Beavers Face Big Opportunity
May 9, 2000
FRIDAY, MAY 12
Oregon State at No. 19 Southern California, 6 p.m.
(Radio: Live on KLOO-AM 1340)
SATURDAY, MAY 13
Oregon State at No. 19 Southern California, 1 p.m.
(Radio: Live on KLOO-AM 1340)
SUNDAY, MAY 14
Oregon State at No. 19 Southern California, 1 p.m.
(Radio: Live on KLOO-AM 1340)
Oregon State (27-22 overall, 8-10 Pacific-10) now goes on the road for a pair of chances to further its case for a postseason invitation, finishing the season with Pacific-10 series at Southern California and Washington State. The first opportunity is a big one for the Beavers, as USC (31-18, 10-8) is ranked 19th in the country in this week's USA Today coaches poll and carries college baseball's most-storied history.
"This is a great, great thing for our ballclub," OSU head coach Pat Casey said. "If you're going to carry yourself like a club contending for the postseason, these are the kinds of games you want to play. USC doesn't only have a great ballclub this year, but they've got that enormous tradition of success.
"These are the types of teams you have to compete with to get where we want to be. We've shown that we're pretty close, this is another chance for us to prove how we stack up against one of the nation's best programs. It's a huge, huge challenge, but it's one of those weekends you have to live for as a ballplayer or coach."
Oregon State will again be out to demonstrate how far it has come over the past year. OSU, picked to finish last in the Pacific-10 in a preseason poll of the conference's coaches, is tied for fifth place in the conference. OSU already has eight more wins than it did in all of 1999 and the Beavers have more Pac-10 wins than they did all of last season.
Oregon State has already played a pair of Pacific-10 opponents ranked among the nation's top five teams this season, taking one of three games in both series. On April 7-9, OSU won 11-3 at fourth-ranked Arizona State and lost twice by a single run, last weekend, OSU topped third-ranked Stanford 5-2 in a nationally-televised game and the Beavers were even with the Cardinal in the late innings of both losses.
"I don't think we were looking to just be competitive against Stanford," Casey said. "We were looking to win the series. I think everybody on our club is disappointed in not winning the series, because if we do some basic things, we win it.
"Now, we get another chance to do those things against a very good club. We've got to make the most of this opportunity ... this is the time of year that everything you do is magnified a little, because every pitch and every play can mean the difference in whether or not you're going to keep playing after the regular season ends."
Southern California took last weekend off due to exams, it plays at No. 18 Cal State-Fullerton on Wednesday. USC's last action came when it took two of three home games from fourth-ranked Arizona State on April 28-30.
Senior third baseman Justin Gemoll leads the Trojans with a .379 batting average and has 15 homers and 49 runs batted in. Freshman infielder Anthony Lunetta is batting .354 with 7 homers and 34 RBIs, junior utility player Josh Persell is batting .324 with 3 homers and 25 RBIs, sophomore outfielder Rob Garibaldi is batting .316 with 6 homers and 31 RBIs, and sophomore catcher Beau Craig is batting .286 with 15 homers and 52 RBIs.
Junior righthander Rik Currier is 10-3 with a 3.57 earned run average, while sophomore righthander Mark Prior is 6-6 with a 3.59 ERA and junior lefthander Ronald Flores is 4-1 with a 3.84 ERA.
OREGON STATE PROBABLE LINEUP:
C-Bryan Ingram, so., Everett, Wash. (Cascade HS), .306, 1 HR, 16 RBIs
or Chris Biles, fr., Tigard, Ore. (Tigard HS), .417, 2 HRs, 16 RBIs
1B-Joe Gerber, sr., Portland, Ore. (Grant HS), .368, 7 HRs, 62 RBIs
2B-Zach Gordon, jr., Simi Valley, Calif. (Moorpark JC), .240, 11 HRs, 32 RBIs
or Stephen Copeland, fr., Keizer, Ore. (McNary HS), .333, 0 HRs, 3 RBIs
3B-Brian Barden, fr., Bonita, Calif. (St. Augustine HS), .381, 7 HRs, 45 RBIs
or Tim Dryden, jr., Roseburg, Ore. (Lane CC), .382, 1 HR, 18 RBIs
SS-Will Hudson, fr., Fountain Valley, Calif. (Fountain Valley HS), .270, 0 HRs, 18 RBIs
OF-Eric Stark, jr., Sumner, Wash. (Sumner HS), .307, 4 HRs, 19 RBIs
OF-Josh Carter, so., Fallbrook, Calif. (Fallbrook HS), .299, 3 HRs, 31 RBIs
OF-Drew Hedges, sr., Portland, Ore. (Beaverton HS), .384, 7 HRs, 33 RBIs
or Rod Gott, sr., Ravensdale, Wash. (Green River CC), .203, 3 HRs, 13 RBIs
or Jackson Coleman, jr., Soldotna, Alaska (Eastern Arizona JC), .238, 0 HRs, 8 RBIs
DH-Curtis Davis, jr., Corvallis, Ore. (Corvallis HS), .264, 3 HRs, 11 RBIs
or Andy Jarvis, fr., Renton, Wash. (Liberty HS), .337, 4 HRs, 32 RBIs
(Tentative starting pitching rotation)
RHP-Thad Johnson, jr., Santa Rosa, Calif. (Santa Rosa JC), 5-4, 4.02 ERA
LHP-Scott Nicholson, jr., Longview, Wash. (Lower Columbia CC), 7-6, 4.30 ERA
RHP-James Atwood, sr., Layton, Utah (Albertson Coll.), 3-4, 6.16 ERA
INJURY REPORT: Oregon State expects all its players to be healthy for this week's games.
ALL-TIME VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT: Oregon State has an all-time record of 6-22 against Southern California in a series dating back to 1951, and the Beavers are on a 3-game losing streak against the Trojans. Last season, USC swept a series in Corvallis by scores of 5-2, 12-10 and 4-1. The last meeting in Los Angeles was in 1998, when USC won 9-0 and 7-4 before OSU won the finale 13-6.
RECENT OREGON STATE NOTES: When OSU beat third-ranked Stanford 5-2 on May 6, the game was televised nationally on Fox Sports Net. It was the third straight year Oregon State has hosted a national TV game, and the Beavers are 3-0 in those contests with wins over Arizona, California and Stanford ...
Of OSU's 22 losses his season, 11 have been to teams who were either ranked or received votes in 1 of the national polls this week, the Beavers also own 4 wins over teams who are ranked or received votes ... Oregon State has already won 8 more games this season than the Beavers won in all of 1999's 19-35 campaign, and the Beavers have surpassed their Pacific-10 win total of last season's 7-17 mark ... OSU is 11 games ahead of its pace of a year ago, when the Beavers were 16-33 after 49 games. OSU is 5 games head of its 1999 pace in Pac-10 play, when the Beavers were 3-15 after 18 games ... the Beavers' 13-10 home record more than doubled last season's home win total, when OSU was 6-9 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field ... OSU is above .500 at home (13-10), on the road (8-7) and at neutral sites (6-5) ...
Oregon State had its streak of Pacific-10 Conference series wins end against Stanford. OSU had taken 2 of 3 games from Arizona, California and Washington in successive weeks. That was the first time OSU had won 3 straight Pac-10 series since the conference unified its Northern and Southern divisions for the 1999 season, OSU's series win at Cal was the Beavers' first on the road in the current Pac-10 format ...
The Beavers' team batting average of .318 is 26 points better than 1999's final mark of .292 ... Oregon State is batting .340 with runners on base, .350 with runners in scoring position and .450 with the bases loaded ... OSU has a 36-30 edge over its opponents in stolen bases so far this season, in 1999, the Beavers were outstolen by almost a 3-to-1 ratio. Oregon State has stolen 13 more bases than it did all of last season ... OSU has outscored its opponents 119-61 in the seventh and eighth innings ... in the past 5 weeks, OSU has drawn 99 walks and allowed 60 ... OSU has thrown 12 complete games this season, its most since 13 in 1995 ... OSU's team ERA of 5.38 is almost 2 runs per game better than its final 1999 mark of 7.37 ... opponents are hitting .288 against OSU as opposd to .321 for all of last season ... after not hitting a grand slam in all of 1999, the Beavers have hit 4 this spring. Freshman third baseman Brian Barden has hit 2 of those ...
OSU had lost 5 straight after a series-opening 1-0 loss at Arizona State on April 6, but Oregon State has become a postseason contender by going 11-6 since then. During that stretch, the Beavers are batting .327 and averaging 8.3 runs and 11.5 hits per game ... during the recent 17-game surge, several Beavers have been swinging hot bats. In that time, senior first baseman Joe Gerber is batting .403 (25-for-62) with 4 homers, 4 doubles, 19 RBIs and 19 walks, freshman third baseman Brian Barden is batting .413 (31-for-75) with 8 doubles, 5 homers, 29 RBIs and 23 runs scored, senior outfielder Drew Hedges is batting .397 with 4 doubles, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 11 walks, freshman designated hitter Andy Jarvis is batting .396 (19-for-48) with 5 doubles, 2 homers and 19 RBIs, and junior outfielder Eric Stark is batting .382 (21-for-55) with 2 homers, 2 triples, 1 double, 8 RBIs, 14 walks and 4 stolen bases ...
In his last 5 starts - 4 of them complete games - junior righthander Thad Johnson is 3-2 with a 2.72 earned run average, in that time, he's averaging 5.2 hits, 2.0 walks and 4.2 strikeouts per game and opponents are batting .179 against him. One loss in that time was a 1-0 defeat at then-No. 4 Arizona State in which Johnson threw a 3-hitter ... in his last 12 appearances, junior lefthander Scott Nicholson has a 7-4 record and 3.49 ERA with 4 complete games, in that span, he has averaged over 7.0 innings, 7.8 hits, 2.2 walks and 5.4 strikeouts per game. A pair of Nicholson's losses during that time were 3-0 to Texas A&M and 3-1 to UCLA.
LAST WEEK: Oregon State wrapped up its home schedule with a Pacific-10 series against No. 3 Stanford at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. The Beavers fell 10-6 in the opener on May 5, won 5-2 in a nationally-televised game on May 6 and lost 7-5 in the finale on May 7.
On May 5, Oregon State allowed 5 unearned runs in the 10-6 loss. OSU tied the game at 6-6 on Brian Barden's 3-run homer off Cardinal closer Jeff Bruksch in the bottom of the eighth inning, only to commit a pair of errors as the Cardinal scored 4 times in the top of the ninth. Oregon State committed 4 errors, with a Beaver miscue opeing the door to a 4-run fourth inning for Stanford. Barden was 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs, and Eric Stark had a solo homer off Cardinal starter Jason Young.
On May 6, Scott Nicholson pitched a 5-hitter and Zach Gordon homered twice for Oregon State as the Beavers won 5-2. The game attracted a season-high crowd of 1,311 and was televised live nationally on Fox Sports Net. The last time OSU had beaten a team ranked as high as third in the nation came at No. 3 Southern California in 1998, the last time OSU won at home against a team ranked as high as third came in a doubleheader split with No. 2 USC in 1967. It was also Oregon State's first win over Stanford since 1971, ending a 13-game losing streak against the Cardinal. Nicholson walked 7 and struck out 2 in throwing his fourth complete game of the year, he pitched despite having a fever hovering just over 100 degrees. After Andy Jarvis gave OSU a 2-1 lead with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the second, Gordon hit a 2-run homer in the fourth and a solo homer in the ninth that made it 5-1.
On May 7, Oregon State rallied to tie the game 5-5 on Barden's seventh-inning grand slam before falling 7-5. Beaver seniors playing their final home game were pitcher James Atwood, infielder Tim Dryden, first baseman Joe Gerber, outfielder Rod Gott, outfielder Drew Hedges and pitcher Mark Newell.
HEAD COACH PAT CASEY: Pat Casey is in his sixth season as Oregon State's head baseball coach. Casey currently has a record of 176-123-4 with the Beavers for a winning percentage of .587. His career record is 347-236-5, which includes 7 years at George Fox University in Newberg, for a winning percentage of .594.
Casey came to OSU from his alma mater, George Fox, after leading the Bruins to a 171-113-1 record and winning 3 NAIA District 2 titles at the school in Newberg, Ore.
ALL-AMERICA CANDIDATE JOE GERBER: Oregon State first baseman Joe Gerber (Portland, Ore./Grant HS) is coming off one of the finest offensive seasons in school history, and the senior has already begun collecting honors for 2000. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named Gerber to its preseason All-America second team.
Gerber is batting .368 with 19 doubles, 7 home runs and 62 runs batted in. Gerber's hefty RBI total this spring has been the product of uncanny clutch hitting - he is batting .436 with runners on base and .452 with runners in scoring position in 2000.
On the mound this year, he has a 1-0 record and 3.86 earned run average in 1 appearance, beating Central Michigan with a 7-inning complete game on March 20, 9 hits, 3 runs (3 earned), 2 walks, 7 strikeouts.
Going into this week, Gerber is among the Pacific-10 Conference leaders in walks (third, 38), doubles (tied for third, 19), RBIs (tied for fourth, 62), on-base percentage (fifth, .478), batting average (10th, .368) and hits (tied for 10th, 68).
This season, Gerber has become OSU's all-time career leader in home runs (32), RBIs (164), doubles (44) and total bases (335). With 6 games yet to play this spring, Gerber has tied OSU's single-season school records for RBIs (62) and doubles (19).
Gerber had a streak of errorless games in the field that reached 67 before being snapped when he missed a ground ball on March 25. Gerber had not committed an error in his last 42 games of 1999 nor the first 25 games of 2000, he has committed just 2 errors this season.
FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN CANDIDATE BRIAN BARDEN: Freshman third baseman Brian Barden (Bonita, Calif./St. Augustine HS) has been a key to Oregon State's improvement over a year ago. Since missing 6 games with a hip injury in late March, Barden has settled in and is now batting .381 with 7 homers, 2 triples, 12 doubles and 45 RBIs.
Going into this week, Barden is among the Pacific-10 leaders in batting average (fifth, .381).
Barden has contributed not only at the plate, but also in the field. He has just 7 errors this season and has teamed with another true freshman, shortstop Will Hudson, to make the left side of the Beaver infield one of the best in the Pac-10 defensively, the pair have continually made tough plays to keep OSU out of potentially long innings.
The walkon moved into the starting role at third base by Opening Day, since then, Barden has added the role of cleanup hitter. He also spent time at second base early in the season.
JOHNSON AND NICHOLSON TOUGH PITCHING COMBO: Junior righthander Thad Johnson (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa JC) and junior lefthander Scott Nicholson (Longview, Wash./Lower Columbia CC) are establishing themselves as one of the top pitching combinations in the region. In the past 5 weeks, they have combined to go 6-4 with a 3.28 earned run average and 7 complete games, they have averaged 6.9 hits, 2.7 walks and 4.8 strikeouts per game in that time. One of the losses was Johnson's 3-hitter in a 1-0 loss at then-No. 4 Arizona State.
On April 7-8 at fourth-ranked ASU, Johnson and Nicholson turned in one of OSU's top back-to-back pitching efforts in recent memory. ASU entered the games ranked first nationally in scoring (11.25 runs per game) and second in team batting average (.346), Johnson and Nicholson limited the Sun Devils to just 4 runs (2 earned) on 10 hits in a pair of complete games. For the entire series, ASU averaged just 4 runs per game and batted .233 as a team.
HONORS FOR OREGON STATE PLAYERS: Oregon State junior lefthander Scott Nicholson was named the Pacific-10 Pitcher of the Week after throwing a 5-hitter to beat No. 3 Stanford 5-2 on May 6. Nicholson, pitching while ill, walked 7 and struck out 2 for his second win of the season over a top-5 team, he also won 11-3 at No. 4 Arizona State on April 7.
Senior first baseman Joe Gerber was named to the All-America preseason second team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
BEAVERS FACE TOP-FLIGHT SCHEDULE: Oregon State again plays one of the nation's most challenging schedules. The Beavers have 12 games scheduled against teams in the May 7 USA Today coaches poll - No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Arizona State, No. 19 Southern California and No. 21 Fresno State. OSU had 6 more games against teams that received votes in the poll but did not make the top 25 - Nevada, UCLA and Central Michigan.
NICHOLSON VS. TOP-FIVE TEAMS: Junior lefthander Scott Nichlson has found that the bigger they come, the harder they fall. Nicholson has defeated a pair of teams ranked in the top 5 nationally, topping No. 3 Stanford and No. 4 Arizona State. On May 6, Nicholson pitched despite running a fever above 100 degrees and threw a 5-hitter to beat Stanford 5-2 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. Nicholson uncharacteristically walked 7 hitters and struck out 2. On April 7, Nicholson had tossed a 7-hitter at Arizona State, walking just 1 and striking out 6, and only 1 of the Sun Devil runs was earned in an 11-3 OSU win.
MAY 6 MILESTONES: On May 5-7, Oregon State hosted third-ranked Stanford, the Beavers won 1 of 3 games in the series, beating the Cardinal 5-2 on May 6. The last time OSU had beaten a team ranked as high as third in the nation came at No. 3 Southern California in 1998. The last time OSU won at home against a team ranked as high as third in the nation came in a doubleheader split with No. 2 Southern California in 1967, that was also the last time a team ranked in the top 3 visited Corvallis. Also, the win was Oregon State's first over Stanford since 1971, ending a 13-game losing streak against the Cardinal.
GORDON'S MULTI-HOMER GAMES: On May 6, Zach Gordon hit a pair of home runs as Oregon State beat third-ranked Stanford 5-2 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. It was Gordon's fourth multi-homer game of the season, he also hit 2 in a 27-4 win at Washington on March 5, in a 13-10 home loss to Portland on April 4 and in a 15-9 loss at California on April 21. Gordon is the first Beaver to have 4 multi-homer games in a season since Jim Wilson in 1982, Wilson hit a school-record 21 homers that season. Wilson's multi-homer games came against Lewis-Clark State (2 homers), San Jose State (2 homers), Washington State (3 homers) and Stanford (2 homers).
MYTHICAL NORTHERN DIVISION: The Pacific-10 ended its 2-division format after the 1998 season, eliminating a Northern Division that dated back to 1913 and was older than its Southern Division neighbor by a decade. However, original Northern Divison members Oregon State, Washington and Washington State have continued to schedule non-league series against each other in addition to their Pac-10 counting series.
This spring, OSU leads the mythical Northern Division at 6-2 followed by Washington at 6-4 and Washington State at 1-7. In 1999, the mythical Northern Division title was won by Washington State with a 7-5 record, followed by Washington at 6-5 and Oregon State at 4-7.
ALL-TIME RECORD: Oregon State's all-time record in varsity baseball is now 1,659-1,136-15, a winning percentage of .593. The Beavers' all-time win total ranked 40th among all 281 NCAA Division I schools entering the 2000 season.
OSU's all-time record in conference games is now 748-528, a winning percentage of .586.
To break the numbers down a step further, since starting varsity baseball in 1907, the Beavers have scored 18,396 runs and allowed 13,991 runs. That's an average score of 6.55-4.98.
GOSS STADIUM AT COLEMAN FIELD: Oregon State has been playing on the same site since starting varsity baseball in 1907, making Goss Stadium at Coleman Field the oldest diamond in the Pacific-10 and one of the oldest in the country.
In 90-plus seasons at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field, the Beavers are 865-371-1 all-time at home for a winning percentage of .700. Oregon State was 13-10 at home this season. Since the start of the 1993 season, OSU is 114-42 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field for a winning percentage of .731.
BEAVER ATTENDANCE: Oregon State averaged 611 fans per date at home this spring, including a season-high gathering of 1,311 on May 6 vs. Stanford. From 1998-2000, OSU drew 13 home crowds of 1,000 or more after having just 5 crowds of 1,000 or more in the first 8 seasons of the 1990s.
BEAVERS AMONG CAREER LEADERS: Current Oregon State players on or near the school's career top 10 lists through May 7:
BATTING AVERAGE (minimum 260 at-bats) 1. Jay Dean, 1952-55 .379 2. A.J. Marquardt, 1993-94 .373 3. Ben Bertrand, 1996-98 .358 4. Dan Cunningham, 1971-73 .354 5. Dave Brundage, 1984-86 .350 (tie) Mike Leone, 1996-97 .350 7. Twink Pederson, 1956-58 .346 (tie) Rob Colley, 1998-99 .346 9. Jason Akina, 1992-93 .342 10. Chris Wakeland, 1995-96 .341 > * Joe Gerber, 1997-present .368 <> * Drew Hedges, 1997-present .349 < *="" -="" cannot="" join="" list="" until="" career="" is="" complete.="" at-bats="" 10.="" bryan="" ganter,="" 1984-87="" 557=""> Joe Gerber, 1997-present 530 <> Drew Hedges, 1997-present 516 < hits="" 1.="" ken="" bowen,="" 1984-87="" 206=""> 2. Joe Gerber, 1997-present 195 < 4.="" aaron="" anderson,="" 1989-92="" 185="" 5.="" kevin="" hooker,="" 1991-95="" 180=""> (tie) Drew Hedges, 1997-pres. 180 < runs="" 2.="" todd="" thomas,="" 1980-83="" 148=""> 3. Drew Hedges, 1997-pres. 136 < 5.="" matt="" bailie,="" 1995-98="" 132="" 6.="" bryan="" ganter,="" 1984-87="" 130=""> (tie) Joe Gerber, 1997-present 130 < doubles=""> 1. Joe Gerber, 1997-present 44 < 2.="" ken="" bowen,="" 1984-87="" 36="" 3.="" troy="" schader,="" 1997-99="" 35=""> (tie) Drew Hedges, 1997-pres. 35 < triples="" 7.="" lute="" barnes,="" 1967-69="" 7="" (tie)="" bob="" beall,="" 1968-70="" 7="" (tie)="" bob="" mcnair,="" 1978-80="" 7="" (tie)="" r.a.="" neitzel,="" 1988-90="" 7=""> Eric Stark, 1998-present 5 < home="" runs=""> 1. Joe Gerber, 1997-present 32 < 10.="" ken="" bowen,="" 1984-87="" 19=""> Drew Hedges, 1997-present 17 < runs="" batted="" in=""> 1. Joe Gerber, 1997-present 164 < 6.="" troy="" schader,="" 1997-99="" 118="" 7.="" pete="" rowe,="" 1974-77="" 110=""> (tie) Drew Hedges, 1997-pres. 110 < walks="" 6.="" steve="" lyons,="" 1979-81="" 101="" (tie)="" todd="" thomas,="" 1980-83="" 101="" 8.="" (tie)="" joe="" gerber,="" 1997-present="" 100="">< 9.="" bob="" beall,="" 1968-70="" 98="" (tie)="" tim="" lambert,="" 1985-88="" 98=""> Drew Hedges, 1997-present 93 < total="" bases=""> 1. Joe Gerber, 1997-present 335 < 3.="" bob="" mcnair,="" 1978-80="" 285=""> 4. Drew Hedges, 1997-pres. 272 < slugging="" percentage="" (minimum="" 260="" at-bats)="" 1.="" jim="" wilson,="" 1980-82="" .640="" 2.="" al="" hunsinger,="" 1980-81="" .639="" 3.="" ben="" bertrand,="" 1996-98="" .631="" 4.="" a.j.="" marquardt,="" 1993-94="" .578="" 5.="" chris="" wakeland,="" 1995-96="" .569="" 6.="" mike="" leone,="" 1996-97="" .555="" 7.="" bob="" mcnair,="" 1978-80="" .535="" 8.="" chris="" newman,="" 1980-84="" .520="" 9.="" david="" schmidt,="" 1994-96="" .513="" 10.="" dave="" brundage,="" 1984-86="" .507=""> * Joe Gerber, 1997-present .632 <> * Drew Hedges, 1997-pres. .527 < *="" -="" cannot="" join="" list="" until="" career="" is="" complete.="" wins="" 10.="" scott="" christman,="" '91-93="" (21-8)="" 21=""> Mark Newell, 1996-pres. (18-13) 18 < saves="" 4.="" ron="" daulton,="" 1984-86="" 5="" (tie)="" tim="" lambert,="" 1985-88="" 5="" 6.="" jeff="" post,="" 1989-92="" 4="" (tie)="" scott="" christman,="" 1991-93="" 4=""> (tie) Mark Newell, 1996-present 4 < strikeouts="" 10.="" andrew="" checketts,="" 1996-98="" 197=""> Mark Newell, 1996-present 177 <>
BEAVERS AMONG SEASON LEADERS: Current Oregon State players on or near the school's single-season top 10 lists through May 7:
BATTING AVERAGE 1. Randy Duke, 1987 .423 2. Dwane Helbig, 1952 .411 3. Dan Cunningham, 1971 .405 4. Ken Bowen, 1987 .404 5. Jason Stranberg, 1997 .397 6. Joe Gerber, 1999 .387 7. Al Lehrer, 1963 .378 8. Joe Gerber, 1998 .377 9. A.J. Marquardt, 1993 .376 10. Mickey Riley, 1982 .374 > * Drew Hedges, 2000 .384 <> * Brian Barden, 2000 .381 <> * Joe Gerber, 2000 .368 < *-cannot="" join="" list="" until="" season="" is="" complete.="" hits="" 7.="" ken="" bowen,="" 1987="" 69="" (tie)="" ryan="" lipe,="" 1997="" 69="" (tie)="" jason="" stranberg,="" 1997="" 69="" 10.="" jerry="" miller,="" 1978="" 68="" (tie)="" todd="" thomas,="" 1983="" 68=""> (tie) Joe Gerber, 2000 68 < runs="" 6.="" jeff="" doyle,="" 1977="" 49="" (tie)="" al="" hunsinger,="" 1981="" 49="" (tie)="" jim="" wilson,="" 1982="" 49="" (tie)="" jeff="" brauning,="" 1988="" 49="" (tie)="" r.a.="" nietzel,="" 1990="" 49="" (tie)="" ben="" bertrand,="" 1998="" 49=""> Drew Hedges, 2000 46 <> Brian Barden, 2000 45 <> Joe Gerber, 2000 43 < doubles="" 1.="" a.j.="" marquardt,="" 1993="" 19=""> (tie) Joe Gerber, 2000 19 < 10.="" bob="" mcnair,="" 1978="" 15="" (tie)="" paul="" sanders,="" 1990="" 15="" (tie)="" david="" anderson,="" 1992="" 15="" (tie)="" mike="" leone,="" 1996="" 15="" (tie)="" joe="" gerber,="" 1999="" 15=""> Josh Carter, 2000 14 <> Brian Barden, 2000 12 < runs="" batted="" in="" 1.="" jim="" wilson,="" 1982="" 62="" (tie)="" rob="" colley,="" 1988="" 62=""> (tie) Joe Gerber, 2000 62 < 9.="" al="" hunsinger,="" 1980="" 51="" (tie)="" ken="" bowen,="" 1987="" 51=""> Brian Barden, 2000 45 < walks="" 9.="" bob="" beall,="" 1969="" 39="" (tie)="" jason="" stranberg,="" 1997="" 39="" (tie)="" rob="" colley,="" 1998="" 39=""> Joe Gerber, 2000 38 < total="" bases="" 9.="" ben="" bertrand,="" 1997="" 110=""> 10. Joe Gerber, 2000 108 <> Brian Barden, 2000 96 <> Drew Hedges, 2000 91 < slugging="" percentage="" (minimum="" 120="" at-bats)="" 1.="" jim="" wilson,="" 1982="" .829="" 2.="" al="" hunsinger,="" 1981="" .717="" 3.="" joe="" gerber,="" 1998="" .713="" 4.="" joe="" gerber,="" 1999="" .670="" 5.="" ken="" bowen,="" 1987="" .667="" 6.="" bob="" mcnair,="" 1980="" .660="" 7.="" ben="" bertrand,="" 1997="" .647="" 8.="" chris="" wakeland,="" 1996="" .643="" 9.="" chris="" newman,="" 1983="" .628="" 10.="" randy="" duke,="" 1987="" .627=""> * Drew Hedges, 2000 .623 <> * Brian Barden , 2000 .619 <> * Joe Gerber, 2000 .584 < *-cannot="" join="" list="" until="" season="" is="" complete="" saves="" 5.="" many="" players="" 3=""> Nick Renault, 2000 2 <>
OREGON STATE RECORDS SET THIS SEASON: Oregon State's other entries in the school record book this season: TEAM HITTING - HOME RUNS Game: 7, 2000 vs. Portland (old record: 6, 1966 vs. Oregon (twice), 1978 vs. Puget Sound).
BEAVERS AMONG CONFERENCE LEADERS: Oregon State among the Pacific-10 leaders through April 30:
BATTING AVERAGE 4. Drew Hedges .384 5. Brian Barden .381 10. Joe Gerber .368 ON-BASE PERCENTAGE 2. Drew Hedges .483 5. Joe Gerber .478 HITS 10. (tie) Joe Gerber 68 RUNS BATTED IN 4. (tie) Joe Gerber 62 DOUBLES 3. (tie) Joe Gerber 19 WALKS 3. Joe Gerber 38 HIT BY PITCH 8. (tie) Bryan Ingram 9 SACRIFICE BUNTS 1. (tie) Will Hudson 8 SACRIFICE FLIES 9. (tie) Zach Gordon 4 STOLEN BASES 10. (tie) Eric Stark 11 EARNED RUN AVERAGE 10. Thad Johnson 4.02 OPPONENTS BATTING AVERAGE 5. Thad Johnson .227 INNINGS PITCHED 6. Scott Nicholson 92.0 9. Thad Johnson 85.0 WINS 7. (tie) Scott Nicholson 7 10. (tie) Mark Newell 6 SAVES 10. (tie) Nick Renault 2 PITCHING STARTS 4. (tie) Thad Johnson 14 10. (tie) Scott Nicholson 13 TEAM BATTING AVERAGE 4. Oregon State .318 TEAM SLUGGING PERCENTAGE 5. Oregon State .489 TEAM ON-BASE PERCENTAGE 2. Oregon State .414 RUNS SCORED 4. Oregon State 387 HITS 5. Oregon State 531 RUNS BATTED IN 4. Oregon State 357 DOUBLES 6. Oregon State 103 TRIPLES 5. (tie) Oregon State 12 HOME RUNS 8. Oregon State 53 TOTAL BASES 6. Oregon State 817 WALKS 2. Oregon State 244 HIT BY PITCH 7. Oregon State 44 FEWEST STRIKEOUTS (BATTING) 5. Oregon State 344 TEAM EARNED RUN AVERAGE 4. Oregon State 5.38 OPPONENTS BATTING AVERAGE 5. Oregon State .288 INNINGS PITCHED 7. Oregon State 421.1 PITCHING STRIKEOUTS 8. Oregon State 294 FEWEST WALKS (PITCHING) 1. Oregon State 180 SAVES 9. Oregon State 3 TEAM FIELDING 5. Oregon State .963 DOUBLE PLAYS 2. Oregon State 62
TELEVISION BRINGS OUT BEST IN BEAVERS: Oregon State has a televised game remaining on its schedule. The May 19 game at Washington State will be shown on a tape-delay basis by Fox Sports Net on May 20 at 4 p.m.
OSU hosted a national cable television game in 2000, that coming when the Beavers beat third-ranked Stanford 5-2 on May 6 in a game broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
Oregon State has played on national cable television each of the last 3 seasons, and the Beavers were 3-0 in those games. In 1999, OSU dedicated Goss Stadium at Coleman Field by beating California 11-5. In 1998, the Beavers beat Arizona 3-2 in a game marking the first visit to Corvallis by a Southern Division team in 27 years.
Since Fox Sports Net (formerly Prime Sports) began televising games in 1990, Oregon State has a 26-13 record in televised games, including 8-1 in national TV games.
OREGON STATE RADIO BROADCASTS: Oregon State baseball will again be broadcast this spring on KLOO-AM (1340) in Corvallis, with almost the entire Beaver schedule on the air. Some games may be pre-empted due to programming conflicts. Mike Parker, the voice of the Beavers, will handle the play-by-play duties along with John Warren and Kip Carlson. Oregon State's broadcasts are also be available over the internet at www.broadcast.com
OREGON STATE DUGOUT CLUB: The Oregon State Dugout Club is an organization devoted to the support of Beaver baseball. The group is open to the general public, dues are $75 per year.
Also, anyone entering the OSU Dugout Club Golf Tournament automatically gains club membership. This year's tournament will be held June 12 at Tokatee Golf Club in Blue River.
Over the past several seasons, projects financed by the OSU Dugout Club include batting cages at Coleman Field, helping finance trips that upgrade the quality of the Beavers' non-league schedule, and carpeting the baseball locker room in Gill Coliseum.
For more information on the OSU Dugout Club, call the OSU baseball office at (541) 737-2825.
