The Oregon State Beavers beat Arkansas 5-0 on Thursday's Game 3 and claim the College World Series title in Omaha, Nebraska.
Kevin Abel contributed a two-hitter while striking a 10 while teammate Adley Rutschman added three hits to help the Beavers win its third college world series in history. The last time the Beavers reached the pinnacle of success was when they became the college world champions in 2006 and 2007.
Abel, who is just in his first year with the team, rewrote the record books by finishing 4-0 in the College World Series. Abel also had 129 pitches for the Beavers which finished the season with a 55-12-1 card. Additionally, the versatile pitcher became the third player to finish with a shutout in CWS History.
On the other hand, Rutschman was recognized as the CWS Most Outstanding Player following a stellar year that had him tally a record-breaking 17 hits. The sophomore catcher was also efficient in the field as well batting at a .567 rate.
Strong Start For Beavers
After losing the opening game of the series, the Beavers found a new lease of life in the second game on Wednesday as they made the most out of the miscues of a plethora of Arkansas fielders to tie the series at 1 apiece. Looking to replicate their Game 2 performance, the Beavers leaned on Rutschman who immediately scored an RBI to put his team up early.
Just when the Razorbacks were ready to make a comeback, third baseman Casey Martin committed a costly error that allowed the Beavers to score twice in the first inning. Interestingly, it was also the first time for Arizona to be shut out in 100 games, hence ending their season with a 48-21 win-loss slate.
Rutschman who registered an RBI in the third inning was also the 89th hit of the Beavers in this year's CWS, thus breaking a 30-year-old mark by USC. Overall, Rutschman had 13 RBIs, which is tied for the second most individual record in the multicolored history of the league.
Sweet Victory
Nonetheless, Rutschman was quick to downplay his individual achievement, citing that winning the championship was far more important than any individual award. It was indeed a sweet victory for the Beavers who lost to LSU last season.
"I'm just glad that we won the championship. I mean, that's all I can say. None of that really matters unless you know, you got this going on at the end," Rutschman said.
The last team to win the title despite losing the opening game in the CWS were the 2006 Beavers who gave coach Pat Casey his first title. Oregon State defended their title the next year before suffering heartbreaking losses in 2013 and last year.
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