CORVALLIS — When the ball left the bat and Travis Bazzana gazed into the early evening Corvallis sky to watch it fly, a simple thought crossed his mind:

“Stay fair.”

Yes, as one of the most celebrated home runs in Oregon State baseball history sailed out of Goss Stadium, the man who hit it was worried it might hook foul, spoiling a record-setting moment. But the ball glided just inside the foul pole and soared over the right field bleachers, sending the Beavers’ All-American into the record books.

Bazzana broke two Oregon State records, including the school’s all-time home run mark, as the fifth-ranked Beavers defeated the Portland Pilots 11-8 Tuesday night in a midweek matchup in Corvallis.

Oregon State (27-4) won its 20th consecutive game at Goss Stadium in style, pounding out 15 hits, including 11 that went for extra bases. But the most memorable came from the Beavers’ Golden Spikes Award candidate in the fourth inning.

After smacking a first-inning triple to left-center field and flying out to left in the second inning, Bazzana strutted to the plate for his third at-bat looking for one thing: a fastball. It came on the first pitch, high and inside, and he didn’t hesitate, belting a three-run homer 381 feet into the grass beyond the right field bleachers to give the Beavers a 6-3 lead.

As he approached first base, Bazzana pointed toward fair territory and clapped twice in a muted celebration, taking an historic trot around the bases as 3,284 at Goss Stadium serenaded him with a standing ovation. When he touched home plate, the junior from Sydney, Australia, tapped helmets with Gavin Turley, Wilson Weber and Tyce Peterson, then retreated to the Oregon State dugout for high-fives and hugs with teammates.

Four days after tying a record held by Joe Gerber (1997-2000) and Andy Jarvis (2000-03), Bazzana seized sole possession of the Beavers’ home run crown. It was his 18th homer of the season — the third-highest single-season total in school history — and 35th of his career. And he still has 23 regular season games, plus the postseason, to pad his record.

“He’s a phenomenal baseball player, a great human being,” OSU coach Mitch Canham said. “He’s got a big heart, big passion, and it’s fun to watch all the stuff he works on pay off. He’s really fun to watch play.”

Bazzana had one of the finest individual seasons in Oregon State history in 2023 and he’s been even better in 2024. He leads the Pac-12 in nearly every offensive statistic, hitting .466 with 18 homers, seven doubles, four triples, 45 RBIs, 52 runs scored and 39 walks.

Bazzana broke Jacoby Ellsbury’s record for runs scored on March 19 and he broke two more Tuesday, when he went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, three runs scored and two walks. In addition to the record-setting home run, Bazzana set the program record for total bases with a first-inning triple, ending Tuesday with 387 total bases — and counting. And he’s on pace to eclipse even more OSU milestones, including program records for hits, doubles, triples, RBIs, walks and stolen bases.