K.J. Harrison, Beavers Walk Off Against Wildcats

KJ Harrison walkoff single. Beavers beat the Wildcats, 4-3. #mlbdraft pic.twitter.com/HxHaX7dghf

— Michael Lananna (@mlananna) March 25, 2017

SEE ALSO: College Roundup

CORVALLIS, Ore.—K.J. Harrison still had some white shaving cream clumped in his hair, just above his left ear, when he met with reporters outside of Oregon State’s clubhouse Friday night.

That shaving cream was well-earned.

In his first three at-bats Friday, the junior DH tried to find a pitch to hit against Arizona ace lefthander J.C. Cloney—with no luck. Though his fastball rarely touches higher than 86 or 87 mph, Cloney is a control artist, attacking the corners with surgical precision. Cloney entered the game 5-0, 1.12, and the Beavers, like most of Cloney’s opponents, had difficulty squaring anything up against him.

But they did manage to rally late against the Arizona bullpen—and Harrison dealt the final blow.

With two outs and two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth, Harrison sent a Tylor Megill fastball back up the middle for a walk-off single. When he saw the runner score, Harrison high-fived the first base coach, then threw his helmet in the air as he rounded first and his teammates swarmed toward him.

A few minutes later, as he spoke with the TV broadcast booth via headset, Harrison received a pie to the face. The No. 2 Beavers defeated No. 9 Arizona, 4-3, in a thrilling, back-and-forth, top 10 Pac-12 matchup.

“It’s amazing,” Harrison said afterward, still smiling. “It’s the greatest feeling ever just to see your team backing you up and being able to make a big impact on it and help the team to win.”

“I think I blacked out for a minute, I was so excited. I just saw a bunch of guys coming at me and threw my helmet up.”

Those late-inning fireworks followed what had been a stingy pitcher’s duel on a chilly, rain-drenched night in Corvallis.

Luke Heimlich rears back for 91 mph to strand the bases loaded in the top of the 6th. 1-1 game. #mlbdraft pic.twitter.com/1gqidNWmuk

— Michael Lananna (@mlananna) March 25, 2017

Oregon State junior lefthander Luke Heimlich entered the game 4-0, 0.25 and threw another quality start despite not having his best stuff and despite facing one of the more explosive offenses in the country. Heimlich worked 90-92 mph early but settled into the 86-89 mph range in the middle innings. He used a 73-78 mph breaking ball liberally, and the pitch was effective for him, eliciting several swings and misses and serving as his main strikeout pitch. Heimlich allowed one run on four hits and three walks in 6.1 innings, striking out eight. Three of the four hits he allowed came against Arizona cleanup hitter J.J. Matijevic.

“I thought Luke just battled tonight,” Oregon State coach Pat Casey said. “I don’t think his stuff was good, but he just battled. And that’s a real tribute to him. You’re not going to be good every night out in terms of your stuff.”

The Wildcats, like the Beavers, did their offensive damage against the bullpen. Junior center fielder Jared Oliva ripped a ball over the left-field fence in the eighth to give Arizona the lead, then another run came around to score on an errant throw to second base by righthander Sam Tweedt.

But the Beavers battled back in the bottom half, chasing Cloney from the game and rallying for two runs to tie—setting up Harrison’s ninth-inning heroics.

Harrison has gotten off to a .320/.407/.467 in his junior season after experiencing somewhat of a sophomore slide. Though his 10 homers in 2016 matched his freshman year total, Harrison’s batting average dipped 44 points to .265.

“His pitch selection is much, much better overall,” Casey said. “He’s doing a better job of staying off pitches that he doesn’t handle, and he’s been in the zone a lot better. He’s a more mature hitter, he’s stronger.”

An example of Harrison’s improved pitch selection? Look no further than his ninth-inning at-bat against Megill.

“(The pitch) was a two-seam fastball,” Harrison said. “First pitch he threw me was a two-seamer, as well. It was kind of down and in. Same pitch, same location. I was just looking for something to hunt early, and I was able to get that pitch.

“It’s just approach—swinging at good pitches, knowing what I’m looking for when I’m going up there. I found myself last season getting myself out a lot of times, because I’d swing at pitcher’s pitches instead of pitches that I’m looking to drive. So I’m just continuously working on my approach, talking to different people, different players about what they do up there, and always working to get that going.”

Harrison got it going at just the right time Friday.