The No. 8 Oregon State Beavers celebrate a game one win over Louisville at the 2025 College World Series. Courtesy photo: Karl Maasdam, Oregon State Athletics

It’s the top of the ninth inning in Omaha.

No. 8 Oregon State baseball leads Louisville 3-1 in both teams’ day one action at the 2025 Men’s College World Series on Friday, June 13.

Oregon State head coach Mitch Canham’s squad has been in the driver’s seat of the first game since junior outfielder Gavin Turley grounded out to Louisville’s second baseman Kamau Neighbors in the fourth, scoring sophomore third baseman Trent Caraway to take a 1-0 lead.

Standing on the mound is junior right-hander Kellan Oakes, one of several bullpen pieces the Beavers have leaned on all season long for critical outs. Now, at Charles Schwab Field in their first College World Series since 2018, Oakes is on for his second save opportunity of his Oregon State career.

Oakes’ teammates lean on the dugout railing, clapping along to the beat of his warmup song, “Here Comes the Hotstepper” by Ini Kamoze.

A week earlier, the Beavers needed a walk-off to take game one of the Corvallis Super Regional from No. 9 Florida State; and two weekends removed from a game one loss to Saint Mary’s in the Corvallis Regional that forced them to win four games in three days to keep their season alive.

With a 3-1 lead and three outs from the win, it looked like Oregon State had bucked its trend of living on the edge in the postseason.

“Fat chance,” said the baseball gods.

The Beavers’ dugout had hardly stopped clapping along to Oakes’ warmup when Louisville’s left-fielder and six-hole hitter Zion Rose ripped a first-pitch knock to left field. Patrolling left was Turley, who made a diving attempt for the fly ball, but missed it. Rose wheeled to third base as Turley hit the grass and centerfielder Canon Reeder ranged right to throw the ball back into the infield.

Just like that, the tying run for Louisville was at the plate and the Beavers were flirting with disaster.

“(Turley) did the right thing going after the ball right there,” Canham said, defending the junior outfielder. “It didn’t matter if he missed it or not. It was going to be a hit. So might as well try to take one away when you’ve got a two-run lead.”

Rose scored two pitches later. Louisville’s first baseman and seven-spot batter Tague Davis ripped a single up the right side of the infield and out of the reach of Beavers’ second baseman AJ Singer, bringing Rose home easily and putting the tying run on the base paths. Tanner Shiver took over for Davis as a pinch runner, promptly being thrown out by Beavers’ catcher Wilson Weber at second base on a steal attempt. With a one-run lead, empty bases and one out, a quick ending still seemed feasible for Oakes and Oregon State.

Yet again, the baseball gods yawned, held out an imaginary down-turned thumb and deemed the game not interesting enough.

Louisville shortstop Alex Alecia stepped into the box, worked a 2-1 count and rolled a ground ball to Beavers’ shortstop Aiva Arquette. The most-routine of routine plays for Arquette, a soon-to-be first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, suddenly wasn’t. His throw sailed wide of first baseman Jacob Krieg, earning his fifth error of the season and forcing catcher Wilson Weber to track it down.

Alecia scooted to second base and then onto third as Weber too was dinged for an error — just his third of 2025 — when his attempted throw strangely fell backwards out of the senior backstop’s hand and he couldn’t find it.

“Arquette made, what, four errors all year?” Canham said, rhetorically. “He was trying to make a really immaculate play for the guys… Sometimes those things are going to happen. I’m not surprised but also very proud of how they responded to each of the things that happened.”

The tying run was on third base. And not for long, either. Louisville’s eight-hole hitter Kamau Neighbors came to the plate first-pitch swinging, dunking a single into center field and scoring Alecia to tie it up at 3-3 with one out in the top of the ninth. With the drama at an all-time high, the unseen and mystical forces of college baseball were entertained enough.

Oakes punched out leadoff man Lucas Moore looking on four pitches before grounding-out the catcher Matt Klein. With the score knotted at three runs apiece, the top of the Beavers order were due up in both Arquette and the diving Turley.

“The worst thing you can do is panic,” Canham said of how he managed the situation. “You’ve got to take a breath. Even if the game’s tied, we still get to hit and we’re in a great spot in our order. And when I say a great spot in our order, (I mean) it’s our turn to hit. That’s always a good spot to be in… I know if I’m not feeling confident, it’s going to spread to the rest of the guys. So you’re constantly looking at the lineup card and looking at the guys and you’re breathing that positivity into existence.”

Caraway, batting as the Beavers’ leadoff man for the second-consecutive game, grounded out to start the bottom of the ninth. The rest is history — and, likely, the newest piece of Oregon State baseball legend.

Arquette worked into a 1-2 count against Louisville’s freshman right-hander Jake Schweitzer before hitting a single into left field. The knock from Arquette brought Turley — who had taken Oregon State’s postseason RBI record from his head coach just five innings earlier — to the dish with a runner on first and one out, with a Cardinals’ pitcher on the mound that hadn’t surrendered an earned-run in nearly a calendar month.

“It’s the same thing every at-bat for us,” Turley said about what went through his head as he stepped into the box. “It’s go up there and compete and try to hit the ball hard. Knowing that we had the top of the lineup up, I knew we had a real shot to do something dangerous (and) as soon as Aiva got on, it opened a lot of possibilities up with a runner on first. Just get in there and try to get a good pitch to hit and hit it hard and let the game play itself out.”

The good pitch was the first pitch, a 90-mph sinker that died right over the heart of the plate before being muscled into left field by Turley. The 6-foot-5 Arquette busted into a long stride from first base, rounding second and then third all while looking over his shoulder for the ball before sliding into home plate. Relay throws from Rose in left field to Alecia at short to the catcher Klein weren’t in time, Arquette was safe.

Oregon State 4, Louisville 3. Ballgame.

“Isn’t that how it always works out? There’s a miscue and that guy wins the game or whatever,” Canham said, grinning.

No. 8 Oregon State (48-14-1) will face No. 13 Coastal Carolina (54-11) at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 15 for another matchup of the 2025 College World Series.