Photo by: Karl Maasdam
A Look Back: The 2018 National Champions
April 14, 2020 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. – It was déjà vu.
For those who followed the Oregon State baseball program back in 2006, the 2018 national title run seemed very familiar, especially once the Beavers arrived in Omaha. Oregon State had a potent offense, great pitching and stifling defense but needed to come-from-behind to win the whole thing.
Make no mistake, the 2018 club was destined to reach the College World Series once they opened play at the Corvallis Regional. The Beavers out-scored Northwestern State and LSU by a 35-4 advantage in the first three games of postseason play. Yes, you read that correctly. In fact, Oregon State jumped out to a 4-0 lead after four innings in the opener against Northwestern State, equaling their opponents' total runs scored less than 15 percent of the way into the regional.
Oregon State steamrolled LSU, 14-1 and 12-0, in back-to-back efforts, creating a matchup with the Big Ten's Minnesota in the Corvallis Super Regional.
Game one went just like the regional, with the Beavers claiming an 8-1 victory after scoring three in the first and one in the second inning.
The Beavers trailed for the first time in the postseason in the second game when the Golden Gophers went up 2-1 after four innings. Minnesota later took a 3-2 lead and was holding the Beaver bats at bay until the eighth inning. Kyle Nobach evened the game's score with a run-scoring single in the frame, then watched as Adley Rutschman made it 5-3 with a two-run single in the ninth. Jake Mulholland struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning to send the Beavers to Omaha.
Now this is where comparisons to 2006 can start. Like the Beavers' first national title team, the 2018 club dropped its first game in Omaha, 8-6 to North Carolina. OSU fell behind 6-1 before coming to within two at 6-4, and made a late rally but fell to the loser's bracket.
Ready for some weather drama? Oregon State defeated Washington, 14-5, in game two, sending the Huskies home. The game was delayed for more than four hours due to rain, and the Beavers, who once trailed 5-4, scored once in the sixth, four times in the seventh and five times in the eighth for the decisive win.
OSU re-matched with North Carolina in game three and again found itself down late. UNC led 6-3 entering the eighth. Up stepped Rutschman with the bases loaded and one out, and the future Golden Spikes recipient doubled to center, bringing in all three runs. The Beavers plated another in the inning and then four more in the ninth for the final 11-6 tally.
Mississippi State stood in the Beavers' way after the win over the Tar Heels. Oregon State would need to defeat the Bulldogs twice to advance to the finals. And the Beavers did just that. OSU jumped out to a 7-2 lead through four innings in game one en route to a 12-2 win. In yet another elimination game, the Beavers downed the Bulldogs, 5-2, via a five-run third inning that was highlighted by a three-run home run from Tyler Malone.
That advanced the Beavers to a title showdown with Arkansas.
Weather played another role in the CWS Finals as a significant thunderstorm ran through Omaha on June 25, the night of what was supposed to be the first game. No pitch was thrown that night and a tired Oregon State pitching staff got an extra day of rest.
Arkansas won the first of three between the teams, with a four-run fifth inning the culprit. Just like 2006, that put the Beavers down a game.
Game two will go down as one of the most historic comebacks in program history. The Beavers found themselves down 3-2 entering the ninth inning. Cadyn Grenier drove in the game-tying run on a 2-2 count after his foul pop dropped – and which should have ended the game – before Trevor Larnach's laser of a home run put OSU up 5-3.
June 28, 2018
Two hits. That's all Arkansas was able to manage against Oregon State starter Kevin Abel as the freshman went the distance in a 5-0 win to capture the title.
The two hits given up by Abel were the fewest ever allowed by a pitcher in a national title game. He ended the game by retiring 20 straight after allowing a third-inning infield single.
Game three, was in effect, anti-climactic, especially when compared to game two's dramatics. The Beavers jumped on the board early via a Rutschman single in the first that was followed by Michael Gretler's ground ball which turned into an error and an OSU run.
Rutschman was back at it again in the third with another RBI, and Gretler factored into the scorebook against with a sac fly in the fifth. Zak Taylor put icing on the cake with an eighth-inning RBI single. That insurance run was lauded by the ESPN commentators, but in retrospect, Abel didn't need it.
The righty tossed 17 pitches in the ninth, getting a strikeout, groundout and then a strikeout to end the game sending Beaver Nation into celebration mode.
Notes on the 2018 title
• Oregon State's 55 wins were one shy of the program's record of 56 in 2017. The Beavers finished a two-year stretch going 111-18-1, a winning percentage of .858.
• Oregon State set the single-year CWS record with 93 hits, and batted .327 over eight games.
• Kevin Abel became the first pitcher to win four games at the College World Series, including two in the final series. He was just the fourth pitcher to throw a shutout in a championship game, and the first since 1993.
• Adley Rutschman, named the Most Outstanding Player at the College World Series, set the CWS record with 17 hits in eight games. He batted .408 on the year for the Beavers, the third-best single-season mark in school history.
• Oregon State scored 50 runs in eight CWS games, averaging 7.4 per. The 50 runs are the third-most in a single College World Series.
• Rutschman also broke Michael Conforto's school record (76 in 2012) for RBI with 83.
• Additionally, Rutschman collected 102 hits in 2018, breaking Jacoby Ellsbury's 99 in 2005.
• Trevor Larnach tallied 15 hits during the CWS, tied for second-most behind Rutschman's 17. Larnach finished with 25 total bases during the eight games, fourth-most.
• Oregon State's pitching staff struck out 38 batters during the three games versus Arkansas, snapping Texas' finals-record of 28 in 2009 versus LSU.
• The Beavers hit eight home runs in Omaha to finish with 67 on the year, breaking the 1998 team's 60 for most in a single-season by the Beavers.
• Oregon State also finished with 753 hits, surpassing the 2006 team's record of 684.
• Luke Heimlich led the nation with 16 wins and was second with 159 strikeouts. He was named the College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year. Heimlich was also named the Pac-12's Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year.
• Cadyn Grenier was recognized as the recipient of the Brooks Wallace Award, given to the nation's top collegiate shortstop. He was also named the Pac-12's Defensive Player of the Year.
• Oregon State set a single-season record with seven players named All-American. They were: Nick Madrigal, Trevor Larnach, Cadyn Grenier, Adley Rutschman, Luke Heimlich, Bryce Fehmel and Jake Mulholland.
• Head coach Pat Casey was named the National Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball and the ABCA. He's been named the National Coach of the Year in five different seasons: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017 and 2018.
• Casey's 900th win came in the CWS Championship clinching victory.
• Oregon State finished the year with a 35-3 record in non-conference games, with only one loss coming during the regular season.
• The Beavers had a school-record three first-round draft selections: Nick Madrigal (fourth overall - Chicago White Sox), Trevor Larnach (20th overall - Minnesota) and Cadyn Grenier (37th overall - Baltimore). Steven Kwan (fifth round - Cleveland), Drew Rasmussen (sixth round - Milwaukee) and Michael Gretler (10th round - Pittsburgh) were also selected.
Follow Us On Social
For more information on the Oregon State baseball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverBaseball, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateBaseball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverBaseball.
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
For those who followed the Oregon State baseball program back in 2006, the 2018 national title run seemed very familiar, especially once the Beavers arrived in Omaha. Oregon State had a potent offense, great pitching and stifling defense but needed to come-from-behind to win the whole thing.
Make no mistake, the 2018 club was destined to reach the College World Series once they opened play at the Corvallis Regional. The Beavers out-scored Northwestern State and LSU by a 35-4 advantage in the first three games of postseason play. Yes, you read that correctly. In fact, Oregon State jumped out to a 4-0 lead after four innings in the opener against Northwestern State, equaling their opponents' total runs scored less than 15 percent of the way into the regional.
Oregon State steamrolled LSU, 14-1 and 12-0, in back-to-back efforts, creating a matchup with the Big Ten's Minnesota in the Corvallis Super Regional.
Game one went just like the regional, with the Beavers claiming an 8-1 victory after scoring three in the first and one in the second inning.
The Beavers trailed for the first time in the postseason in the second game when the Golden Gophers went up 2-1 after four innings. Minnesota later took a 3-2 lead and was holding the Beaver bats at bay until the eighth inning. Kyle Nobach evened the game's score with a run-scoring single in the frame, then watched as Adley Rutschman made it 5-3 with a two-run single in the ninth. Jake Mulholland struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning to send the Beavers to Omaha.
Now this is where comparisons to 2006 can start. Like the Beavers' first national title team, the 2018 club dropped its first game in Omaha, 8-6 to North Carolina. OSU fell behind 6-1 before coming to within two at 6-4, and made a late rally but fell to the loser's bracket.
Ready for some weather drama? Oregon State defeated Washington, 14-5, in game two, sending the Huskies home. The game was delayed for more than four hours due to rain, and the Beavers, who once trailed 5-4, scored once in the sixth, four times in the seventh and five times in the eighth for the decisive win.
OSU re-matched with North Carolina in game three and again found itself down late. UNC led 6-3 entering the eighth. Up stepped Rutschman with the bases loaded and one out, and the future Golden Spikes recipient doubled to center, bringing in all three runs. The Beavers plated another in the inning and then four more in the ninth for the final 11-6 tally.
Mississippi State stood in the Beavers' way after the win over the Tar Heels. Oregon State would need to defeat the Bulldogs twice to advance to the finals. And the Beavers did just that. OSU jumped out to a 7-2 lead through four innings in game one en route to a 12-2 win. In yet another elimination game, the Beavers downed the Bulldogs, 5-2, via a five-run third inning that was highlighted by a three-run home run from Tyler Malone.
That advanced the Beavers to a title showdown with Arkansas.
Weather played another role in the CWS Finals as a significant thunderstorm ran through Omaha on June 25, the night of what was supposed to be the first game. No pitch was thrown that night and a tired Oregon State pitching staff got an extra day of rest.
Arkansas won the first of three between the teams, with a four-run fifth inning the culprit. Just like 2006, that put the Beavers down a game.
Game two will go down as one of the most historic comebacks in program history. The Beavers found themselves down 3-2 entering the ninth inning. Cadyn Grenier drove in the game-tying run on a 2-2 count after his foul pop dropped – and which should have ended the game – before Trevor Larnach's laser of a home run put OSU up 5-3.
June 28, 2018
Two hits. That's all Arkansas was able to manage against Oregon State starter Kevin Abel as the freshman went the distance in a 5-0 win to capture the title.
The two hits given up by Abel were the fewest ever allowed by a pitcher in a national title game. He ended the game by retiring 20 straight after allowing a third-inning infield single.
Game three, was in effect, anti-climactic, especially when compared to game two's dramatics. The Beavers jumped on the board early via a Rutschman single in the first that was followed by Michael Gretler's ground ball which turned into an error and an OSU run.
Rutschman was back at it again in the third with another RBI, and Gretler factored into the scorebook against with a sac fly in the fifth. Zak Taylor put icing on the cake with an eighth-inning RBI single. That insurance run was lauded by the ESPN commentators, but in retrospect, Abel didn't need it.
The righty tossed 17 pitches in the ninth, getting a strikeout, groundout and then a strikeout to end the game sending Beaver Nation into celebration mode.
Notes on the 2018 title
• Oregon State's 55 wins were one shy of the program's record of 56 in 2017. The Beavers finished a two-year stretch going 111-18-1, a winning percentage of .858.
• Oregon State set the single-year CWS record with 93 hits, and batted .327 over eight games.
• Kevin Abel became the first pitcher to win four games at the College World Series, including two in the final series. He was just the fourth pitcher to throw a shutout in a championship game, and the first since 1993.
• Adley Rutschman, named the Most Outstanding Player at the College World Series, set the CWS record with 17 hits in eight games. He batted .408 on the year for the Beavers, the third-best single-season mark in school history.
• Oregon State scored 50 runs in eight CWS games, averaging 7.4 per. The 50 runs are the third-most in a single College World Series.
• Rutschman also broke Michael Conforto's school record (76 in 2012) for RBI with 83.
• Additionally, Rutschman collected 102 hits in 2018, breaking Jacoby Ellsbury's 99 in 2005.
• Trevor Larnach tallied 15 hits during the CWS, tied for second-most behind Rutschman's 17. Larnach finished with 25 total bases during the eight games, fourth-most.
• Oregon State's pitching staff struck out 38 batters during the three games versus Arkansas, snapping Texas' finals-record of 28 in 2009 versus LSU.
• The Beavers hit eight home runs in Omaha to finish with 67 on the year, breaking the 1998 team's 60 for most in a single-season by the Beavers.
• Oregon State also finished with 753 hits, surpassing the 2006 team's record of 684.
• Luke Heimlich led the nation with 16 wins and was second with 159 strikeouts. He was named the College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year. Heimlich was also named the Pac-12's Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year.
• Cadyn Grenier was recognized as the recipient of the Brooks Wallace Award, given to the nation's top collegiate shortstop. He was also named the Pac-12's Defensive Player of the Year.
• Oregon State set a single-season record with seven players named All-American. They were: Nick Madrigal, Trevor Larnach, Cadyn Grenier, Adley Rutschman, Luke Heimlich, Bryce Fehmel and Jake Mulholland.
• Head coach Pat Casey was named the National Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball and the ABCA. He's been named the National Coach of the Year in five different seasons: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017 and 2018.
• Casey's 900th win came in the CWS Championship clinching victory.
• Oregon State finished the year with a 35-3 record in non-conference games, with only one loss coming during the regular season.
• The Beavers had a school-record three first-round draft selections: Nick Madrigal (fourth overall - Chicago White Sox), Trevor Larnach (20th overall - Minnesota) and Cadyn Grenier (37th overall - Baltimore). Steven Kwan (fifth round - Cleveland), Drew Rasmussen (sixth round - Milwaukee) and Michael Gretler (10th round - Pittsburgh) were also selected.
Follow Us On Social
For more information on the Oregon State baseball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverBaseball, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateBaseball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverBaseball.
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
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