CORVALLIS, Ore. — Nick Madrigal went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and national No. 3 seed Oregon State defeated Northwestern State 9-3 on Friday night at the NCAA Corvallis Regional.
The Beavers (45-10-1) advance to face LSU on Saturday in the double-elimination regional.
Oregon State started Bryce Fehmel (10-1) rather than Pac-12 pitcher of the year Luke Heimlich. Head coach Pat Casey did not announce beforehand who he was going with.
Fehmel started strong with five strikeouts in the first three innings, matching his season-high. He went 7 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits with nine strikeouts for the win.
Madrigal hit a two-out bases-loaded single in the third to give the Beavers a 2-0 lead and Kyle Nobach hit a two-run home run to center to extend the lead in the fourth.
Lenni Kunert hit a solo shot to left center for the Demons in the fifth.
After Jack Anderson’s RBI single padded Oregon State’s lead in the sixth, Cadyn Grenier was hit by a pitch to score a run and Madrigal added a two-run double to put the Beavers up 8-1.
Kunert hit an RBI double in the seventh while Sam Taylor homered in the eighth to cut the margin to 8-3. Zak Taylor homered for the Beavers in the bottom half.
Left-hander Ridge Heisler (7-3) allowed eight runs, six earned, on six hits over 5 2/3 innings for Northwestern State (37-23), which returned to the postseason for the first time since 2005.
There were a record 3,908 fans on hand at Goss Stadium.
