It's tournament time!

There's nothing like going away without access to internet, newspapers, or radio and coming back to great news. The Beavers are going to get a shot to defend their title despite the late season slump.

BTW, I called it a few weeks ago and I was right :)

Here's some info on where they are playing:

Charlottesville, Virginia

It looks similar to a Corvallis-type town. Could be a great atmosphere to watch college baseball!


Davenport Field

Capacity
Official: 2,924

Dimensions
Left Field - 335 ft
Left Center - 377 ft
Center Field - 408 ft
Right Center - 377 ft
Right Field - 335 ft

Nothing too spectacular about the stadium. It's only a few years old and is completely symmetrical.

The tournament field is detailed here: NCAA Field Of 64

And listen to the Baseball America reaction here: College Podcast

Do you have Beaver Fever?

Itchy first down finger? You may have The Fever.


If you listen to as much sports talk radio as I do, then you've heard the new OSU Athletic Dept. football ticket marketing campaign. I like it. It's clever and makes me listen. I already have season tix, but I thinks its really important to do this type of marketing because it raises brand awareness over all fans, not just prospective season ticket holders.

Now we need to start the viral marketing campaign. I'm going to put this ad on my site until fall camp in an effort to get more season ticket holders for the Beavs. I'm going to email the athletic dept. and see where to send people when they click on the ad.



I encourage all other Beaver bloggers, podcasters, and influencers to do the same!

And if you don't have season tickets this year, buy them! The defense is going to be dominating and Bernard and Sammy and two of the most exciting offensive players in the Pac-10. What are you waiting for??!

OSU Baseball -- hard to listen to?

This is not quite what you think. Sure, the Beavs aren't playing great lately but at least they keep it close and you still feel like there's hope. No, this is about Mike Parker.

I like Mike and I think he's a good announcer. But does anyone feel like Mike is about to slit his wrists on the radio if the Beavs hit into one more double-play? OK, that's over the top but he's getting me even more depressed than just the Beavs losing would do. Unfortunately, it's starting to affect my listening experience. I know instantly whether the Beavs are winning or losing just by his tone of voice. Or at least if they are playing well or not.

On a different note, the Beavs definitely need a slumpbuster to get the bats going. The pitching is not the problem the last two games. Hopefully Reyes can pitch well and their Sunday guy isn't very good.

Beaver Baseball will be going to postseason

Here's my bold prediction: The OSU Beavers baseball team will be going to post-season. And we don't need to win our next two series to do it.

And here's why:

* This isn't 2004. We are a national story. Even if we lose the next two series and are squarely on the bubble don't you think the committee would have a hard time NOT putting the defending national champs into the playoffs?

* We played a tough preseason schedule and breezed through it. We were 23-3 in out of conference play. If we go 2-4 the rest of the way then we will be 38-17 overall. That's a postseason-type record.

* Our RPI will get better merely for the fact that we're playing the top two teams in our conference in the next two series. Especially ASU who is #7 in the RPI.


There's quite a discussion about this over at the Baseball America Podcast - Top 25 Talk. Listen to the first 10 minutes and you'll get a good view of how the national media see Oregon State.


But I think we will bounce back and I'm encouraged by stories like this one in the Trib that talk about winning the next two series.

Beavers may be down, but they're not out yet - Portland Tribune

The Beavers could just as easily go 5-1 or 4-2 and well as 2-4 or go forbid 1-5.


So cheer up Mike Parker and the rest of the Beaver fans! We will be going to the postseason this year. And we will be the most dangerous 2 or 3 seed in the country.


More Beaver Stories Here:

Three Strikes: May 14 - Baseball America College Blog

Vandy clinches division, keeps top spot in poll - ESPN.com

Softball team makes it to postseason

IMG_0178
Originally uploaded by HologramOfLife.
The OSU softball team made it to regionals again this year. They will be going to the Michigan regional. Tough draw. Nine postseason appearances in a row!

There are some great photos from some of the games this year on HalogramOfLife's Flickr pages for you softball fans.

2007 Softball - a photoset on Flickr