Freshman Kevin Abel tossed a two-hit shutout and struck out 10 Thursday night, leading Oregon State to its third national championship in baseball with a 5-0 victory against Arkansas in the third and deciding game of the College World Series finals, ESPN reported.
The Beavers (55-12-1), who were one pitch away from elimination Wednesday night, roared back Thursday to win their first title since back-to-back championships in 2006-2007.
Abel won his fourth game of the tournament and second in the championship series.
Sophomore catcher Adley Rutschman was named the CWS Most Outstanding Player, ESPN reported. He had three hits Thursday night to raise his average to .567.
Oregon State got new life Wednesday night when three Arkansas fielders converged on a foul pop fly by Cadyn Grenier with two outs in the ninth inning, only to allow the ball to drop to the turf. Grenier followed with a game-tying hit, and the Beavers forced a third game when Trevor Larnach hit a two-run homer.
Arkansas (48-21) was shut out for the first time in 100 games, ESPN reported.
