Beavers Exceeded Expectations in 2000
June 26, 2000
Oregon State (28-27 overall, 9-15 Pacific-10) got its baseball fortunes headed in the right direction once again during the 2000 season. With over 20 first-year players on the roster, not much was expected of Beavers in the preseason, however, OSU carried postseason hopes into the final weekend of the spring before settling for a winning season.
"This group of guys did some terrific things this spring," OSU head coach Pat Casey said. "We had a lot of players who had to adapt to Division I baseball in a hurry, and they did a pretty good job of it."
The Beavers played what may have been the toughest schedule in OSU's 91 seasons of varsity baseball, and the young squad turned in the school's seventh winning season in the last eight years. Picked last in a preseason poll of Pacific-10 coaches, the Beavers jumped up to a sixth-place finish.
"That shows a lot about the type of competitors this team had," Casey said. "They saw that they were picked to finish last in the conference, and instead of letting it get to them, they took it as a challenge. This bunch was determined to accomplish more than people thought they were capable of, and they did."
After winning three straight Pacific-10 series in April over Arizona, California and Washington, the Beavers were able to set their sights even higher. After taking one of three games from third-ranked Stanford at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field in early May, OSU was aiming for a postseason berth.
"That's something not many people would have thought possible for this group back in February," Casey said. "But they kept working, they kept improving, and they got themselves in position to really shock some people."
OSU spent the final two weekends on the road, starting with a three-game sweep at the hands of a Southern California team that was bound for the College World Series. That left Oregon State needing to take all three games of a season-ending series at Washington State to entertain any postseason hopes, the Beavers lost the first contest in 11 innings to end their run toward the tournament.
"We were disappointed with losing some of those games toward the end of the season, and those losses really hurt at the time," Casey said. "But they don't diminish what this group was able to accomplish this year. When they look back on this season, they should take a lot of satisfaction in what they were able to do.
"And, just as importantly, the guys who are coming back next season can see just how capable they are of competing at this level. We finished the season with six freshmen on the field, and we had one of the best groups of freshmen in the Pacific-10. By the end of the year, they belonged on the field with anybody we played. Those young guys can't sit back and think they've arrived, though - they've got to keep working and improving to remain competitive in this conference.
"This season should have proved to them that a lot of things - very good things - can happen in the next few years if they're willing to put in the effort to make it happen."
OREGON STATE LINEUP:
C-Bryan Ingram, so., Everett, Wash. (Cascade HS), .288, 1 HR, 16 RBIs
or Chris Biles, fr., Tigard, Ore. (Tigard HS), .397, 2 HRs, 17 RBIs
1B-Joe Gerber, sr., Portland, Ore. (Grant HS), .352, 9 HRs, 67 RBIs
2B-Zach Gordon, jr., Simi Valley, Calif. (Moorpark JC), .222, 11 HRs, 32 RBIs
or Stephen Copeland, fr., Keizer, Ore. (McNary HS), .318, 0 HRs, 3 RBIs
3B-Brian Barden, fr., Bonita, Calif. (St. Augustine HS), .370, 8 HRs, 49 RBIs
or Tim Dryden, jr., Roseburg, Ore. (Lane CC), .358, 1 HR, 18 RBIs
SS-Will Hudson, fr., Fountain Valley, Calif. (Fountain Valley HS), .258, 0 HRs, 18 RBIs
OF-Eric Stark, jr., Sumner, Wash. (Sumner HS), .305, 4 HRs, 23 RBIs
OF-Josh Carter, so., Fallbrook, Calif. (Fallbrook HS), .313, 4 HRs, 34 RBIs
OF-Drew Hedges, sr., Portland, Ore. (Beaverton HS), .371, 7 HRs, 38 RBIs
or Rod Gott, sr., Ravensdale, Wash. (Green River CC), .207, 3 HRs, 14 RBIs
or Jackson Coleman, jr., Soldotna, Alaska (Eastern Arizona JC), .234, 1 HR, 10 RBIs
DH-Curtis Davis, jr., Corvallis, Ore. (Corvallis HS), .270, 3 HRs, 12 RBIs
or Andy Jarvis, fr., Renton, Wash. (Liberty HS), .339, 4 HRs, 32 RBIs
(Tentative starting pitching rotation)
RHP-Thad Johnson, jr., Santa Rosa, Calif. (Santa Rosa JC), 5-5, 4.96 ERA
LHP-Scott Nicholson, jr., Longview, Wash. (Lower Columbia CC), 8-7, 4.72 ERA
RHP-James Atwood, sr., Layton, Utah (Albertson Coll.), 3-6, 7.06 ERA
RHP-Mark Newell, sr., Salem, Ore. (Jefferson HS), 6-5, 5.52 ERA
RECENT OREGON STATE NOTES: Of OSU's 27 losses this season, 14 were to teams who were either ranked or received votes in 1 of the national polls at the end of the regular season, the Beavers also owned 4 wins over teams who were ranked or received votes ... Oregon State won 9 more games than the Beavers had during 1999's 19-35 campaign, and the Beavers were 2 games better than their 1999 Pacific-10 record of 7-17 ... the Beavers' 13-10 home record more than doubled 1999's home win total, when OSU was 6-9 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field ... OSU had a winning record at home (13-10) and at neutral sites (6-5), and the Beavers were just 3 games under .500 on the road (9-12) ...
Oregon State took 2 of 3 games from Arizona, California and Washington in successive weeks in April. It 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 OSU's first on the road in the current format ...
The Beavers' team batting average of .310 was 18 points better than 1999's final mark of .292 ... Oregon State batted .338 with runners on base, .343 with runners in scoring position and .424 with the bases loaded ... OSU had a 39-37 edge over its opponents in stolen bases this season, in 1999, the Beavers were outstolen by almost a 3-to-1 ratio. Oregon State stole 16 more bases than it did in 1999 ... OSU outscored its opponents 127-78 in the seventh and eighth innings ... OSU pitched 13 complete games this season, its most since 13 in 1995. The last time the Beavers had more complete games was 1994, when they pitched a school-record 24 complete games ... OSU's team ERA of 6.00 was over a run per game better than its final 1999 mark of 7.37 ... opponents hit .300 against OSU as opposed to .321 in 1999... OSU pitchers allowed 51 homers after giving up 72 in 1999 ... after not hitting a grand slam in all of 1999, the Beavers hit 4 this spring and Brian Barden had 2 of those.
HEAD COACH PAT CASEY: Pat Casey completed his sixth season as Oregon State's head baseball coach. Casey has a record of 177-128-4 with the Beavers for a winning percentage of .579. His career record is 348-241-5, which includes 7 years at George Fox University in Newberg, for a winning percentage of .590.
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.
INJURY REPORT: Oregon State was relatively injury-free over the final half of the season. Freshman third baseman Brian Barden, freshman shortstop Will Hudson and junior outfielder Eric Stark missed brief parts of the first half with assorted injuries.
ALL-AMERICA CANDIDATE JOE GERBER: Oregon State first baseman Joe Gerber (Portland, Ore./Grant HS) began collecting honors early in 2000, as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named Gerber to its preseason All-America second team. At the end of the season, Gerber was named OSU's Male Athlete of the Year.
Gerber batted .352 with 19 doubles, 9 home runs and 67 runs batted in. Gerber's hefty RBI total this spring was the product of uncanny clutch hitting - he batted .430 with runners on base and .434 with runners in scoring position in 2000.
On the mound this year, Gerber had 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.
At the end of the regular season, Gerber was among the Pacific-10 Conference leaders in walks (fifth, 40), RBIs (tied for fifth, 67) and doubles (tied for fifth, 19).
This season, Gerber became OSU's all-time career leader in home runs (34), RBIs (169), doubles (44) and total bases (347). Gerber set OSU's single-season school record for RBIs (67) and tied the mark for 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 committed just 2 errors this season.
FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA BRIAN BARDEN: Freshman third baseman Brian Barden (Bonita, Calif./St. Augustine HS) was named to Collegiate Baseball newspaper's Freshman All-America team as 1 of 4 third basemen on the squad.
Barden was a key to Oregon State's improvement over a year ago. After missing 6 games with a hip injury in late March, Barden settled in to hit .370 with 8 homers, 2 triples, 13 doubles and 49 RBIs.
At the end of the regular season, Barden was among the Pacific-10 leaders in batting average (seventh, .370).
Barden contributed not only at the plate, but also in the field as he had just 7 errors, fielding at a .949 clip. Barden 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 continually made tough plays to keep OSU out of potentially long innings.
Barden moved into the starting role at third base by Opening Day and then added the role of cleanup hitter by midseason. Because of injuries in OSU's lineup, 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) established themselves as one of the top pitching combinations in the region.
In the season's final 8 weeks, they combined for a 7-8 record but had a 4.74 earned run average and 9 complete games. During that time, the duo averaged over 7.2 innings, 7.8 hits, 2.6 walks and 4.8 strikeouts. 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.
OREGON STATE PLAYERS DRAFTED: OSU had 2 players taken in Major League Baseball's first-year player draft, which was held June 5-6. Junior lefthanded pitcher Scott Nicholson was selected in the 15th round by the Texas Rangers, senior first baseman Joe Gerber was selected in the 27th round by the Detroit Tigers.
HONORS FOR OREGON STATE PLAYERS: Senior first baseman Joe Gerber was named to the All-America preseason second team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. At the end of the spring, Gerber was named OSU's Male Athlete of the Year at the annual Benny Awards ceremony.
Freshman third baseman Brian Barden was named to Collegiate Baseball newspaper's Freshman All-America team. Barden was 1 of 4 third basemen named to the squad.
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. It was 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/third baseman Tim Dryden was awarded a Pacific-10 Conference postgraduate scholarship. The $3,000 grants are given to athletes in their final season of competition who have at least a 3.0 grade point average and plan on pursuring a post-baccalaureate degree as a full-time graduate student.
BEAVERS FACE TOP-FLIGHT SCHEDULE: Oregon State again played one of the nation's most challenging schedules. The Beavers had 12 games against teams in the final USA Today coaches poll - No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 Southern California, No. 15 UCLA and No. 16 Arizona State. OSU had 4 more games against teams that received votes in the poll but did not make the top 25 - Nevada and Fresno State.
OREGON STATE TEAM AWARDS: Oregon State awards 4 team honors each season. This spring, the Victor Brown Trophy for Most Valuable Player went to freshman third baseman Brian Barden, the Bill Cloyes Award for Most Valuable Pitcher went to junior lefthander Scott Nicholson, the Bill Bonser Award for Most Improved Player went to junior outfielder Eric Stark, and the Gold Glove Award for Most Outstanding Fielder went to sophomore catcher Bryan Ingram.
SECOND-HALF SURGE INTO TOURNEY CONTENTION: Oregon State went on a 16-game surge to move into contention for an NCAA Tournament berth during the second half of the season. From April 8-May 6, OSU went 11-5 and the Beavers won 3 straight Pacific-10 series during that time to give themselves a chance at the postseason.
During that 16-game run, the Beavers batted .336 as a team and averaged 8.5 runs and 11.9 hits per game. Meanwhile, Beaver pitchers had a 4.72 earned run average as a team and limited opposing hitters to a .261 batting average.
NICHOLSON VS. TOP-FIVE TEAMS: Junior lefthander Scott Nichlson found that the bigger they come, the harder they fall. Nicholson 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.
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 2 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 was 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 won the mythical Northern Division at 7-4 followed by Washington at 6-4 and Washington State at 3-8. 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.
OREGON STATE PAC-10 SERIES MILESTONES: When Oregon State took 2 of 3 games at California on April 20-22, it was the first time OSU had won back-to-back Pacific-10 series since the conference united its Northern and Southern divisions in 1999. OSU had taken 2 of 3 from Arizona on April 14-16. The victories over the Bears also gave OSU its first triumph in a Pac-10 series on the road in the current conference format. OSU went on to win a third straight Pac-10 series when it beat Washington at home April 28-30.
HEDGES' INSIDE-THE-PARK HOMER: Drew Hedges hit a rare inside-the-park home run during Oregon State's 13-5 win over Concordia on April 18 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. In the fourth inning with 2 men on base, Hedges hit a drive to centerfield, it hit a fencepost just to the right of dead-center and bounced back along the wall toward leftfield, past the centerfielder. The Beavers were on both sides of an inside-the-park homer this year, having seen Nevada's Josh Laidlaw manage the feat in OSU's 9-5 win on Feb. 24 at the Nevada-Las Vegas/Coors Desert Classic. Laidlaw's poke was a 2-run drive to center in the bottom of the fifth inning.
OREGON STATE GRAND SLAMS: After not hitting a grand slam in all of 1999, the Beavers hit 4 this season. Rod Gott broke OSU's drought with a grand slam at Washington in a 27-4 win on March 5. The Beavers then got slams on back-to-back days from Brian Barden on April 14 and Curtis Davis on April 15, both blasts put OSU in the lead for good in victories over Arizona. On May 7, Barden hit a game-tying grand slam against third-ranked Stanford in the seventh inning of what would be a 7-5 OSU loss.
BEAVERS HOMER SEVEN TIMES IN A GAME: Oregon State set a school record for home runs in a 13-5 win at Portland on April 11, hitting 7 round-trippers in a game for the first time in the Beavers' 91-year varsity baseball history. The old record of 6 had been set in 1966 against Oregon (twice) and tied in 1978 vs. Puget Sound.
Of the homers, 6 were solo shots and junior designated hitter Curtis Davis hit 2 homers. Joe Gerber hit 1 of those homers, giving him a school-record 29 for his career, Gerber graduated from nearby Grant High School in northeast Portland.
Gerber's homer was the last of back-to-back-to-back blasts starting the top of the third inning, as Brian Barden and Davis homered ahead of Gerber. OSU had not hit 3 straight homers since April 24, 1998 when Corrie Willkie, Jason Stranberg and Troy Schader connected to start the sixth inning against Washington State in Corvallis. Eric Stark, Rod Gott and Chris Biles also homered for Oregon State in the game.
BEAVER GAMES VS. PORTLAND WERE EVENTFUL: When Oregon State and Portland met this season, it usually meant an eventful day for the Beavers. On April 11 at Portland, OSU set a school record with 7 homers and Joe Gerber became the Beavers' all-time homer leader when he hit his 29th. On April 4 at OSU, Gerber tied Oregon State's school record for career RBIs with his 145th and OSU also turned its first triple play in almost 2 years.
BEAVERS TURN TRIPLE PLAY: Oregon State turned its first triple play in almost 2 years during a 13-10 non-league loss to Portland on April 4 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.
The triple play came after Nate Hare reached on an error to start the fourth inning and Travis Hanson followed with a single. Tim Friedman hit a sinking line drive to first base and first baseman Joe Gerber plucked it out of the air for the first out, he then stepped on first to retire Hanson and zipped the ball to shortstop Will Hudson covering second base to nip Hare as he headed back to the bag.
The triple play was Oregon State's first since May 9, 1998 against UCLA at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.
STARK'S SUDDEN POWER: Junior outfielder Eric Stark went the first 104 games of his Oregon State career without hitting a home run, then homered on back-to-back days. On March 25, he hit a 3-run shot to left-centerfield as OSU dropped the first game of a doubleheader to visiting Cal State-Northridge. On March 26, he hit a 2-run homer to give OSU the lead for good in the series finale. Stark finished the season with 4 home runs.
OSU HOSTS A SOUTHERN FOE: Cal State-Northridge's visit to Goss Stadium at Coleman Field on March 24-26 is believed to be the first time Oregon State hosted a non-Pacific-10 school from a southern region. The only possible exceptions - and this is really stretching it - were home games in 1924 and 1929 against Meiji University of Japan, which is located at roughly the same latitude as California. For the record, Oregon State beat Meiji 7-0 in 1924 and lost 13-6 in 1929, this season, OSU took 3 of 4 games against Cal State-Northridge.
PRODUCTIVE SWAP FOR ATWOOD, COPELAND: When Oregon State played in the Continental Express Classic at Texas A&M on March 18-20, the Beavers were without freshman infielders Will Hudson and Brian Barden due to injuries. Freshman Stephen Copeland stepped in at second base and had a productive tournament, but OSU needed Copeland to pitch the tourney's final game against the Aggies.
The Beavers had to turn to senior pitcher James Atwood to fill in at second base, Atwood had also played some infield last season at NAIA Albertson College. Copeland wound up pitching a 7-hitter and not allowing an earned run as OSU took a 6-1 win, Atwood went 2-for-3, scored 3 runs and cut off a Texas A&M rally by gunning down an Aggie at the plate with a relay throw.
BEAVERS SCORE 27 IN WIN: Oregon State had one of the biggest offensive days in its baseball history on March 5, beating Washington 27-4 in Seattle. It was the fifth-highest scoring game ever for OSU, and the margin of victory was the fourth-largest ever for the Beavers. OSU had 23 hits in the game, including 5 homers, 2 triples and 4 doubles for 46 total bases. Zach Gordon had 2 homers, 1 triple and 1 double and Josh Carter had 4 hits for the Beavers.
OREGON STATE'S 12-GAME OFFENSIVE SURGE: Oregon State rediscovered the joy of hitting on Feb. 24, as the Beavers began a 12-game run of outstanding offensive production that lasted until March 18. While posting a 10-2 record to get back over the .500 mark, OSU batted .382 as a team and averaged 11.25 runs per game. During that span, Oregon State hit .419 with runners on base and .458 with runners in scoring position as a team. OSU had at least 10 hits in every one of the 12 games.
BEAVERS TOUGH ON OPENING DAY: Oregon State has a remarkable record in both Opening Day contests and home openers. The Beavers lost their season-opener to Kansas State 7-6 in Albuquerque, but OSU still has an all-time record of 65-26 on Opening Day. Incidentally, the Feb. 4 date was the earliest ever for an OSU baseball game, edging the Feb. 5 date of the Beavers' 1999 opener. This season's home-opener for Oregon State was a 9-5 victory over Western Oregon at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field, that made OSU's all-time record in home-openers 73-19.
ALL-TIME RECORD: Oregon State's all-time record in varsity baseball is now 1,660-1,141-15, a winning percentage of .592. 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 749-533, a winning percentage of .584.
To break the numbers down a step further, since starting varsity baseball in 1907, the Beavers have scored 18,429 runs and allowed 14,064 runs. That's an average score of 6.54-4.99.
In its 91 seasons of varsity baseball, OSU has had 68 winning seasons, the Beavers finished at .500 another 4 seasons. The Beavers have won 20 pennants through the years. Oregon State began fielding a varsity baseball team in 1907 and has failed to field a team only 3 times since then - in 1917 due to World War I and in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II.
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 91 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.
Goss Stadium was added to Coleman Field over the winter of 1998-99. The ballpark holds 2,000 fans, with the main grandstand seating 1,500 of those. The structure includes a press box, concession/lobby area, dugouts, locker rooms, restrooms and storage areas.
The playing surface has been completely rebuilt recently, with the infield undergoing renovation in 1996 and the outfield in 1998.
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.
TELEVISION BRINGS OUT BEST IN BEAVERS: Oregon State had 2 televised games in 2000. On May 20, OSU's 4-3 win at Washington State was shown on tape delay in the Pacific Northwest over Fox Sports Net. OSU hosted a national cable television game on May 6, when the Beavers beat third-ranked Stanford 5-2 in a game shown live on Fox Sports Net.
Oregon State 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 27-13 record in televised games, including 8-1 in national TV games.
BEAVERS AMONG CAREER LEADERS: 2000 Oregon State players on the school's career top 10 lists through the end of the season:
BATTING AVERAGE (minimum 260 at-bats) 3. Joe Gerber, 1997-2000 .362 8. (tie) Drew Hedges, 1997-2000 .346 HITS 2. Joe Gerber, 1997-2000 201 3. Drew Hedges, 1997-2000 187 RUNS 3. Drew Hedges, 1997-2000 139 4. (tie) Joe Gerber, 1997-2000 134 DOUBLES 1. Joe Gerber, 1997-2000 44 2. Drew Hedges, 1997-2000 37 HOME RUNS 1. Joe Gerber, 1997-2000 34 RUNS BATTED IN 1. Joe Gerber, 1997-2000 169 7. Drew Hedges, 1997-2000 115 WALKS 6. Joe Gerber, 1997-2000 102 TOTAL BASES 1. Joe Gerber, 1997-2000 347 4. Drew Hedges, 1997-2000 283 SLUGGING PERCENTAGE (minimum 260 at-bats) 4. Joe Gerber, 1997-2000 .625 9. Drew Hedges, 1997-2000. .524 SAVES 6. (tie) Mark Newell, 1996-2000 4
BEAVERS AMONG SEASON LEADERS: Current Oregon State players on the school's single-season top 10 lists in 2000:
AT-BATS 3. Joe Gerber, 2000 210 HITS 2. (tie) Joe Gerber, 2000 74 RUNS 5. (tie) Brian Barden, 2000 50 7. (tie) Drew Hedges, 2000 49 DOUBLES 1. (tie) Joe Gerber, 2000 19 HOME RUNS 8. (tie) Zach Gordon, 2000 11 RUNS BATTED IN 1. Joe Gerber, 2000 67 WALKS 6. (tie) Joe Gerber, 2000 40 TOTAL BASES 4. Joe Gerber, 2000 120 INNINGS PITCHED 8. Scott Nicholson, 2000 106.2
OREGON STATE RECORDS SET THIS SEASON: Oregon State's other entries in the school record book during the 2000 season:
INDIVIDUAL PITCHING HIT BATTERS Career: 39, Mark Newell, 1996-2000 (old record 35, Mason Smith, 1991-94). TEAM HITTING HITS Season: 586, 2000 (old record 582, 1997). HOME RUNS Game: 7, 2000 vs. Portland (old record: 6, 1966 vs. Oregon (twice), 1978 vs. Puget Sound). TOTAL BASES Season: 897, 2000 (old record 885, 1997). HIT INTO DOUBLE PLAYS Season: 52, 2000 (ties record, 52 in 1992, 1999). TEAM PITCHING INNINGS PITCHED Season: 472.2, 2000 (old record 465.0, 1999).
BEAVERS AMONG CONFERENCE LEADERS: Oregon State among the Pacific-10 leaders at the end of the regular season:
BATTING AVERAGE 6. Drew Hedges .371 7. Brian Barden .370 RUNS BATTED IN 5. (tie) Joe Gerber 67 DOUBLES 5. (tie) Joe Gerber 19 WALKS 5. Joe Gerber 40 HIT BY PITCH 8. (tie) Bryan Ingram 10 SACRIFICE BUNTS 1. Will Hudson 11 OPPONENTS BATTING AVERAGE 10. Thad Johnson .255 INNINGS PITCHED 5. Scott Nicholson 106.2 9. Thad Johnson 98.0 STRIKEOUTS 10. Scott Nicholson 83 WINS 7. (tie) Scott Nicholson 8 SAVES 10. (tie) Nick Renault 2 PITCHING STARTS 2. (tie) Thad Johnson 16 8. (tie) Scott Nicholson 15 TEAM BATTING AVERAGE 4. Oregon State .310 TEAM SLUGGING PERCENTAGE 6. Oregon State .474 TEAM ON-BASE PERCENTAGE 3. Oregon State .403 RUNS SCORED 5. Oregon State 420 HITS 5. Oregon State 586 RUNS BATTED IN 5. Oregon State 383 DOUBLES 6. Oregon State 111 TRIPLES 6. (tie) Oregon State 13 HOME RUNS 8. Oregon State 58 TOTAL BASES 6. Oregon State 897 WALKS 4. Oregon State 264 HIT BY PITCH 9. Oregon State 47 FEWEST STRIKEOUTS (BATTING) 6. Oregon State 404 TEAM EARNED RUN AVERAGE 5. Oregon State 6.00 OPPONENTS BATTING AVERAGE 5. Oregon State .300 INNINGS PITCHED 9. Oregon State 472.2 PITCHING STRIKEOUTS 8. Oregon State 334 FEWEST WALKS (PITCHING) 1. Oregon State 205 SAVES 9. Oregon State 3 TEAM FIELDING 5. Oregon State .964 DOUBLE PLAYS 2. Oregon State 67
