Friday, February 13

Surprise, Ariz.

2:00 PM

Northwestern

0-1

Oregon State

1-0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Northwestern	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0
Oregon State	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	8	1

Wildcats Bested by Late Beaver Rally on Opening Day

2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 13, 2015


	Oregon State 2, Northwestern 1 Surprise Stadium • Surprise, Ariz. Box Score \| Box Score

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Northwestern lost an early lead an opening day and fell in walk-off fashion to the Oregon State Beavers in the first game of the Surprise College Baseball Classic, 2-1.

A year after leading the squad in RBI, Scott Heelan picked up where he left off and drove in the day's lone run for the 'Cats. Six different players registered a hit in the season opener, including freshman third baseman Connor Lind, who collected the first of his career.

On the mound, Brandon Magallones was sharp in the opener for Chicago's Big Ten Team. The senior allowed only one run in five innings of work, while striking out eight Beavers. Sophomore Pete Hofman also delivered 1.2 innings of scoreless relief in his Northwestern debut.

NU jumped on the scoreboard first during the season's premiere contest. Sophomore Matt Hopfner ignited the offense with a two-out single up the middle against Oregon State's starting pitcher, Andrew Moore, in the top of the second inning. Center fielder Jake Schieber followed that up with a double down the line in right that sent Hopfner to third base, but the pair was stranded in scoring position as Moore got his third strikeout in two innings to end the frame.

The offense broke through for the season's first run in the top of the third. Grant Peikert, playing in his first collegiate game, legged out an infield single with one away and he came all the way around to score one batter later. Catcher Scott Heelan mashed a two-bagger to left field that allowed Peikert to fly all the way around and give Northwestern a 1-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Magallones was dealing on the bump. The Manhattan, Ill., native fanned three in the first, two in the second and three more Beavers in the third inning. After giving up a one-out single in the bottom of the fourth, Magallones induced the first double play of the season to escape the frame unscathed.

Northwestern's offense wasn't able to generate much against Moore in the fifth and sixth innings before Oregon State knotted the game in the bottom of the sixth. KJ Harrison led the inning off with a triple to right-center field before Billy King followed with a pinch-hit doubled down the left-field line to tie the game at a run apiece.

Magallones, who did not factor in the decision Friday, was lifted after King's at-bat, having thrown 92 pitches on opening day. He finished his first start of the season with eight strikeouts in five innings. He allowed one run on five hits and got 14 of 15 outs via the strikeout or groundout. Jake Stolley came into the game with King on second base and nobody out, but he stranded the runner right there.

The Wildcats tried to manufacture a run in the top of the seventh after Schieber was hit by a Moore offering to start the inning. Cody Stevens sacrificed Schieber to second base, but NU could not bring him home as pinch hitter Luke Dauch flied out to center field to end the threat.

The Beavers put up another threat in the home half of the seventh, but Hofman came out of the bullpen and helped Northwestern out of a sticky situation. The Beavers had runners on the corners with one out, but Hofman got a shallow fly ball to left field and a line drive to third base to squash OSU's scoring chance.

Hofman fired a scoreless eighth inning, setting the table for his offense. Joe Hoscheit led off the top of the ninth with a base hit, but he was cut down trying to steal on the back end of a double play. Schieber then flied out to right field to end the inning without a tally for the 'Cats.

Northwestern freshman Tommy Bordignon came on in relief of Hofman in the bottom of the ninth. Logan Ice singled and pinch runner Joe Gillette moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After Christian Donahue and Jeff Hendrix walked to load the bases, Bordignon was called for a balk that allowed Gillette to score the winning run.

The Wildcats continue the Surprise College Baseball Classic on Saturday, Feb. 14 against the New Mexico Lobos. Junior left-hander Reed Mason is slated to get the ball for NU and he'll likely be opposed by UNM's Toller Boardman. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

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