Washington baseball upsets No. 9 Oregon State in 18-2 demolition

The Washington Huskies pulled off the biggest upset win of coach Eddie Smith's tenure on Montlake in dominant fashion on Tuesday, rocking the No. 9 Oregon State Beavers 18-2 on the road in Corvallis. The Huskies set the tone early, posting four runs in the first inning behind a two-run double from shortstop Sam DeCarlo and a two-run home run off the bat of first baseman Daniel Porras, his sixth of the season, as the Huskies racked up 17 hits on the day.

From that point on, things just continued to spiral in the Huskies' favor. Porras went 3-for-4 with a walk, 2 runs batted in, and 3 runs scored, while catcher Colton Bower went 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored, and outfielder Jackson Hotchkiss went 2-for-5 with a walk, an RBI, and 3 runs scored. Designated hitter Alex Pearson chipped in 4 RBIs as part of a 2-for-4 day with a run scored, while center fielder Mic Paul was also on base seemingly all night long.

The LSU transfer reached on a pair of walks and went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored and an RBI before third baseman Landen Young put the cherry on top of UW's stellar night with a pinch-hit three-run homer in the eighth inning. The win was also fueled by a strong outing from freshman starter Liam Lierman, who improved to 2-0 with the win. In relief of Jaxson Gore, who worked a perfect first inning with a strikeout, the southpaw let up just 1 run on 3 hits with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts over the next 5 1/3 frames.

Starter Connor Mendez took the loss for the Beavers after surrendering 7 runs on 5 hits with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings of work. With the win, the Huskies improved to 13-15 on the season, and they'll return to the diamond on Thursday, April 2, inside Husky Stadium to kick off a three-game series with Valparaiso at 7:00 p. m.