Can the Beavers Baseball Team Make it Back To Postseason?

During the crazy mid-season losing streak the OSU Beavers Baseball team had I was sure that the Beavs were done for the postseason. Well, the have battled back. Luckily they had a good start to the season.

The question remains: Can they make the 64 team cut and make the postseason?

One thought is that if the Beavs don't get swept by Arizona this weekend, they're in.

Beavers have Ducks' number — It's one :: Portland Tribune

Both teams should be among the 64 teams named Sunday to participate in the NCAA Tournament.

Casey said the Beavers felt they had to win two of their last four games to get in. That sounds right. If they don’t get swept by Arizona — which is 32-20 and carries an RPI of 20 — the Beavers will be at 30 wins and should be in the postseason.

However, Aaron Fitt of Baseball America thinks the Beavs need to win 2 against Arizona to make it...

Mini Stock Report - Baseball America College Blog

Oregon State really helped itself with a 2-1 win vs. Oregon, but the Beavers still need to win their last series at home vs. Arizona.

How sweet would an Arizona sweep be?!

Come on Beavs!


Great video and photos here:

Oregon State 2, No. 21 Oregon 1: Beavers' bullpen slams door on Ducks at PGE Park - OregonLive.com

Beavers Win Back-to-Back National Championships!

I love these guys! They got their dogpile!!!

Dynasty. Three CWS appearances, two national championships. Our third ever championship.

I never thought this would happen 3 weeks ago. But once we beat ASU, all I could think was - win out Beavs!

Last year we played with our backs against the wall the entire series. We played the maximum amount of games a team can play. And our win was seen more as a mistake by UNC than us winning.

This year we barreled through the world series. We played the least amount of games and essntially swept the CWS. We tied for second in consecutive innings leading. And we played major league D, played small ball, and hit for power in every game. Oh, and we pitched better than any team in America.

To hear ESPN call us "the premier college baseball program in America" was awesome.

I can't wait to see Reyes, Wong, Wallace, Lennerton, Hopkins, Lechelt, Grbavac, Keitzman, Wells, and all the guys play next year and lead us yet to another chapter.


I love these guys!


Post-game press:

Beavers Repeat - BaseballAmerica.com

"Oregon State thoroughly dominated this CWS, becoming the first team ever to win four straight World Series games by six runs or more."

Beavers' steady pitching clinches second straight title - AP

"Oregon State became the first team in a decade to repeat as College World Series champion, completing a dominant run through the tournament with a 9-3 victory over North Carolina on Sunday night."

"It's crazy. It's just crazy," Oregon State coach Pat Casey said. "I just felt like we were going to win. There is something in that dugout."

"We realized during that Virginia regional we could do this again," Stutes said. "We started rolling again."

ESPN Video Highlights

Game 1 in the bag

The Beavers did it again. They rode their hot hitting and great pitching to a win in game 1 of the CWS Finals. North Carolina is going to have a serious emotional check for game 2 because their demons from last year came back to haunt them: throwing errors. Not that it really made a difference. We put so much pressure on them all game that they were bound to make a couple of mistakes. I can't be a coincidence that nearly every team the Beavs have played have made unforced errors.

I was sweating after the first couple of hits in that game. UNC came out intense. Coach Fox sure likes to fiddle with things (lineups, first basemen). It almost worked for them in that first inning, but once Jorge Reyes got out of that jam I knew we'd be OK from a pitching standpoint. Getting ahead of them early was huge. And not giving up walks was huge because those extra base hits they had usually came with no one on base.

You know, UNC has made a lot of comebacks in the postseason but the law of averages still says its hard to come back. Here's their record when trailing throughout the game.

Record when trailing after:
Inn.   1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8
W-L  12-5  12-8   7-10  7-10  7-11  5-12  3-14  2-13

To me it looks like they still lose most of the time if we can have the lead by the 3rd inning.

Keys to game 2?

#1 - Get ahead early. If we can jump out early then they may start throwing the ball into the outfield again and hand us the trophy. This is very key.

#2 - Mike Stutes needs to keep the walks and hit batters down. No free passes. That will make any comeback that much harder.

Thats it.


Who's going to start for the Tar Heels? I call Robert Woodard. He's a senior and has slightly better numbers than the fully rested Luke Putkonen (sophomore). With their backs against the wall I think they have to go with Woodard. He'll be pitching on 4 days rest. See two posts below for Woodard's stats.

NOTE: Woodard is the pitcher we faced in game 2 last season to even up the series. Here's his pitching line from last year:

North Carolina         IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodard......  3.0  6  4  4  2  1 13 17  56

Lets do this! Go Beavers!

Beavs appear to be underdogs

From what I have read and heard, the Beavers are playing the role of underdog once again. This is a role they have been in almost the entire post-season. Only the UC-Irvine game were they expected to win. But then they had the media and crowd against them.

I say perfect. We thrive in that role. Tell us we won't win. Tell us we can't do something. I know the Beavs will respond.

Take the first one today Beavs! Lets go!

A look at the Tar Heels

The Beavers play game 1 of the National Championship series today at 4pm on ESPN. Don't miss it. If you have access to HDTV, then watch it in HD because its very cool in high-def.

On to the Tar Heels.

Pitching

The Beavers are better set up from a pitching standpoint - unlike last season. We should be able to do just about anything we want with our rotation and relief staff. So who will we see from North Carolina?

Here are the starters from the last few games for UNC:

June 21 (2 days rest) Adam Warren - 6.0 IP, 82 Pitches
June 20 (3 days rest) Robert Woodard - 6.2 IP, 84 P
June 19 (4 days rest) Luke Putkonen - 7.0 IP, 95 P
June 17 (6 days rest) Alex White - 1.1 IP, 51 P
June 15 (8 days rest) Robert Woodard - 1.2 IP, 38 P
                         Adam Warren - 4.1 IP, 64 P

Looks like we will see Alex White in game one. He's a freshman right-hander out of Greenville, NC. He's 6-3 and 193 lbs. He is lets a lot of people on base with his 1.48 whip. He allows 4.5 walks per game and almost a hit an inning. However, he is also their best strikeout starter at 7.84 K/9. The K's probably helps him out quite a bit. Although his ERA of 4.74 isn't great. He got shelled by Rice in game 2, and that put the Heels in the losers bracket.

   Alex White (6-6) - 4.74 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, .269 BAA, .742 OPS against

Game 2 starter will probably be either Luke Putkonen or Robert Woodard. Woodard didn't have a ton of pitches so he could probably pitch of four days rest. Plus, he pitched against the Beavs in game 2 last year. But who knows. It probably depends on who wins game one. I'd bet on Woodard, who is a senior, over the sophomore Putkonen.

   Robert Woodard (11-2) - 3.19 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, .266 BAA, .671 OPS against
   Luke Putkonen (8-1) - 4.44 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, .272 BAA, .719 OPS against

Both of these righty pitchers keep the walks down, have around 6.5 K/9, and have a fairly high amount of hits allowed (more than 1 per inning). But they are both solid. We need to win game 1 against the freshman to keep the pressure on.


Hitting

The batting order for the Tar Heels will probably look something like this:

Reid Fronk, lf
Tim Fedroff, rf
Josh Horton, ss
Tim Federowicz, c
Dustin Ackley, 1b
Chad Flack, 3b
Kyle Seager, dh
Seth Williams, cf
Garrett Gore, 2b

They are the opposite of Fullerton and Irvine on the speed/power spectrum. They attempted 69 steals and were successful about 68% of the time. But they hit 70 HRs, 23 triples, and 139 doubles. With a team average of .316 and OPS of .859 they are definitely dangerous at the plate. Nothing we haven't seen before though.

Their top hitters are:

                AVE    OPS  2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB  SB  RC
Dustin Ackley  .403  1.035  20   3   9   72  29  11  78
Josh Horton    .335   .997  18   6   9   53  47   6  64
Reid Fronk     .319   .974  19   5  11   56  39   1  59
Tim Fedroff    .342   .897   7   5   5   40  19   5  40

We just have to continue to get ahead of hitters and let the defense do their jobs because these guys don't strikeout much. If we can avoid free bases (BBs, HBP) we will be fine and should continue the great pitching.


We really need to get game one. I think if we can continue to roll we may just roll right to a sweep.


How do the Beavers prep for the CWS Finals? Check it out here: Omaha - Preparation for Championship Series






Go Beavers!

Rematch set

The Beavers get to play the team they beat last year to win it all. Awesome. Both teams are different than last year, but yet much the same in many respects. The road to the championship series was flipped this year. It was UNC who ran through their side of the bracket and were waiting for the Beavs.

This should be a fun series. I really hope we sweep this thing. I want to win it in totally convincing fashion. The complete opposite of last year. We played the most games possible last year and this year I want the least.

So who starts game 1? Stutes could probably start, but I think we should stick with Reyes. It has the least pressure because its not an elimination game. Plus, if we win we are setup for game 2 with Stutes.

I'll take a look at the Tar Heels tonight and share what I've learned.



Go Beavers!

Beavers beat Anteaters, on to the Finals!

The Beavers took the exact opposite path from what they did last year. 3 win, 0 losses on their way to the Championship Series. Last year they played the maximum number of games to win the National Championship. This year they have an opportunity to win it in the shortest number of games. How sweet would that be. How sweet would back-to-back titles be?!

Early comments on the game.

* Could the ESPN guys (Orel and Mike) talk any more about the Anteaters? It was like the Beavs weren't even on the field for the first 6 innings.

* I think Mike Patrick has player name-dyslexia. He constantly call the player who just made a play the name from the guy on the other team playing the same position. It was uncanny. Every game.

* Orel's son should reconsider his USC commitment and come to OSU!

* I had a feeling Mitch Canham would be a hero today. He was due.

* Daniel Turpen settled down after a couple of innings and and just was lights out all game. His slider was nasty tonight and the fastball was popping.


Rice or UNC next. Both teams who have a chip on their shoulder from last season. Who cares! Lets beat 'em!

Go Beavers!

Bring on the Anteaters!!!

The Beavers next CWS opponent is set. UC Irvine beat ASU in the 10th inning tonight to get the chance to play the Beavs. I'm glad we don't have to play ASU because I'm guessing they would have been a lot better the second time around. I wish we didn't have to use Patterson, because he could have started this game. Now, I'm guessing it will be Turpen. No problem there, lots of experience. Plus, Patterson can put out any fires if necessary.

So what about this UC Irvine team?

I know one thing, they can't have much pitching left. They have played two extra inning games in the last two games. Plus, they haven't had a day off in a few days.

Who will the starter be? They may go for Scott Gorgan. He started on Saturday. That would be 4 days rest so he may not be able to go very long. (EDIT: scratch that, he pitched 2 innings last night) They have a ton of guys who have started, so it could be almost anyone.

One question, why did their closer not get in to the first two games. He's got great numbers. Then they put him in against ASU and he blows it.

Some thoughts:

* Their hitting is good at .319, but not a ton of HRs.

* Tons of SBs. 138 on the year with a 73% SB%. Nice.

* Cody Cipriano is the big power hitter with 13 HRs, 58 RBI, and a 1.020 OPS. He'll be hitting 3rd.

* Weird. Their lead off hitter, Taylor Holiday, is also their first baseman. That might be a first for me. His .351 AVE and .417 OBP and great speed makes him a good fit. Plus, he seems to field his position great.

* They have a TON of triples. Whoa. 32 triples? Thats only 5 less than their HRs. The must be one seriously fast team.

* Ben Orloff has 34 sacrifices. Yes, he is the number 2 hitter.


To win I think we need to take advantage of their tired pitching and not walk a lot of guys. They run and manufacture runs way to good to help them out at all.


Go Beavers!


I had to post these photos taken by the Omaha World-Herald from the game against ASU.

The blowup doll Canzano was talking about. Not as lewd as I thought it would be.




Lennerton's HR looks painful. The kid should have brought a glove.

Beavers Baseball does something they have never done

The Beavers won their opening game at the College World Series. It was a classic OSU win. They scratch out a couple of runs against the other team's ace and the defense and pitching gets the job done. That said, we were really lucky to have won after that misplayed fly ball by John Wallace that should have been the last out. You just knew there would be some drama after that.

Great games from Scott Sanchi and Jorge Reyes. They won the game for us. Now on to ASU. First, a couple of observations.

* Darwin Barney and Joey Wong had one of the best double plays I've ever seen. It made the WebGems on Baseball Tonight after the game. But props to Lechelt and Lennerton too for some great defensive plays as well. Great game.

* The Mike Lissman thing is not a good thing. The story is definitely getting some legs (ESPN link) and the mention of it in the first inning yesterday was just plain embarrassing. I could almost hear the yells of "cheaters!" from Charlottesville, Ann Arbor, and Eugene. In the future, when in doubt suspend the kid for a series. At least you can say you did something. You rarely get in trouble for punishing a little, but if you don't punish at all or let them off on a tchnicality, then you are putting yourself out there for major scrutiny. Just look at the red card situation with youth soccer.

* This experience is huge for guys like Jorge Reyes, Joey Wong, Blake Keitzman, and all the other young guys who will be leading us over the next couple of years. Jorge will be a great ace next season.


On to ASU:

* Their hitting reminds me of Michigan, only better.

* Brett Wallace has a 1.201 OPS to go with his .416 AVE, 16 HRs, and 78 RBI. Thats approaching Barry Bonds levels. Yikes.

* These guys take a lot of walks. Stutes needs to be on and around the strike zone or they will not help him out.

* They bat .348 as a team and have a .973 OPS. This will be the story of the game. Can our hot pitching beat their hitting.

* Not sure who they are pitching, but its not Mike Leake. Both of the remaining starters are good but have about double the walk rate. That should help us get baserunners on and score some runs. I'd rather see Brian Flores because he gives up the long ball a bit, but he and Satow are good.

* The bullpen is a bit sketchy. ASU knows it and that could help us towards the end of the game. Even their closer has a .271 BAA.


Its time for Mike Stutes to get some redemption for our earlier losses in the Pac-10 season. Go Beavers!

OSU Baseball gets attacked

OSU Beavers Baseball has arrived. We've weathered a "rebuilding" year and made it back to the College World Series for a 3rd consecutive year. But with success comes other things. There are the groupies (love them), attackers (thanks Rachel), the copy-cats (stick to track), and even some collateral damage (sort of). I've got a few thoughts on two of these things.

1) Rachel Bachman is trying to be the Woodward and Bernstein of the OSU program (link). Give it a rest. First, why bring this up now when it happened weeks ago? Do you bring it up if the Beavs don't make the CWS? Why not during their late-season slump. I admit that I was surprised at the lack of reprecussions on Lissman, but to publish this story the morning of their first game? Lame.

2) The Ducks need to stick to what they're good at (link, reaction). In the spring, that's track. What "Pre" and "Track-Town USA" isn't a big enough hint? Stick to track. OSU will handle the baseball for this state. The chips fell this way 30 years ago and this is what you get. Just because track is down these days doesn't mean you should spend tons of money getting D1 baseball back on campus. Let us have our success.


On to Cal-State Fullerton. I don't have time for a full preview of this one, but upon looking at them over the last week I noticed a few things:

* They are OSU's twin. Light-hitting and good pitching (stats). Their .280 team batting average mirrors ours and only 3 players have a better than .300 average.

* Wes Roemer, today's stater, may be having a down year, but he's still awesome. Only 22 walks in 136 IP. Then there's the 143 K's. Anytime you see more K's than IP, thats real good. When the walks are that low, that's frickin awesome. His only knock is that he's a little hittable this year giving up 137 hits for a .262 BAA.

* The bullpen looks good, but the best relief pitchers may not be their closer (assuming its still Adam Jorgenson).

* The hitter to watch out for? Clark Hardman. He's hitting .391 with 14 2Bs and 5 HRs. Not to mention the .960 OPS. Looks like he's a free swinger though. Only 12 BBs in 261 ABs.

* No one is super fast on their team, but they like to run anyways. Their SB% is 62% which is OK, but you're suppose to be about 66% or you're actually hurting your team and scoring less.


Be there at 4pm today. ESPN or radio. I'll be radio (dang weddings!). I'm going to be like those ESPN commercials with the "MVPs" who managed to keep track of games while at ballets or weddings.

Go Beavers!