The No. 5 Oregon State baseball team had as many runs in Sunday’s game as Northern Illinois had hits during the four-game series over the weekend.

In the four-game sweep, the Beavers (14-3) pitched three shutouts, including a no-hitter, and allowed the Huskies (1-12-1) to score only two runs, compared to OSU’s 29.

“Our pitching was really good,” said head coach Pat Casey. “Obviously you have to pitch well to compete in our conference; the competition is going to be a lot better.”

“Really good” might not be an accurate description for the Beavers’ dominating performance on the mound. Junior left-hander Jace Fry threw a no-hitter Saturday, senior lefty Ben Wetzler gave up a single hit in eight shutout innings Friday and a committee of five pitchers combined to throw a five-hit shutout in Sunday’s finale.

Junior Dylan Davis, a mainstay in right field and the cleanup spot in the lineup, made his first pitching appearance of the season Sunday. Davis started and pitched 2 1/3 innings of shutout baseball, albeit a little wild — he gave up two hits and three walks and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second inning.

Junior left-hander Zack Reser, who had thrown only 2 1/3 innings so far this season, kept the hot pitching going with four shutout innings, allowing just two baserunners and striking out two.

“He’s pitched well,” Casey said. “It’s kind of been odd that we haven’t had to use him as much. We used him down in Arizona and I thought he threw well.”

Reser already surpassed his 2013 innings total Sunday. Last season, he appeared in seven games and pitched 4 1/3 innings. He’s clocked 6 1/3 in 2014, and has yet to allow a run.

“It was good,” Reser said. “(The coaches) should see that I can get the job done, go from there and come back next week and do the same thing.”

Casey had some reservations about the bullpen last week, but the four-game sweep of Northern Illinois has alleviated some of those concerns.

“A lot of arms are getting thrown,” he said. “I was impressed by our pitching a whole bunch.”

Although freshman Chandler Eden’s was the only reliever to take the hill in the first three games of the series, four relievers came in Sunday and closed out the final 6 2/3 innings of the game with no blemishes.

On the offensive side, it’s been sophomore first baseman Gabe Clark who has found his hitting stroke.

Clark had a two-run single in the first inning Sunday, and followed it up with a two-run double in the sixth. Clark is hitting .469 in 32 at-bats on the season, and has 14 runs batted in, which trails only Davis (17) and junior left fielder Michael Conforto (24).

“Baseball’s funny; the ball just keeps finding holes,” Clark said. “I got lucky, the ball got lost in center field, probably should’ve been caught. Hopefully, I can keep doing that — just finding holes, seeing the ball, staying with the approach.”

Casey is happy with Clark’s emergence as another reliable hitter, but still felt the offense was lacking this weekend, despite averaging more than seven runs per game.

“If our offensive group would match the intensity of our pitching this weekend, in particular, we could have really rolled some crooked numbers on the board,” Casey said. “We didn’t really do that and we’re going to have to get a lot better if we’re going to play in our conference.”

The Beavers begin conference play Friday with a trip to Salt Lake City to take on Utah.

“It’s going to get heated,” Reser said. “Every game is competitive. It’s going to be fun next weekend.”

Sophomore right-hander Andrew Moore (1-1, 0.89 earned run average) fell ill this weekend and Casey opted to not have him pitch. Casey said Moore will be ready to pitch against the Utes (8-6), and doesn’t know how the rotation will play out.

Before the first conference series, OSU will face Ohio State Tuesday at home. The Buckeyes lost two out of three against Oregon over the weekend, including a 20-4 Ducks win Sunday.

Casey said one of two freshmen, Jake Thompson or Trent Shelton, will start for the Beavers.

Warner Strausbaugh, editor-in-chief

editor@dailybarometer.com