OSU Holds First 2016 Practice
January 29, 2016 | Baseball
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The fifth-ranked Oregon State baseball team held its first practice of the season on Friday, just 21 days in advance of the opening game.
The Beavers, who are ranked in the top 10 in five different polls, worked out for two hours at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field and the Truax Indoor Center
Oregon State, which started no more than four upperclassmen in a game last season, return eight starters from the infield and outfield – the only exit belongs to Jeff Hendrix, who was a fourth-round selection in the MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. OSU returns 26 of 40 home runs (65 percent) from a year ago.
The rotation, meanwhile, returns two of the three weekend starters in sophomore Drew Rasmussen and senior Travis Eckert. Twenty-two of the club's 39 wins (56 percent) from 2015 also return.
The team's freshman class was ranked in the top 15 in the fall, and three members of the class – Nick Madrigal, Cadyn Grenier and Trevor Larnach – came to Corvallis after being drafted by Major League organizations last summer.
D1Baseball.com and Baseball America both have the Beavers at No. 5, while Perfect Game has the team at No. 6. Oregon State is ranked eighth by both Collegiate Baseball and ESPN/USA Today.
The Beavers wrapped up the workout at 3 p.m. so that coaches, staff and players could prepare for the team's annual Diamond Dinner, held Friday night on the Oregon State campus.
Season tickets for the 2016 season are now available for purchase. To do so, visit BeaverTickets.com or call 1-800-GOBEAVS (between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday). They can also be purchased in person at the OSU Ticket Office, which is located at the front of Gill Coliseum.
For more information on the Oregon State baseball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/Beaver_Baseball, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateBaseball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverBaseball.
