CORVALLIS – Oregon State’s Andrew Moore fired a 6-hitter, leading the baseball team to a 3-0 victory over Utah on Friday before a crowd of 2,812 at Goss Stadium in Game 1 of a three-game series.

The junior right-hander struck out four, didn’t walk a batter, and needed just 99 pitches to record the fourth shutout of his career, and first since the 2013 season.

Moore is 5-2 this season with 85 strikeouts and just 15 walks in 100 innings, and has a sparkling 1.65 ERA.

“My personal approach is out in four pitches or less,” Moore said. “Gotta get that first one and just try and get ’em out as soon as possible.”

Turning point

Utah loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning after three consecutive one-out singles. But lead-off hitter Kody Davis hit a ground ball to third baseman Michael Gretler, who turned a 5-3 double play and Moore was out of the jam.

“That was definitely a big turning point for us,” Moore said. “We steal the momentum back where they feel they’ve got something going.”

Key hit

With two outs and runners at the corners in the bottom of the fourth inning, OSU designated hitter Billy King laced a two-run opposite field double to left, staking the Beavers to a 2-0 lead.

“I was trying to get a pitch to drive,” King said. “(Utah starter Bret Helton) was carving us up pretty good at the beginning of that game. I was just looking for a pitch elevated over the plate and was fortunate to get one.”

Quotable

“(Moore) was good and always competes. I said that before the game, there’s a lot of things you can’t control, but I always know what kind of effort I’m gonna get from Mo.”

– OSU coach Pat Casey

Deep but in play

Utah’s AJ Young and Max Schuman drove balls to the warning track in the sixth, but left fielder Kyle Nobach gloved both drives.

Rankings update

There are six college baseball ranking services and the Beavers are in ranked in four of them. OSU is No. 16 in Perfect Game, No. 19 in Collegiate Baseball, No. 22 in D1Baseball.com and No. 24 in NCBWA.

The Statesman Journal utilizes Baseball America, which did not include OSU in its top 25 this week.

Distinguished alum

In attendance at Friday’s game was former OSU football standout Bill Swancutt, the Beavers’ career leader in sacks and tackles for loss. He was the Pac-10 co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. An OSU and Sprague High graduate, Swancutt played three seasons in the NFL.

Hendrix extends hitting streak

OSU center fielder Jeff Hendrix extended his hitting streak to 12 games. He went 1-for-4 with an eighth-inning double, and is 18-for-37 with 10 RBIs in the last 12 games. Hendrix leads the team with a .347 batting average.

Wins leader

Sam Tweedt (7-1, 2.86), a freshman right-hander from South Salem High School, leads the Beavers in victories. He was the winning pitching in Tuesday’s 10-2 victory over Oregon.

Tweedt’s next start could come at 6:05 p.m. Wednesday against Portland in a nonconference matchup at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer. The teams were originally scheduled to play April 14, but the game was postponed due to inclement weather.

Opening series blues

Utah has lost the opening game of all eight of its Pac-12 series this season.

Looking ahead

OSU right-hander Drew Rasmussen (4-3, 2.99) and Utah’s Dalton Carroll (5-6, 5.08) are the scheduled starting pitchers for Saturday’s second game of the series. First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m.

Helton, Rodriguez (7), Stoltz (8) and Young. Moore and Ice. Win- Moore (5-2); Loss- Helton (2-7). 2B- Hendrix, King, Nobach (OSU).

Records: Utah (16-28, 7-15); Oregon State (31-14, 13-9).

ghorowitz@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6726 or Twitter.com/ghorowitz