Consistency crucial for Beavers postseason hopes
With six games left in the regular season, Oregon State really needs to do one thing consistently better than it has the rest of this 2012 baseball season: score runs. Starting pitching has been consistent, especially as the season has progressed. Ben Wetzler, Jace Fry and Dan Child have gotten stronger and stronger – just...
Post-game: Beavers tear through Portland
Freshman Michael Conforto shared it after the game, but it was what the Beavers did before their game with Portland that set the stage for Tuesday night’s feel-good 12-4 victory over the Pilots at Goss Stadium. They met as players, talked about what they needed to do better, shared what they should do and, finally,...
Conforto accepts an offer for Team USA
Not all performances are equal – that’s the lesson the Pac-12 Conference office has been intent on delivering this spring. It’s less about what you do on the field, than who you do it against. That’s why Jace Fry was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for shutting out UCLA, while his freshman teammate Michael...
Post-game: Civil War II
Personally, I don’t like sending a pitcher out to face the same team twice in a short span – even if that span is two weeks, he’s the most rested guy on the staff and has been pitching better and better in each outing. Then again, I’ve never coached. Pat Casey and Nate Yeskie know...
OSU baseball: Stanford aftermath before Oregon game
Anybody wonder what Oregon State got out of winning 2 of 3 from Stanford over the weekend? The Beavers got plenty, starting with a second Pac-12 series victory over a top-10 RPI program. That almost makes up for the series loss to USC the week before. Why’s that? Because the Trojans were 53rd in the...
Saturday post-game: Be ready for a righteous Sunday finale
Between the Stanford Cardinal getting chippy and taunting OSU’s Ryan Gorton on Friday night and Beaver freshman lefthander Jace Fry shutting the Trees up on Saturday, Sunday’s Pac-12 Confererence finale has the makings of an epic showdown. Both teams need the win, though the Beavers (29-15, 10-10) have a greater need than Stanford (29-13, 11-9)....
Post-game: Moving on after blowing Friday’s game against Stanford
A few weeks ago, I asked Ben Wetzler if he thought throwing a strike was the hardest thing to do consistently in sports. Oregon State’s sophomore lefthander considered it for a moment, then said the real challenge isn’t throwing strikes, but throwing three different types of strikes as quality pitches. Wetzler didn’t have his best...
Post-game from PK: Beavers shine bright in Civil War
Some quick observations from Tuesday’s Oregon State 7-1 victory over No. 10 Oregon at PK Park: Taylor Starr is now THE Tuesday starter for the Beavers. The senior has finally put three Tommy John-style surgeries behind him, is regaining his confidence and his fastball. That’s a good thing for the Beavers and a great thing...
Damaged Ducks ahead for improving Beavers
There’s no such thing as an easy series in the Pac-12, as Oregon State and Washington State proved once again this last weekend. UCLA and Oregon came into the weekend tied for the conference lead with Arizona and riding high with momentum. The Bruins and Ducks came out of their three-game series still tied, but...
Post-game, post-UCLA series: Beavers must keep the fire burning
It’s easiest to joke when you’re on top and that was why Ryan Gorton spoke easy and free with the media after Sunday’s 7-6 Oregon State victory over 11th-ranked UCLA at Goss Stadium. Gorton – who along with Michael Conforto extended his hitting streak to eight games – drove in three runs for the Beavers,...