“We did a nice job right out of the chute,” OSU head coach Pat Casey said. “Their guy came in and did a nice job. We were hoping we’d be a little more consistent in the middle innings but he kept us off-balance, but it was a good win.”

San Francisco took the lead on Jonnie Knoble’s solo homer in the top of the first inning, then Don righthander Jason Dufloth retired the first two Oregon State hitters in the bottom of the inning. But the Beavers then came up with seven runs on six hits and a pair of walks, getting a two-run single from Jason Ogata, a run-scoring single from Jordan Lennerton, Wallace’s three-run homer, and a run-scoring triple by Darwin Barney.

“It’s good to see us come out excited and ready to play,” Canham said. “And it’s fun to see the fans jump up and go crazy with us. After the first inning, even they were tired from jumping around … it feels good.”

Wallace’s first career homer, a three-run drive over the rightfield fence, put OSU up 6-0.

“It feels great,” the sophomore outfielder said. “I’ve come close a couple times this year, but it feels great to put one out. We’re starting to get in a groove and everybody in the lineup has been swinging it well lately. We’re putting it together right now.”

USF lefthander Cole Stipovich entered the game with the score 7-0 in the bottom of the third inning and retired the first 12 Beavers he faced.

With one out in the seventh, Mike Lissman doubled down the leftfield line and then Canham homered for the second straight game. His blast to the centerfield side of the scoreboard in right-center was his fourth homer of the season and put OSU up 9-2.

After winning for much of the early season with pitching and defense – OSU has held opponents to three or fewer runs 14 times in its first 22 games – the Beavers have now slugged the ball in back-to-back games.

“Early on, we were a little worried because the turf is too slow,” Canham said, referring to the new FieldTurf infield at the Beaver ballpark. “But it makes us hit line drives, so now we’re putting better contact on it to get on base. I like where it’s going. John is starting to swing it and he’s heating up, Darwin is hitting some balls real hard – all the way through the lineup.”

Lennerton’s single in the first inning pushed his hitting streak to six games, while OSU’s Drew George saw his hitting streak end at six games.

Paterson improved his record to 4-1 this season. In his six innings, he allowed two runs on eight hits and no walks while striking out four. Jorge Reyes pitched a pair of scoreless innings and Mark Grbavac blanked the Dons in the ninth to finish the game for OSU.

USF’s Dufloth, who had entered the game with a 3-2 record and 2.82 earned run average, took the loss; in 2 1/3 innings, he allowed seven runs on seven this and three walks while striking out one.