No. 2 Oregon State had its worst offensive showing of the 2024 baseball season, but the Beavers were in it until the end Thursday night against USC.

Brayden Dowd’s one-out single to left scored Austin Overn in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Trojans to a 2-1 win over Oregon State at Cicerone Field in Irvine, California.

The Beavers (21-3, 5-2 Pac-12) had four hits and scored a season-low one run, that coming on Gavin Turley’s seventh-inning solo homer. OSU’s previous low was three runs.

Oregon State was coming off a week where it scored 45 runs over four games. But the Beavers mustered only three singles and a homer against USC, though the Trojans contributed seven walks as OSU left eight runners on base.

The loss ended a four-game winning streak.

Led by starter Aiden May, Oregon State checked USC to six hits, but like the Trojans, were charitable with free passes. The Beavers’ pitching staff issued six walks and hit four batters.

The hit batters proved crucial in the ninth. Kellan Oakes, the fifth Oregon State pitcher, led off the ninth by hitting Overn and Jacob Galloway. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, Dowd ripped a single down past the third base bag to send Overn home with the game winner.

May, making his second start since returning from a minor arm injury, gave up two hits during a four-inning stint.

One of the hits was a one-out solo homer by Ethan Hedges in the fourth inning.

After May, Oregon State turned to Nelson Keijo, Joey Mundt, Bridger Holmes and Oakes in relief.

Holmes gave Oregon State life in the eighth, when he turned back USC’s bases-loaded two-out threat by getting Abbrie Covarrubias to line out to second baseman Travis Bazzana.

Oregon State had three chances to produce.

The Beavers led off the second with Turley’s walk and Macias’ single, but left them when USC starter Caden Aoki struck out the final two hitters.

In the seventh, Turley hit a solo homer, his sixth of the year, to tie the game at 1-1. Later, Jabin Trosky, Tanner Smith and Bazzana walked to load the bases with two outs. But Bazzana was picked off first to end the threat.

Oregon State had two runners on base with two outs in the ninth when Canon Reeder grounded out.

Oregon Baseball

Jeffery Heard and Mason Neville each had four RBIs to lead Oregon in a 10-2 win over Seattle Thursday afternoon at PK Park.

Heard went 4-for-4 with a double and Neville hit a three-run home run for the Ducks (17-7).

RJ Gordon (3-2) allowed one run on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts over five innings for UO.

Oregon took a 3-0 lead in the first on a two-run single by Heard and RBI single by Neville. Heard added an RBI single in the second.

Sam Kane hit a solo home run in the fourth to put Seattle (7-18) on the board. Blake Smith (3-2) allowed four runs, three earned, on eight hits, two walks and three hit batters over five innings for Seattle.

Heard added another RBI single in the sixth.

A passed ball allowed a run to score in the top of the seventh for Seattle, but Oregon got two in the bottom of the inning on a double by Medford’s Bennett Thompson.

Neville hit a three-run shot in the eighth for the Ducks, who also got three hits each from Anson Aroz and Maddox Molony.