OSU dedicates baseball stadium with win
April 17, 1999
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State got a strong pitching performance from B.R. Cook, four runs batted in from Troy Schader, and a three-run homer from Joe Gerber as the Beavers beat California 11-5 in Pacific-10 baseball Saturday afternoon. The win came in front of a crowd of 1,246 on hand for the formal dedication of Goss Stadium at Coleman Field, and it was also televised live nationally on Fox Sports Net.
"It's nice to come out and win on a special day like today," OSU head coach Pat Casey said. "The way the setting is here, how everything looks, is first-class."
The Beavers (13-27 overall, 2-9 Pacific-10) and Golden Bears (17-26, 5-9) conclude their three-game series at 1 p.m. Sunday. It will be Pennant Day, with the first 500 fans receiving a free Oregon State baseball pennant commemorating the Goss Stadium at Coleman Field dedication weekend.
John Goss, whose family was a major contributor to the construction of the new stadium at OSU's longtime home field, threw out the first pitch Saturday. The Beavers then jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one inning and kept at least a three-run cushion all afternoon.
With the pregame ceremonies, the largest crowd of the season and the television audience, Cook knew it was a special occasion.
"You've got all those people here, and all the people who made it possible for us to play in this stadium are here," Cook said. "You want to make them proud. You want to represent the University and the ball club well."
Cook pitched eight innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and three walks. He matched his career high with nine strikeouts before leaving the game after eight innings; the final out of the eighth was a drive by Curtis Johnson that hit him on the left ankle but Cook threw him out at first.
"He was outstanding," Casey said of Cook. "Sometimes it's tough to stay focused with a big lead, but he stayed with it. I just can't say enough about the effort he put out today."
Having an early four-run lead made a big difference for the Beavers, who have had to play from behind in most of their recent games.
"It's something we talked about Friday," Cook said. "Playing hard the first three innings, and taking it from there."
By the end of the third, the Beavers led 6-1, thanks in large part to a pair of two-out, two run singles by Schader in the first and third innings. Schader, who has struggled at the plate much of this season, is 5-for-12 with two homers and nine RBIs in his last three games.
"I feel a little better up there lately. It's all about seeing the ball," Schader said. His four RBIs gave him 112 for his career, moving him into fifth place on the Beavers' all-time list.
Also climbing in the record books was Joe Gerber, whose three-run homer in the fourth inning gave him 22 for his career and put him all alone in fifth place on OSU's all-time list. The homer also extended Gerber's hitting streak to 12 games.
California had three homers of its own, but those by Mike Tonis and Xavier Nady came with the bases empty. When the Bears' David Sark hit a two-run homer in the seventh, OSU still led 11-5.
Gerber's homer off reliever Jon Cuccias had given the Beavers a 9-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. In the fifth, Eric Stark's two-out, two-run triple to left put OSU in front 11-3.
Stark finished with the first three-hit game of his career, going 3-for-5, and Garrett Bates had his second straight two-hit game, going 2-for-4. When Cal got two runners aboard in the top of the ninth, Mike Gits came on to pitch for OSU and induced cleanup hitter Clint Hoover to ground the ball to Schader at short to start a game-ending double play.
"Mainly, it was just a good game all-around for everybody," Schader said. "We had a lot of fans out, and it was nice to see that. We haven't been winning, so we haven't had as many here lately. Hopefully, they saw we can win and they'll keep coming out."
OREGON STATE 11, CALIFORNIA 5
California 001 010 300 - 5 8 1 Oregon State 402 320 00x - 11 11 1Dennis, Cuccias (4), K. Johnson (7) and Tonis. Cook, Rainwater (9), Gits (9) and Ingram. WP-Cook (4-7). LP-Dennis (2-7). 2B-Callen (UC), Willkie (OSU), Bates (OSU). 3B-Stark (OSU). HR-Nady (UC), Tonis (UC), Sark (UC), Gerber (OSU).
HITS: California 8 (Nady 2x5, Tonis 2x3, Hoover 1x4, Sark 1x3, Callen 1x4, C. Johnson 1x3), Oregon State 11 (Willkie 1x4, Stark 3x5, Gerber 1x3, Davis 1x2, Carter 1x4, Schader 2x4, Bates 2x4). RUNS BATTED IN: California 4 (Nady 1, Tonis 1, Sark 2), Oregon State 11 (Stark 2, Gerber 3, Davis 1, Ingram 1, Schader 4).
