If the Oregon State Beavers are into moral victories, they may be able to take something from Friday night's matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the NCAA Super Regionals. It took seven innings, but the Beavers are finally on the board after Jake Rodriguez singled home Danny Hayes with two outs. Hayes led the inning off with a walk and appeared destined to be stranded like the rest of the Oregon State runners on the night, but the Beavers finally broke-through, putting an end to the Vanderbilt shutout.
It's only a moral victory because of the score -- Vanderbilt held an 11-0 lead before Oregon State broke through. And with the way things have been going, the Commodores are showing no sign of slowing down, and the Beavers don't appear to be on their way to heating up. But with another game set for Saturday, Oregon State will take whatever it can get after having to punt on Friday night.
Vanderbilt scored four in the first, four in the fourth, one in the fifth and two more in the sixth to take a commanding 11-1 lead. The Commodores' offense has been on-fire, spraying singles around the field and delivering home runs in bunches. And if this is how the series is going to go, Oregon State will find itself back home in Corvallis in short order.
In the bottom of the seventh, it's all Vanderbilt in Nashville, 11-1.
For more on the game, stay with our NCAA Super Regionals StoryStream. Connect with Oregon State fans over at SB Nation's Building the Dam. Check out full coverage of the 2011 NCAA Super Regionals here.