Arizona's ninth-inning rally stuns Oregon State as Wildcats win Pac-12 baseball championship

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No. 6 Oregon State baseball's magical two-week run ended on the final pitch of the 2024 Pac-12 regular season Saturday night in Tucson, Arizona.

Brendan Summerhill's two-run blast to center in the bottom of the ninth gave No. 14 Arizona a 4-3 win over Oregon State, settling the conference's regular season title.

Arizona, trailing 3-2 after the Beavers took the lead in the top of the ninth, had runners at first and second when Summerhill doubled off OSU reliever Joey Mundt. Summerhill's shot off the wall in centerfield scored Tommy Splaine and Maddox Mihalakis.

The loss spoiled a terrific rally by the Beavers, who two weeks ago were in fourth place in the Pac-12, 2½ games out of first place. Oregon State won seven consecutive games, including the first two games of the Arizona series by scores of 9-2 and 16-1, to set up a winner-take-all finale Saturday night with the Wildcats.

Arizona (33-20, 20-10) won the Pac-12 regular season title by a half-game over Oregon State (41-13, 19-10) and claims the conference tournament's No. 1 seed. The Beavers heads to the Pac-12 tournament as the No. 2 seed.

The conference tournament at Scottsdale Stadium (Arizona) runs Tuesday through Saturday. OSU and Arizona begin play Wednesday.

Saturday night's de facto Pac-12 championship game was loaded with drama and solid pitching performances. Arizona rode starting pitcher Cam Welty into the ninth inning, while Oregon State's bullpen defused several Wildcat rallies to keep the score tied at 2-2 heading to the ninth.

Oregon State got first jump, as Jabin Trosky's two-out single to right field scored Easton Talt.

One of the game's biggest plays happened one batter before Trosky. With runners at first and second, Jacob Krieg hit a ball between third and short. Arizona third baseman Richie Morales made a diving stop, whirled and made the only throw he could, nailing Elijah Hainline at third base by the narrowest of margins. It took almost five minutes of video review before the ball was upheld.

OSU reliever Bridger Holmes, who battled his way out of seventh and eighth-inning jams, hit Splaine, then with one out walked Mihalakis. The Beavers turned to Mundt, whose night lasted one batter with Summerhill.

Walty proved difficult for Oregon State throughout the game. The righthander pitched 8 1/3 innings, giving up six hits while striking out eight. The Beavers had seven hits total, including a 3 for 5 performance by Travis Bazzana. Anthony Suzac, who relieved Walty and got the final two outs, picked up the win.

OSU starter Eric Segura went five innings, scattering three hits and striking out five. Relievers Nelson Keljo, Holmes (4-3) and Mundt combined to pitch the final 3 1/3 innings, giving up a combined six hits.

Arizona scored first, as Garen Caulfield doubled and scored on a groundout by Adonys Guzman in the second inning.

The lead didn't last long when Oregon State scored twice in the top of the third to take a 2-1 lead. Krieg singled and scored on a double by Bazzana, who two hitters later made it 2-1 Beavers by scoring on a Arizona fielding error.

Segura sailed through the first five innings, giving up three hits while striking out five. Segura, who threw 66 pitches, was pulled as the Beavers brought Keljo out of the bullpen to start the sixth. Summerhill and Morales led off with singles, which led to a run when Summerhill scored on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2.

Oregon State ran into trouble an inning later, when Arizona loaded the bases with one out. But Holmes and the Beaver defense came up big, as Summerhill grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Next up: No. 2 Oregon State vs. No. 8 Stanford, Pac-12 tournament, 10 a.m. Wednesday, Scottsdale Stadium (Pac-12 Network).

Nick Daschel covers Oregon State athletics, in particular football and basketball, and can be reached at 360-607-4824, ndaschel@oregonian.com or @nickdaschel.

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