with one out for Kyle Nobach (1 for 2 today). He singles to right, and that scores Larnach. The Beavers lead it 7-2. Malone advances to third. OSU has runners at the corners for Michael Gretler. He strikes out looking and is not enamored with the call. Jack Anderson is the OSU batter now. He grounds out to shortstop to end the frame. But the Beavers tack on one more run. Oregon State 7, Mississippi State 2
Top 4th: Justin Foscue doubles down the left-field line to start things off for Mississippi State in the fourth. Next up, it's Luke Alexander. He fouls out to bring up Dustin Skelton. He sacrifices to send Foscue over to third with two outs. That brings Jordan Westburg to the plate. Left-hander Brandon Eisert comes on to replace Bryce Fehmel, who goes 3 2/3 innings and throws 57 pitches, and 41 of those for strikes. Eisert gets Westburg to strike out swinging to end the inning. Oregon State 6, Mississippi State 2
Bottom 3rd: Jack Anderson leads off with a single to center field. That will bring up No. 9 hitter Zak Taylor. He lays down a sacrifice bunt that sends Anderson over to second. And that brings up the top of the OSU order, with Nick Madrigal. The count goes full to Madrigal, and then he grounds out to third. Anderson has to hold at second. Two outs now for Cadyn Grenier, and he flies out to left. Oregon State 6, Mississippi State 2
Top 3rd: Jordan Westburg is hit by a pitch to start the third. Then Jake Mangum singles up the middle to advance Westburg to third. That brings up Rowdey Jordan for Mississippi State, with runners at the corners and no outs. Jordan's long at-bat ends with a flyout down the line in left field for the first out of the inning. Tanner Allen steps in for MSU. He fouls out to third, and now Bryce Fehmel is one out away from getting out of this jam. Hunter Stovall singles, and that scores Westburg. Mississippi State cuts the lead to 6-2. Now it's runners at first and second for Elijah MacNamee. He sends a ground ball to shortstop Cadyn Grenier, who flips to Nick Madrigal at second for the force. And the inning ends after the Bulldogs scratch across one run. Oregon State 6, Mississippi State 2
Bottom 2nd: Kyle Nobach hits one into the gap in right-center, and it drops in for a double. Oregon State again is in business in the second, with Michael Gretler coming to the plate. He singles through the middle to drive in Nobach, and the Beavers take the 2-1 lead. That brings up Jack Anderson. His sacrifice bunt moves Gretler to second, and it's Zak Taylor's turn at bat. Taylor is hit by a pitch, so it's now runners on first and second for Nick Madrigal. He singles through the left side, and that scores Gretler. Taylor holds up at second, and the Beavers now go up 3-1. Cadyn Grenier then walks, and that loads the bases for Trevor Larnach. That will do it for Bulldogs starter Jacob Billingsley. He exits after 41 pitches, and Mississippi State brings on right-hander Keegan James. The count goes full to Larnach. He walks, and that forces in another Beavers run. Now it's Adley Rutschman to the plate for OSU. He sends a single to left, and that scores two more runs. The Beavers have broken it open with a 6-1 lead. Runners on first and second for Tyler Malone now. Malone walks, and the bases are loaded again as Kyle Nobach steps to the plate. Nobach pops one up, and then Michael Gretler flies out to right. The inning ends with the bases loaded, but the Beavers tack on five runs to take a commanding lead. Oregon State 6, Mississippi State 1
Top 2nd: Justin Foscue leads it off for the Bulldogs in the second, with Luke Alexander and Dustin Skelton also due up. Foscue flies out to right-center. Then Alexander flies out to left-center. Skelton flies out to center, and it's a quick 1-2-3 inning for Bryce Fehmel and the Beavers. Oregon State 1, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 1st: Nick Madrigal leads it off with a single through the right side for Oregon State. Now Cadyn Grenier comes to the plate for the Beavers. Madrigal safely steals second. And then he scoots over to third for another steal. OSU is in business with no outs and a man on third. Grenier draws a full-count walk to put runners at the corners for Trevor Larnach. He singles through the right side. Madrigal scores, and Grenier hustles over to third. OSU ties it up at 1-1. The always-dangerous Adley Rutschman to the plate now for the Beavers. He sends a comebacker to pitcher Jacob Billingsley. Grenier gets caught between third and home and is out on the rundown. And then Larnach also gets stuck between second and third, and the Bulldogs get a double play. Very poor baserunning there by OSU. Rutschman had run up behind Larnach at second, so Larnach had nowhere to go. So now it's two outs for designated hitter Tyler Malone. He grounds out, and the game heads to the second, all tied up. Oregon State 1, Mississippi State 1
Top 1st: The game begins with Bryce Fehmel hitting Jake Mangum with a pitch to put Mississippi State's leadoff batter aboard. Fehmel then gets Rowdey Jordan to strike out swinging on a 1-2 pitch. That brings up Tanner Allen for the Bulldogs. After a long at-bat, Allen fouls out to third baseman Michael Gretler. Cleanup hitter Hunter Stovall sends one to center field. Jack Anderson charges on it, but can't make the catch. It rolls away to him, and Mangum scores from first as Stovall winds up with a stand-up double. Mississippi State takes the early 1-0 lead. Elijah MacNamee then grounds out to end the inning. Mississippi State 1, Oregon State 0
Pregame information: Oregon State would need to beat Mississippi State both Friday and Saturday to advance to next week's CWS championship series. The Bulldogs need only win once to move on and eliminate the Beavers.
The Beavers will start right-hander Bryce Fehmel (10-1, 3.10 ERA). Center fielder Steven Kwan is not in the OSU starting lineup, apparently still nursing a hamstring strain. Kwan did pinch hit on Wednesday against North Carolina, but was replaced by a pinch runner after he was intentionally walked. Jack Anderson will play center field against the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State is starting right-hander Jacob Billingsley (5-3, 4.92).