Takeaways from Oregon State baseball's upset loss to Stanford in Pac-12 Tournament

Oregon State baseball's prolific offense suddenly went quiet at a less-than-ideal time.

The No. 6-ranked Beavers fell 2-1 to Stanford in their first game of pool play in the Pac-12 Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Wednesday. It marks just the third time this season that OSU, which ranks 11th nationally in runs scored, has been held to one run or fewer.

Here are three takeaways from Oregon State's head-scratching loss at Scottsdale Stadium.

Cardinal pitcher Joey Volchko blanks the Beavers

Stanford entered Wednesday's matchup at an extreme disadvantage.

During their Tuesday win over Arizona State, the Cardinal were forced to use their top two starters — Christian Lim and Matt Scott — in order to escape with an 8-7 win over the Sun Devils. With a chance to secure a place in the tournament semifinal at stake on Wednesday, they turned to true freshman Joey Volchko.

Coming into this week, the right-hander owned a 6.63 ERA and had walked 34 batters in 36 ⅔ innings on the year.

Volchko was outstanding against the Beavers, though. In a season-high 6.0 innings, he struck out nine, walked four and allowed just two hits while holding the Pac-12's top offense scoreless. Widely considered a top prospect in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft class, Volchko mixed a 94-96 mph fastball with a devastating slider to keep the Beavers off balance all afternoon.

OSU's bullpen looked sharp vs. Stanford

The Beavers' pitching staff did more than enough to earn a win on Wednesday.

Rather than deploying a traditional starter, the Beavers took an "opener" approach against the Cardinal that has become commonplace during the college baseball postseason. While the Beavers feature a pair of all-conference starters in Aiden May and Jacob Kmatz, head coach Mitch Canham and pitching coach Rich Dorman opted to save them for the later stages of the Pac-12 Tournament and instead take a by-committee approach against Stanford. Oregon leaned on a similar strategy and started righty reliever Brock Moore against Utah on Wednesday.

A.J. Lattery, who has been hindered by an injury for most of this season, made his first appearance since Feb. 21 and started on the mound for the Beavers. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound right-hander cruised through 1 ⅔ scoreless innings on just 30 pitches before handing off the baton midway through the second.

From there Kellan Oakes (⅓ inning), Jaren Hunter (2 ⅔), Ian Lawson (1 ⅔) and Joey Mundt (1 ⅔) all produced strong outings. Stanford star catcher Malcolm Moore tagged Hunter for a solo homer in the fourth, and Ethan Hott cracked an RBI double off Hunter in the fifth.

Aside from those two moments, though, the Beavers' bullpen was stellar — which hasn't always been the case this spring.

It's worth noting that Oregon State was able to save May, Kmatz and all-conference closer Bridger Holmes on Wednesday, too.

Lack of timely hitting for Oregon State in Pac-12 Tournament

So often this season, even when they haven't been at their best, the Beavers have found ways to stay in contention until their bats come alive in the late innings.

That moment never arrived on Wednesday, though.

Oregon State's normally reliable lineup went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and 1-for-13 with runners on base against Stanford.

In the top of the ninth, the Beavers showed signs of life when Elijah Hainline cracked a one-out single to put runners in the corners. Easton Talt, who had come on to pinch hit for Mason Guerra, followed by legging out a ground ball to second to score Wilson Weber and keep OSU's hopes alive.

But, with Pac-12 player of the year Travis Bazzana standing in the on-deck circle, Jabin Trosky flew out to left field to end the game.

That was far from the Beavers' only opportunity. In the top of the seventh, OSU finally worked its way into the Stanford bullpen when the Cardinal opted to lift Volchko after his 107th pitch of the night. He gave way to sophomore righty Trevor Moore, who promptly retired Guerra, Trosky and Bazzana on just seven pitches to end the inning.

What's next for Oregon State baseball

The Beavers will face Arizona State at 10 a.m. Thursday in their second game of pool play. The game will air on Pac-12 Networks.

Oregon State will need to win in order to keep its Pac-12 Tournament hopes alive.

Jarrid Denney covers high school sports and Oregon State for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at JDenney@salem.gannett.com or on X @jarrid_denney

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Stanford upsets Oregon State baseball in Pac-12 Tournament