No. 2 OSU To Meet No. 1 Tulane In CWS Opener
June 16, 2005
NCAA COLLEGE WORLD SERIES Rosenblatt Stadium; Omaha, Neb. (Tournament format is two simultaneous four-team, double-elimination brackets that run June 17 through June 23; the two bracket winners then meet for the national championship in a best-of-three series June 25-27). SATURDAY, JUNE 18 No. 2 Oregon State vs. No. 1 Tulane; 11 a.m. PDT (Televison on ESPN; radio on KEJO-AM 1240 in Corvallis, KUIK-AM 1360 in Portland area, KKNX-AM 840 in Eugene, KMED-AM 1440 in Medford, KTIX-AM 1240 in Pendleton, KICE-AM 940 in Bend, KNPT-AM 1310 in Newport, KOHU-AM 1360 in Hermiston and KODL-AM 1400 in The Dalles; live audio on www.osubeavers.com and www.yahoo.com; live stats on www.osubeavers.com and www.ncaasports.com) MONDAY, JUNE 20 No. 2 Oregon State vs. No. 5 Texas or No. 10 Baylor; 11 a.m. PDT or 4 p.m. PDT (Televison on ESPN; radio on KEJO-AM 1240 in Corvallis, KUIK-AM 1360 in Portland area, KKNX-AM 840 in Eugene, KMED-AM 1440 in Medford, KTIX-AM 1240 in Pendleton, KICE-AM 940 in Bend, KNPT-AM 1310 in Newport, KOHU-AM 1360 in Hermiston and KODL-AM 1400 in The Dalles; live audio on www.osubeavers.com and www.yahoo.com; live stats on www.osubeavers.com and www.ncaasports.com) NOTE: Complete pairings and brackets are at www.ncaasports.com/baseball
Oregon State waited 53 years to get back to the College World Series, but the Beavers won't have to wait long for a chance to make a splash upon their return.
No. 2 Oregon State (46-10 overall) starts its second appearance in the CWS - the other coming in 1952 - when it takes on No. 1 Tulane (55-10) on Saturday at 11 a.m. PDT in the first round of the eight-team event at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. The Beavers will then play on Monday against either No. 5 Texas (51-16) or No. 10 Baylor (44-22), with the winners of those opening-round games meeting at 4 p.m. PDT and the losers playing at 11 a.m. PDT.
The other bracket includes No. 4 Nebraska (56-13), No. 8 Florida (45-20), No. 17 Tennessee (46-19) and No. 24 Arizona State (39-23).
The Beavers didn't wrap up their Super Regional victory over Southern California until Monday afternoon, not leaving OSU with much time before departing for Omaha on Wednesday morning.
"We've been so busy trying to get everything in line to go and this turnaround time is extremely quick. We've just got to get our players all in line so we can get on that charter and go," OSU head coach Pat Casey said. "Our staff has to do the job of focusing on what we need to when we get back there. There are a lot of distractions that happen back there but those are good things that are part of this tremendous event, and our guys are going to enjoy it.
"But we also want them to understand that it's like we talked about when we went to a Regional - this is great, we haven't been there for a long time, but why we're in the Regional is what we're thinkin about. It's the same thing going back there."
Oregon State's opener matches not only the two teams atop the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, but also those with the best winning percentages in NCAA Division I - OSU's .821 vs. Tulane's .846.
"We've got Tulane right out of the chute, the No. 1 team in the country," Casey said. "They've been No. 1 almost wire to wire, so we're going to have to just come out and play the way we're capable of playing. We're going to have to play well from the first inning on."
After arriving in Omaha on Wednesday evening, the Beavers will practice at Rosenblatt Stadium on Thursday at and at Creighton University on Friday.
"We're going to have two short workouts before Saturday and we're just going to have to use those to the fullest to deal with the whole thing," Casey said.
OREGON STATE LINEUP:
C - Mitch Canham, so., Lake Stevens, Wash. (Lake Stevens HS); .342, 8 HRs, 39 RBIs or - Casey Priseman, so.; Woodinville, Wash. (Woodinville HS); .241, 0 HRs, 3 RBIs 1B - Andy Jenkins, sr.; Salem, Ore. (Mt. Hood CC); .395, 6 HRs, 55 RBIs 2B - Ryan Gipson, jr.; Central Point, Ore. (Shasta JC); .304, 1 HR, 21 RBIs or - Chris Kunda, jr.; Philomath, Ore. (Philomath HS); .242, 1 HR, 10 RBIs 3B - Shea McFeely, jr.; Federal Way, Wash. (Tacoma CC); .320, 5 HRs, 40 RBIs SS - Darwin Barney, fr.; Beaverton, Ore. (Southridge HS); .306, 2 HRs, 44 RBIs LF - Tyler Graham, jr.; Great Falls, Mont. (C.M. Russell HS); .314, 0 HRs, 24 RBIs CF - Jacoby Ellsbury, jr.; Madras, Ore. (Madras HS); .413, 6 HRs, 47 RBIs RF - Mike Lissman, so.; Ontario, Ore. (Ontario HS); .280, 1 HR, 30 RBIs or - Cole Gillespie, so.; West Linn, Ore. (West Linn HS); .333, 0 HRs, 18 RBIs or - Geoff Wagner, jr.; Redmond, Ore. (Central Oregon CC); .224, 1 HR, 6 RBIs DH - Chris Campos, sr.; Modesto, Calif. (Modesto JC); .265, 0 HRs, 18 RBIs or - Mike Lissman, so.; Ontario, Ore. (Ontario HS); .280, 1 HR, 30 RBIs (Tentative pitching rotation) RHP - Dallas Buck, so.; Newberg, Ore. (Newberg HS); 12-1 record, 2.12 ERA RHP - Jonah Nickerson, so.; Oregon City, Ore. (Oregon City HS); 9-1 record, 2.10 ERA LHP - Anton Maxwell, so.; Anchorage, Alas. (Feather River CC); 11-1 record, 4.33 ERA
OREGON STATE ALL-TIME IN THE POSTSEASON: Oregon State has an all-time record of 10-13 in national postseason games - 10-11 in district playoffs or Regionals and 0-2 in the College World Series. This is OSU's seventh appearance in the NCAA postseason, following trips in 1952, 1962, 1963, 1983, 1985 and 1986.
Oregon State's previous trip to the College World Series in 1952 saw the Beavers lose to Duke 18-7 and Texas 10-1.
OSU's last trip to the NCAAs in 1986 saw the Beavers place third at the Midwest Regional at Oklahoma State, going 2-2. OSU lost to Arkansas 4-3, beat Richmond 7-1, beat Arkansas 1-0 and lost to Stanford 10-7.
This season marked the first time OSU has hosted NCAA postseason play since 1963, when the Beavers fell to eventual national champion Southern California in a best-of-3 series, losing 6-5, winning 8-6 and losing 7-5. OSU also hosted NCAA play in 1952, beating Fresno State 2-1 and 8-4 to qualify for the College World Series; the Beavers had also swept USC 12-10 and 5-4 in Corvallis in the Pacific Coast Conference (now Pacific-10) championship series that season.
OREGON STATE ALL-TIME VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Oregon State has an all-time record of 0-2 against Tulane, with the only previous meetings coming in 1986 and 1991. Oregon State has an all-time record of 0-1 against Texas, with the only previous meeting coming in the 1952 College World Series. Oregon State has never played Baylor. Oregon State has an all-time record of 13-29 against Arizona State in a series dating back to 1963, including 3-1 this season. Oregon State has an all-time record of 1-0 against Nebraska, with the only previous meeting coming in 1999. Oregon State has never played Tennessee. Oregon State has never played Florida.
OREGON STATE NOTES: Oregon State's longest current hitting streak belongs to Cole Gillespie at 10 games. Earlier this season, Jacoby Ellsbury had a 20-game streak and he also hit in the first 14 games of the season to give him a streak of 16 games over 2 seasons. Andy Jenkins has had streaks of 14 games and 9 games, Tyler Graham has had an 11-game streak, Shea McFeely a 10-game streak, Darwin Barney an 8-game streak, and Mike Lissman has had a 7-game streak ... Ellsbury leads the Beavers in multi-hit games with 28 while Jenkins has 25, McFeely and Barney 18 each, Graham 16, Canham 13 and Lissman 12 ... Jenkins leads OSU in multi-RBI games with 16, while Ellsbury has 14, Canham 12, Barney 11 and McFeely 10 ...
OSU has set a school record for wins this spring, as its 46 victories break the school record set by the 1986 Beavers, who finished 39-15 ... OSU's 26 wins at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field are the most-ever home wins for the Beavers, topping the 1998 Beavers' mark of 20-4; the 2005 Beavers broke that record during the regular season, going 21-4 ... when OSU swept through the NCAA Corvallis Regional in 3 games, it marked the first time the Beavers had advanced through a round of the postseason since 1952, when they won both the Pacific Coast Conference (now Pacific-10) championship series over Southern California and the Far West Regional series over Fresno State in Corvallis to advance to the College World Series ... the Corvallis Regional marked the first time OSU had hosted postseason play since a 1963 NCAA series against USC ...
Jacoby Ellsbury came up with another OSU record on the same day that the Beavers wrapped up a trip to the College World Series by beating Southern California 10-8 on June 13. Ellsbury broke the school record for hits in a career, going 3-for-5 with a double to give him 234 hits, breaking the record of 232 set by Andy Jarvis from 2000-03. Ellsbury tied the mark with an infield single to lead off the first inning, then set the record with a run-scoring single through the right side in the bottom of the fifth ... when Andy Jenkins hit for the cycle on June 13 as OSU beat Southern California 10-8 to earn a berth in the College World Series, he was the first Beaver to do so since A.J. Marquardt on March 28, 1993 against Southwest Missouri State in a 17-3 win in Norman, Okla. Jenkins' 5 hits tied OSU's school record for hits in a game, a mark shared by many players and most recently accomplished by Mike Hass in an 8-3 win over Arkansas-Little Rock on Feb. 21, 2004 in Arlington, Tex. ... Jenkins' 5-hit game was the second by a Beaver in the postseason, and both came in games that clinched Oregon State trips to the College World Series. Jay Dean - like Jenkins, a first baseman - went 5-for-5 with a double as the Beavers beat Fresno State 8-4 to wrap up the Far West Regional title on June 7, 1952 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field ...
At least 5members of Oregon State's 1952 College World Series team were at the game when OSU clinched its trip to the 2005 College World series by beating Southern California 10-8 on June 13 - pitchers Bud Berg, Bailey Brem and Norb Wellman, infielder Bobby Buob and outfielder Dwane Helbig. Also on hand was Paul Valenti, an assistant coach on the 1952 team who is still an administrator in the Oregon State athletic department. That 1952 team also defeated USC in Corvallis in the conference championship series en route to the College World Series ... It was also apparent that day that some people get long lunch breaks. Midway through the game, a Willamette & Pacific Railroad locomotive stopped on the tracks beyond the right-centerfield fence. It remained there for the rest of the contest, sounding its horn for each Beaver hit or putout and giving a long salute when Jenkins stepped on first base to record the final out ...
Not only did OSU get itself a place in the NCAA Super Regionals by beating St. John's 19-3 on June 5, but Jacoby Ellsbury earned the Beavers' record for total bases in a season. Ellsbury had 2 singles and a triple in the game, giving him 134 total bases in 2005; that broke Seth Pietsch's mark of 133 in 2003 ... the Beavers pretty well wrapped up their 19-3 win over the Red Storm with a 13-run second inning. In that inning, OSU had 10 hits - including 2 each by Andy Jenkins, Mitch Canham and Shea McFeely; McFeely drove in 5 runs in the inning with a 3-run double that opened the scoring and a 2-run single. that was the Beavers' first double-digit inning since a 14-run eighth on April 14, 2002 during a 21-3 home win over Hawai'i Hilo ... it was just Danny Anderson's 10th start of the season, but he made the most of it against St. John's on June 5. Anderson homered twice to help the Beavers clinch the NCAA Corvallis Regional with a 19-3 win ... OSU's 22 hits against St. John's in the regional finale was the most for the Beavers since they had 22 in a 14-4 win at Portland on April 22, 2003 ...
Mitch Canham set a school record en route to Outstanding Player honors at the NCAA Corvallis Regional. In an 11-1 win over St. John's on June 4, he tied OSU's school record with 3 doubles ... when Shea McFeely homered on the first pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Ohio State 4-3 on June 3, it was the Beavers' first walkoff home run since Tom Creighton ended a 2-1 win over Arizona with a solo homer on March 29, 2002 in Corvallis. Incidentally, Creighton's homer also came on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth ... when Jonah Nickerson tossed a 7-hitter at St. John's in an 11-1 win on June 4, he earned a school record for the 2005 pitching staff. Nickerson's nine strikeouts gave the current club 435, passing the 421 fanned by the 1998 staff ... the crowd of 2,612 that saw McFeely's homer was the largest at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field since the ballpark's renovation for the 1999 season. Including postseason games, OSU is averaging 1,307 fans per home date. The bleachers added beyond the rightfield fence for the NCAA Corvallis Regional are believed to the be first-ever outfield seats at the ballpark, though standing crowds ringed the outfield at times during the ballpark's 96-year history ...
Oregon State clinched a tie for the Pacific-10 championship when it won 2 of 3 games from Southern California from May 20-22; OSU took sole possession of the title when California beat Arizona on May 21 while the Beavers were idle the final weekend of the regular season. OSU had been picked for sixth place in the conference's preseason coaches poll. The Beavers earned their first title in a unified Pac-10 since winning the conference's 1952 championship series, and it is OSU's first championship of any type since winning the 1994 Northern Division pennant ... OSU's 19 Pacific-10 wins equal the most by any team since the conference merged its Northern and Southern Divisions prior to the 1999 season; the only other team to win that many was Stanford in 1999. OSU's previous best record in the current format was 11-13 in 2001. The Beavers' record for conference wins in a season is 20 by the 1993 team, which went 20-10 to finish second in the Northern Division ... in Pacific-10 play, OSU finished 9 games ahead of last season, when the Beavers were 9-12 ...
Of Oregon State's 34 home runs this season, 18 have come with the bases empty and another 8 with just 1 man on base. OSU didn't have a 3-run homer until its 11th of the season, hit by Andy Jenkins against Sacramento State on March 19 ... OSU's opponents have scored more than 3 runs in only 22 of the Beavers' 53 games ... the Beavers are 35-1 when leading after 6 innings, 36-2 when leading after 7 innings, and 39-1 when leading after 8 innings ... the Beavers are 29-3 in games in which they score first ... of OSU's 9 losses this season, 3 have been by 1 run and 3 more have been by 2 runs ... a point of emphasis for OSU has been playing well at home, since the Beavers had losing home records in each of the last 2 seasons. So far in 2005, the Beavers are 24-4 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field ... OSU has swept 7 series this season - at California-Santa Barbara (3 games), vs. Sacramento State (3 games), vs. Brigham Young (2 games) vs. California (3 games), vs. Washington State (3 games), at UCLA (3 games) and at Washington (3 games). It's the first time since the Pac-10 merged its Northern and Southern divisions for the 1999 season that OSU has swept more than 1 conference series ... the Beavers also swept their 3 games at the NCAA Corvallis Regional ...
Oregon State didn't take the easy road to the Pac-10 title. The Beavers played 8 consecutive weekends in the conference, and OSU was the only Pac-10 team to do so ... a big reason for OSU earning the Pacific-10 championship was the Beavers' push toward the top of the standings down the stretch. OSU went 10-1 in the month of May, including 9-1 in Pac-10 games. That was a big step up from the past several years; since the start of the 1999 season, the Beavers had gone 23-41 in May, including 19-35 in the Pac-10 ... the crowd of 2,431 for OSU's 12-2 loss to Southern California on May 22 was - at the time - the largest at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field since the ballpark was renovated for the 1999 season; it was the fifth straight game that OSU set a post-renovation attendance record. With additional seating brought to the ballpark for the weekend, Saturday's game had drawn 2,322 fans and Friday night's game 2,165 fans. The USC series crowd of 6,918 was also a post-renovation record ... OSU finished the regular season averaging 1,133 fans per home date, the second straight season that OSU has averaged over 1,100 fans per home date, despite a wet spring that saw 5 early non-conference crowds of less than 500 ... the USC series also saw the Goss Stadium at Coleman Field debut of "O-State Ballers" as it was played while OSU took infield prior to each game. "O-State Ballers" is a rap song written and performed by catcher Mitch Canham and pitcher Anton Maxwell. It was originally unveiled just over a month earlier at OSU's annual student-athlete talent show, whose cause this year was to raise money for tsunami relief ...
OSU didn't play an extra-inning game until its 47th game of the season, when it beat Washington 3-1 on May 15. The game nearly didn't go extra frames, as it took a 2-out homer in the bottom of the ninth by the Huskies to tie the game. OSU then scored twice in the top of the 10th inning for the win ... Jacoby Ellsbury had just 1 hit as Oregon State swept a 3-game series at Washington from May 13-15, but it was a record-breaker. His infield single in the first inning of the series finale was his 84th hit of the season, setting the OSU record for hits in a season; it broke Brian Barden's mark of 83 in 2001 ... OSU's sweep at Washington was the Beavers' first 3-game sweep of the Huskies since a 1995 set in Corvallis. It was the Beavers' first 3-game sweep in Seattle since 1975, though OSU had swept 2-game non-conference series there in 2000 and 2004. The Northern Division played 2-game series from 1982-90 and 4-game series from 1996-98 ...
When Oregon State beat Washington 7-4 on May 14, the victory was sparked by the 2 Washingtonians in the Beaver lineup, Mitch Canham from Lake Stevens and Shea McFeely from Federal Way. Canham and McFeely hit back-to-back homers in the top of the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie and give OSU a 5-1 lead; it was the first time OSU had hit back-to-back home runs in over 2 years, since Aaron Mathews and Andy Jarvis did it on April 12, 2003 against Washington State ... when Dallas Buck pitched a 3-hitter as Oregon State beat Washington 7-0 on May 13, it was the first complete-game shutout by a Beaver since Scott Nicholson blanked Southern California 6-0 on May 19, 2001. With the win, Buck moved onto OSU's single-season top-10 lists for wins and strikeouts, earning a tie for eighth place with his 10th win and taking over fifth place with his 102 strikeouts. The game was matchup between Buck, named the nation's top pitcher at midseason by Baseball America magazine, and Tim Lincecum, named both the Pac-10's Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year last season. Both took no-hitters into the sixth inning as the first 5 frames were completed in a brisk 1 hour, 19 minutes. Buck walked 4 Huskies and struck out 8...
It was a record-setting day for Jacoby Ellsbury as the Beavers beat UCLA 16-3 on May 8, as he picked up 1 school record and tied 2 others. Ellsbury set the school record for runs scored in a career by crossing the plate 3 times to give him 152 runs in his career; the old record had been 150 runs by Ken Bowen from 1984-87. Ellsbury's 4 hits on the day gave him 83 for the season, tying the record set by Brian Barden in 2001. Ellsbury also had 3 doubles in the game, tying a record that had been set by several Oregon State players ... Oregon State's 10-4 win over UCLA on May 7 gave the Beavers a 35-8 record; it marked the first time in OSU's 96-season baseball history that the Beavers had reached 27 games over .500. The previous high had been 26 games, when OSU finished the 1997 season at 38-12-1 after winning its last 8 games ... when Oregon State beat UCLA 3-1 on May 6, it was head coach Pat Casey's 500th career victory in 18 seasons at OSU and George Fox ... Kevin Gunderson recorded the save as the Beavers beat UCLA 3-1 on May 6, earning him OSU's saves records for both a season (10) and a career (13). Gunderson had shared the records with Jared Sanders, who had 9 saves in 2002 and 12 in his career from 2002-04 ...
When OSU reached No. 4 in the Baseball America rankings on May 2, it was the Beavers' highest-ever place in a national baseball ranking; the Beavers have since climbed as high as No. 2 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, the Baseball America rankings and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll. OSU had risen as high as No. 5 in the nation in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper polls published on March 29, 1963 and April 26, 1968. In 1963, OSU took eventual national champion Southern California the distance in a best-of-3 NCAA first-round playoff series before losing; in 1968, the Beavers opened the season 17-2 before finishing 23-13-1 ... Oregon State reached the 30-win mark by sweeping Washington State in a doubleheader 8-1 and 7-6 on April 24. That gave OSU a 30-7 record; it was the fewest games the Beavers had ever needed to reach 30 wins. The previous best was in 1986, when OSU had a 30-9 record. It marked the seventh time in head coach Pat Casey's 11 seaons at OSU that the Beavers have won 30 games, and it's the 17th 30-win season in school history ... Andy Jenkins saved his best for last when OSU swept Washington State from April 22-24, twice driving in the winning runs in OSU's final at-bat. He singled home Tyler Graham with 2 out in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 win in the opener, then his 3-run double with 1 out in the eighth inning gave OSU a 7-6 win in the finale ...
Going into a series against Washington State April 22-24, Kevin Gunderson had earned 2 saves in a weekend twice in 2005 and 3 times in his career. Against the Cougars, he had his first 2-win weekend, being credited with the victories in the first and final games of the series. The losing pitcher in both games was WSU's Travis Webb ... Anton Maxwell's 1-hitter in an 8-1 win over Washington State on April 24 was the Beavers' first individual 1-hitter since B.R. Cook had blanked Oklahoma State 1-0 in the San Diego Classic on Feb. 18, 1999. OSU had pitched a team 1-hitter earlier in the season, though, as Dallas Buck, Kevin Joslyn and Kurt Steele combined their efforts in a 19-0 win over New Mexico State on Opening Day on Feb. 3 in a game called after 7 innings ... when Oregon State beat Washington State 5-4 on April 23, the evening's ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Brandon Hern. Hern wrestled for OSU during the 2002-03 season, then was called to active duty with the Oregon National Guard and his 18 months of service included a year in Iraq. Since returning to the United States in March, he has resumed attending classes at OSU and may continue his collegiate wrestling career ...
When OSU went to Arizona for a series April 15-17, it was to face a Wildcat team that was fifth in the nation in hitting at the time with a .342 team batting average. The Beavers held the Wildcats to a .235 mark during the series and outhit Arizona 41-23 ... Oregon State's 17 runs in a 17-1 win over Arizona on April 16 was the Beavers' third-highest total in a conference game since the Pac-10 merged its Northern and Southern Divisions prior to the 1999 season. The top 2 marks both came in a series at Washington State in 2002, when the Beavers won 18-1 in the opener and 22-21 in the finale ... a member of OSU's weekend starting rotation didn't take a loss until over 2 months into the season, when Dallas Buck dropped a decision against eighth-ranked Arizona by a 7-5 score on April 15 ... it also took over 2 months for OSU to lose back-to-back games, as the Beavers didn't drop 2 straight until dropping the series opener at No. 8 Arizona on April 15 after losing the series finale at No. 11 Stanford on April 10 ...
OSU was the last team to lose a game in Pacific-10 play when it was beaten 4-3 at Stanford on April 10. The Beavers' 5-0 start to Pac-10 play was their best since the conference merged its Northern and Southern divisions for the 1999 season ... OSU's series win at Stanford from April 9-10 was the Beavers' first at Sunken Diamond since sweeping a 2-game set in 1970, but the teams had only met in 4 series at Stanford in the interim. It also broke the Cardinal's streak of 14 straight home series wins dating back to the 2003 season ... OSU's 9-game win streak from March 25-April 9 was the Beavers' longest since a 10-gamer midway through the 1998 season. OSU's longest since then had been an 8-gamer from Feb. 5-Feb. 27 this season ...
A Beaver who had a big weekend at Stanford on April 9-10 was Geoff Wagner; a year earlier, he had earned All-America honors in the club team ranks while playing at Central Oregon Community College. Wagner was 4-for-10 with 1 homer, and he singled home the tying runs with 2 out in the seventh inning of the series' second game as OSU rallied from a 9-2 deficit to an 11-10 win ... OSU's comeback from a 7-run deficit to an 11-10 win at Stanford on April was sparked by 3 straight acrobatic catches by Beaver outfielders. With 1 out in the fourth, Adam Sorgi hit a ball into the left-centerfield gap and both leftfielder Tyler Graham and centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury had a shot at the ball; Ellsbury made a diving catch as the pair avoided a collision. Jed Lowrie then hit a ball to the fence in left, but Graham made the catch crashing into the fence to end the inning. To start the fifth, John Mayberry Jr. hit a drive to the top of the wall in center and Ellsbury caught up to it with a leap to the barrier. No one was sure if he'd caught it, though, until after he'd trotted several steps back toward the infield and finally showed the umpires the ball ...
When Oregon State beat California 4-2 on April 3, it gave OSU a 24-4 record; that was the first time the Beavers had reached 20 games over .500 since the end of the 1998 season (35-14-1) ... OSU's sweep of California on April 1-3 was the Beavers' first in Pacific-10 play since taking 3 games from Washington State late in the 2002 season ... Oregon State's 11-1 win over California on April 1 was the 1,800th in the Beavers' varsity baseball history, which dates back to the 1907 season ... OSU took a 21-4 record into its Pacific-10-opening series against California. That was the Beavers' best 25-game start since 1962, when Oregon State opened the season 23-2 en route to an eventual NCAA postseason berth and a No. 13 ranking in the final Collegiate Baseball poll that year ...
Fans at Oregon State's 11-6 win over Brigham Young on March 29 got to see a rarity - both teams led off the game with a home run. BYU's Sean McNaughton started the game with a drive to leftfield off OSU starter Daniel Turpen; Jacoby Ellsbury answered for the Beavers, leading off the bottom of the first inning with a drive to right-centerfield off BYU starter Justin Su'a ... when Lonnie Lechelt got the first 2 hits of his OSU career on March 24 and March 29, they were both homers - against Dallas Baptist and Brigham Young ... OSU went over 2 years without a grand slam, then got a pair of them within 5 days on March 25-March 29 from Jacoby Ellsbury on March 25 vs. Dallas Baptist and Scott Nelson on in the completion of a game begun March 28 vs. Brigham Young; Nelson's was a pinch-hit job. OSU's last grand slam prior to that had been by Kerisi Reynolds against Cal State-Northridge on Feb. 27, 2003 ... from March 24-March 29, OSU's pitching staff went 26.1 innings across 4 games without allowing an earned run against Dallas Baptist and Brigham Young ... the Beavers were streak-killers against DBU and BYU, ending the Patriots' 8-game winning streak and the Cougars' 6-game winning streak. BYU had also won 14 of its last 15 games before being swept in the 2-game series ...
When Jacoby Ellsbury stole a pair of bases in the final game of a series against Dallas Baptist on March 25, it gave him 47 for his career and moved him into sole possession of third place on the Beavers' all-time list of career leaders. The man he passed? Steve Lyons, now a broadcaster for Fox Sports, who stole 46 bases for OSU from 1979-81 ... Oregon State went into its March 24-25 series against Dallas Baptist with a team earned run average of 2.30. After giving up 17 runs - all earned - in a series-opening loss, that figure went up to 3.02. The next day, the Beavers didn't allow an earned run in sweeping a doubleheader and the number dropped back to 2.75 ... Chris Campos had hits in 5 straight at-bats against Pepperdine and Winthrop on March 12-13, including 3 doubles ... the Beavers had just 5 homers through their first 14 games, then hit 3 in a 9-4 loss to Pepperdine on March 12 ... Mike Lissman had a double in 6 straight games from Feb. 5-Feb. 26; at that point, Lissman had doubled in all 7 OSU wins and hadn't doubled in the Beavers' only loss ...
Oregon State's 8-0 win over California-Davis on Feb. 19 in the San Diego Tournament was notable for a couple of reasons. First, the Beavers' victory was the 300th for Pat Casey as OSU's head coach. Second, Anton Maxwell took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and earned Pacific-10 Pitcher of the Week honors in being credited with the win ... Oregon State's 2005 home-opener, a 6-4 win over Portland on Feb. 15, was the earliest in the Beavers' 96 seasons of baseball. Previously, the earliest a game had been played at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field had been on Feb. 22, 1995, when OSU beat Western Oregon 4-3. OSU had scheduled home-openers on Feb. 19, 1990 against George Fox and on Feb. 20, 1996 against Willamette but those games were rained out. Oregon State's all-time record in home-openers is now 77-19; OSU has won 16 of its last 18 home-openers and 31 of its last 34 ...
Oregon State had 5 players named to the All-Tournament Team at Arizona State's Bob Schaefer Memorial Tournament from Feb. 3-Feb. 6: first baseman Mitch Canham, outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Lissman, and pitchers Dallas Buck and Kevin Gunderson ... OSU's 12-6 win over ninth-ranked Arizona State on Feb. 6 was the Beavers' first win over the Sun Devils at ASU's Packard Stadium since 2000 ... Todd Shelton needed just 3 plate appearances to tie an OSU school record, being hit by pitch his first 3 times up against New Mexico State on Feb. 3 ... Oregon State's 19-0 win over New Mexico State on Feb. 3 was the Beavers' first shutout on Opening Day since 1980 in a 17-0 win over Pacific (Ore.) at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. It was the most runs OSU had scored in an opener since 1960 and a 23-1 win at Whitman. OSU is now 67-29 all-time in season-openers.
COMMENTS FROM PACIFIC-10 COACHES: A sampling of what some other Pacific-10 head coaches have said about OSU this season:
Southern California head coach Mike Gillespie, in the Portland Tribune newspaper of May 24: "They are as good as anybody we play, ever, anywhere. They are a great team. They are an Omaha team. This is a great year in this conference, a year in which we ought to get 7 teams in the (NCAA) tournament. I mean, nobody goes 19-5 against this kind of competition. People should not take for granted that accomplishment. My hat is off to (OSU head coach) Pat Casey and (associate head coach) Dan Spencer, who has been with him through thick and thin. They have deep pitching. They don't kick the ball around. They have a team of athletes. They run balls down in the field, they run well on the bases. They have a special player in (center fielder Jacoby) Ellsbury and several really good players. I don't see a flaw in that team."
Gillespie, in The Oregonian newspaper of May 23: "They've hit on a lot of good pitching and a lot of good players. And the scary thing to me is that they're still young. You'll see another good year of Oregon State baseball with this team. They're so deep. They've got good pitching and good hitting - you look at those last 3 guys (the Beavers put in 3 pinch-hitters in the ninth inning) and they were all taking great swings. This is a giant accomplishment. It's not easy to build a program. For this program to get to this point took a lot of good work. The players in the Northwest now will come to Oregon State."
UCLA head coach John Savage, in the Daily Bruin newspaper of May 6: "They have been knocking on the door for years, and this year everything has come together. They are having an outstanding year ... Oregon State has Omaha-type pitching and could be a top seed."
Arizona State head coach Pat Murphy, in the USA Today newspaper of April 28: "We're not surprised out here at what they've done because we've seen it coming. Pat Casey is a great baseball man and may be the most underrated coach in America. His team has great chemistry, a great pitching staff, and they play hard."
ELLSBURY, BUCK ON NATIONAL COLLEGIATE BASEBALL WRITERS ALL-AMERICA TEAM: Oregon State's Jacoby Ellsbury and Dallas Buck were named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America team. Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS), a junior outfielder, was named to the first team and Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS), a sophomore pitcher, was named to the second team. The squad is chosen by a vote of the NCBWA membership.
BUCK, ELLSBURY ON LOUISVILLE SLUGGER ALL-AMERICA TEAM: Oregon State's Dallas Buck and Jacoby Ellsbury were named to the Louisville Slugger All-America team. Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS), a sophomore pitcher, was named to the first team and Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS), a junior outfielder, was named to the second team. The squad is chosen by the staff of Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
BUCK, ELLSBURY, NICKERSON ON SPORTS WEEKLY ALL-AMERICA TEAM: Oregon State had 3 players named to the USA Today Sports Weekly All-America team. Dallas Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS) was a first-team pick as a starting pitcher, while second team spots went to outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS) and starting pitcher Jonah Nickerson (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City HS).
CASEY, ELLSBURY ON COLLEGE BASEBALL FOUNDATION'S NATIONAL HONORS TEAM: Oregon State head coach Pat Casey was named Co-Coach of the Year and Beaver outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury was also selected when the College Baseball Foundation announced its National Honors Team. Casey, in his 11th season at Oregon State, led the Beavers to their first title in a unified Pac-10 since winning the league's 1952 championship series, and their first championship of any type since winning the 1994 Northern Division pennant. OSU finished 2 games ahead of the runner-up in the Pac-10 standings after being picked to finish sixth in the conference's preseason coaches poll.
BARNEY ON LOUISVILLE SLUGGER FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM: Oregon State shorstop Darwin Barney was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team, selected by the staff of Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Barney (Beaverton, Ore./Southridge HS) had earlier been named the Pacific-10 Conference Freshman of the Year as he helped the second-ranked Beavers (44-9 overall) to the conference title.
CANHAM LEADS ALL-CORVALLIS REGIONAL PICKS: Oregon State sophomore catcher Mitch Canham (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS) was voted Outstanding Player of the NCAA Corvallis Regional by members of the media covering the tournament. In helping OSU to a 3-game sweep to advance through the regional, Canham batted .615 (8-for-13) with 1 homer, 3 doubles, 6 runs batted in and 6 runs scored.
Joining Canham on the all-tournament team were sophomore pitcher Jonah Nickerson (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City HS), senior first baseman Andy Jenkins (Salem, Ore./South Salem HS, Mt. Hood CC), junior third baseman Shea McFeely (Federal Way, Wash./Federal Way HS, Tacoma CC), leftfielder Tyler Graham (Great Falls, Mont./C.M. Russell HS), centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS) and rightfielder Cole Gillespie (West Linn, Ore./West Linn HS).
BEAVERS EARN ALL-PACIFIC-10 HONORS: Coming off a Pacific-10 championship season, Oregon State drew most of the top honors when the 2005 All-Pacific-10 Baseball Team was announced. Oregon State junior outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury was named Co-Player of the Year, Beaver shortstop Darwin Barney was named Freshman of the Year and OSU's Pat Casey was named Coach of the Year.
Joining Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS) and Barney (Beaverton, Ore./Southridge HS) on the all-conference first team were sophomore starting pitcher Dallas Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS), sophomore relief pitcher Kevin Gunderson (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS), senior first baseman Andy Jenkins (Salem, Ore./South Salem HS, Mt. Hood CC) and sophomore starting pitcher Jonah Nickerson (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City HS). The team and individual honors were chosen by a vote of the conference's head coaches.
Earning honorable mention for OSU were junior relief pitcher Nate Fogle (Gresham, Ore./Centennial HS, Mt. Hood CC), junior infielder Ryan Gipson (Central Point, Ore./Crater HS, Shasta JC), junior outfielder Tyler Graham (Great Falls, Mont./C.M. Russell HS), sophomore starting pitcher Anton Maxwell (Anchorage, Alas./East HS), and junior third baseman Shea McFeely (Federal Way, Wash./Federal Way HS, Tacoma CC).
Ellsbury shared Player of the Year honors with Arizona outfielder Trevor Crowe, and Southern California's Ian Kennedy earned Pitcher of the Year in the awards
The individual honors for Ellsbury, Barney and Casey are the first for OSU since the conference merged its divisions in 1999, and the 6 first-team picks are the most for the Beavers since then.
ELLSBURY'S FIRST-ROUND PICK LEADS BEAVERS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DRAFT: Oregon State's Jacoby Ellsbury was taken in the first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft on June 7 by the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox. Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS), a junior outfielder, was the 23rd player taken overall, and he was the fourth player in OSU history to be selected in the first round.
Three other Beavers were taken during the first day's 18 rounds of the draft. Senior first baseman Andy Jenkins (Salem, Ore./South Salem HS, Mt. Hood CC) was taken in the 11th round (336th pick overall) by the Florida Marlins; junior pitcher Nate Fogle (Gresham, Ore./Centennial HS, Mt. Hood CC) was taken in the 11th round (339th) by the Texas Rangers; and junior outfielder Tyler Graham (Great Falls, Mont./C.M. Russell HS) was taken in the 14th round (430th) by the Chicago Cubs.
Ellsbury was Oregon State's first first-round draft pick since pitcher Mike Thurman was taken with the 31st overall pick by the Montreal Expos in 1994. OSU's initial first-round pick was shortstop-outfielder Steve Lyons, who was the 19th overall pick by Boston in 1981, and the other Beaver to go in the first round was pitcher Scott Christman, taken with the 17th overall pick by the Chicago White Sox in 1993.
BEAVERS ON WATCH LISTS FOR NATIONAL AWARDS: Several Oregon State players are under consideration for national awards in 2005.
Junior outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS) has been considered for 4 Player of the Year awards. He had been among the semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award is presented by USA Baseball to the top amateur baseball player in the United States; 5 finalists were named in early June. The Brooks Wallace Award is presented by the College Baseball Foundation; Ellsbury is on the list of 13 semifinalists, which will be trimmed to 3 finalists on June 16 with the winner being announced June 30. Baseball America presents the Louisville Slugger Player of the Year Award, and Ellsbury is also on the watch list for that honor. The Dick Howser Trophy is presented by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association; Ellsbury is among 16 semifinalists. The 2005 winner will be announced at the College World Series in Omaha on June 17.
Sophomore righthanders Dallas Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS) and Jonah Nickerson (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City HS) are among those being considered for the Roger Clemens Award, which is given to college baseball's top pitcher by the Greater Houston Baseball Association. All Division I head baseball coaches will take part in the voting for the honor, in addition to a selected panel of national media, with the winner announced July 14.
Buck also joins Ellsbury on the watch list for Baseball America's Louisville Slugger Player of the Year award.
Sophomore lefthander Kevin Gunderson (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS) was among the pitchers being considered for the Stopper of the Year Award, given to the nation's top relief pitcher by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, but was not among the 5 finalists.
CANHAM EARNS DISTRICT 8 ALL-ACADEMIC HONOR: Oregon State catcher Mitch Canham (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS) has been voted to the ESPN The Magazine District 8 All-Academic Baseball Team as a first team selection. Canham was named to the first team in the University Division, which includes players from NCAA Division I schools in Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona, Alaska, Hawai'i, Nevada, Utah and British Columbia. Canham, a sophomore, has a 3.47 grade point average and is majoring in Business Administration. At the time of his selection, he was batting .318 (35-for-10) with 5 home runs, 2 triples, 2 doubles and 25 runs batted in. The team was voted on by members of CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) in District 8.
CANHAM LEADS PAC-10 ALL-ACADEMIC PICKS: Oregon State's Mitch Canham was a second-team selection when the Pacific-10 announced its All-Academic Baseball team on Monday. The Beavers' Jacoby Ellsbury, Jake McCormick, Billy Munich and Kurt Steele all earned honorable mention.
Canham (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS), a sophomore catcher, has a 3.47 grade point average and is majoring in Business Administration. He was earlier voted to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII team.
Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS) is a junior outfielder; McCormick (Marysville, Calif./Erindale, Australia HS) is a sophomore pitcher; Munich (El Macero, Calif./Jesuit HS) is a junior catcher; and Steele (Corvallis, Ore./Crescent Valley HS) is a junior pitcher.
BUCK INVITED TO USA BASEBALL NATIONAL TEAM TRIALS, DECLINES: Oregon State sophomore righthander Dallas Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS) was initially among the 13 players who accepted invitations to participate in the 2005 USA Baseball National Team Trials, to be held June 27-30 in Raleigh, N.C. Buck later declined the invitation.
This is the second straight season that OSU had a player invited to the USA Baseball National Team Trials. Junior outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury participated in 2004.
"The National Team is defined by athlete performance in the college game," said USA Baseball General Manager of National Teams Eric Campbell. "This short list of invitees to the trials represents non-draft eligible players whose 2005 performance on the field has warranted an invite to the trials. This is a great group of players."
BEAVERS WITH NATIONAL WEEKLY HONORS: Oregon State sophomore righthander Dallas Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS) was named to the College Baseball Foundation's weekly National Honor Roll for the week of May 17-23, gaining the honor for the second straight week. Buck earned the win as Oregon State beat No. 20 Southern California 5-4 on May 20, outdueling USC's Ian Kennedy in a matchup of pitchers who earlier in the day had been named semifinalists for the Roger Clemens Award. Buck went 8.2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7. Buck improved his record to 11-1 this season, tying him for second place on OSU's all-time list of single-season wins leaders, and he moved into fourth place on OSU's single-season strikeout list at 109.
Buck was also named to the CBF National Honor Roll for the week of May 9-15. Buck pitched a 3-hit shutout as the Beavers beat Washington 7-0 on May 13, walking 4 and striking out 8 as he improved his record to 10-1. The game was a duel between Buck, named the nation's top pitcher at midseason by Baseball America magazine, and Tim Lincecum, named both the Pac-10's Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year last season. Both took no-hitters into the sixth inning as the first 5 frames were completed in a brisk 1 hour, 19 minutes. Buck retired the first 7 hitters he faced and 10 of the first 11; he didn't allow a hit until Taylor Johnson poked an opposite-field single to left to lead off the sixth inning. The effort earned Buck a place on OSU's list of single-season wins leaders, tying him for eighth, and he moved into fifth place on OSU's single-season strikeout list at 102.
OSU junior outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS) was named to the CBF National Honor Roll for the week of May 2-8. Ellsbury batted .476 (10-for-21) with 4 doubles, 7 runs batted in, 4 runs scored, 1 stolen base and a .667 slugging percentage as the Beavers beat Portland and swept a 3-game series at UCLA. Ellsbury had a pair of 4-hit games against the Bruins, including a May 8 game that saw him go 4-for-6 with 3 doubles and 3 runs scored; he set OSU's record for runs scored in a career during the game and also tied the school record for doubles in a game. For good measure, Ellsbury made a diving catch with the bases loaded to end the seventh inning that afternoon.
Oregon State sophomore lefthander Kevin Gunderson (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS) was named to the CBF National Honor Roll for the week of Apr. 25-May 1. Gunderson earned saves in both of the Beavers' wins as they took 2 of 3 games from nationally-ranked Arizona State. In a total of 5.1 innings, Gunderson allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 2. It was the third time this season that Gunderson earned 2 saves in a weekend. In Friday's 6-5 victory, after allowing a 2-run homer to ASU cleanup hitter Jeff Larish, Gunderson retired the final 7 hitters he faced. In Sunday's 5-1 win, he tied OSU's saves records for a single season (9) and a career (12).
Oregon State senior first baseman Andy Jenkins (Salem, Ore./South Salem HS, Mt. Hood CC) was named to the CBF National Honor Roll for the week of April 18-24. Jenkins twice had the game-winning hit in Oregon State's last at-bat as OSU swept Washington State. Jenkins had at least 2 hits in each game and finished the series batting .615 (8-for-13) with 1 double, 7 runs batted in, 2 runs scored, 2 walks, 1 stolen base and a .667 one-base percentage. In the April 22 game, he ended OSU's 5-4 win by singling home Tyler Graham from second with 2 out in the bottom of the ninth inning. In the April 24 second game, he drove a 3-run double into the right-centerfield gap with 1 out in the eighth inning to take OSU from a 6-4 deficit to a 7-6 victory.
Oregon State junior third baseman Shea McFeely (Federal Way, Wash./Federal Way HS, Tacoma CC) was named to the CBF National Honor Roll for the week of April 11-17. McFeely had 3 hits in every game of Oregon State's series at nationally-ranked Arizona, finishing the weekend batting .600 (9-for-15) with 5 doubles, 6 runs batted in and 4 runs. He tied OSU's school record for doubles in a game by hitting 3 on April 15.
Ellsbury was named to the CBF National Honor Roll for the week of April 4-10. Ellsbury had at least 2 hits in each game as he led Oregon State to a series win at nationally-ranked Stanford, extending his hitting streak to 13 games in the process. Ellsbury batted .583 (7-for-12) with 1 homer, 2 doubles, 6 RBIs, 3 runs and 1 stolen base for a 1.000 slugging percentage; he also had 3 walks and 1 hit by pitch for a .688 on-base percentage. Ellsbury singled home the tying and winning runs with 2 out in the eighth inning as OSU rallied from a 7-5 deficit to a 9-7 win in the opening game, giving him 4 RBIs in the game. He then homered as the Beavers came back from a 9-2 deficit to win the second game 11-10. Ellsbury also had a pair of acrobatic catches to rob Cardinal hitters of extra-base hits in the second game of the series.
Ellsbury was also accorded the CBF honor for the week of March 28-April 3. As OSU went 5-0 against Brigham Young and California, Ellsbury batted .545 (12-for-22) with 1 double, 1 homer, 4 RBIs, 5 runs scored, 3 stolen bases, 4 walks, 2 hit-by-pitch, a slugging percentage of .727, plus an on-base percentage of .643.
BEAVERS WITH PACIFIC-10 WEEKLY HONORS: Oregon State sophomore righthander Dallas Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS) was named the Pacific-10 Pitcher of the Week for May 17-23, gaining the honor for the second straight week. Buck earned the win as Oregon State beat No. 20 Southern California 5-4 on May 20, outdueling USC's Ian Kennedy in a matchup of pitchers who earlier in the day had been named semifinalists for the Roger Clemens Award. Buck went 8.2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7. Buck improved his record to 11-1 this season, tying him for second place on OSU's all-time list of single-season wins leaders, and he moved into fourth place on OSU's single-season strikeout list at 109.
Buck was also named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week for May 9-16. Buck pitched a 3-hit shutout as the Beavers beat Washington 7-0 on May 13, walking 4 and striking out 8 as he improved his record to 10-1. The game was a duel between Buck, named the nation's top pitcher at midseason by Baseball America magazine, and Tim Lincecum, named both the Pac-10's Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year last season. Both took no-hitters into the sixth inning as the first 5 frames were completed in a brisk 1 hour, 19 minutes. Buck retired the first 7 hitters he faced and 10 of the first 11; he didn't allow a hit until Taylor Johnson poked an opposite-field single to left to lead off the sixth inning. The effort earned Buck a place on OSU's list of single-season wins leaders in a tie for eighth, and he moved into fifth place on OSU's single-season strikeout list at 102.
Oregon State senior first baseman Andy Jenkins (Salem, Ore./South Salem HS) was named the Pacific-10 Player of the Week for April 18-24. Jenkins twice had the game-winning hit in Oregon State's last at-bat as OSU swept Washington State. Jenkins had at least 2 hits in each game and finished the series batting .615 (8-for-13) with 1 double, 7 runs batted in, 2 runs scored, 2 walks, 1 stolen base and a .667 one-base percentage. In the April 22 game, he ended OSU's 5-4 win by singling home Tyler Graham from second with 2 out in the bottom of the ninth inning. In the April 24 second game, he drove a 3-run double into the right-centerfield gap with 1 out in the eighth inning to take OSU from a 6-4 deficit to a 7-6 victory.
Oregon State junior outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS) was named the Pacific-10 Player of the Week for April 4-10. Ellsbury had at least 2 hits in each game as he led Oregon State to a series win at nationally ranked Stanford, extending his hitting streak to 13 games in the process. Ellsbury batted .583 (7-for-12) with 1 homer, 2 doubles, 6 RBIs, 3 runs and 1 stolen base for a 1.000 slugging percentage; he also had 3 walks and 1 hit by pitch for a .688 on-base percentage. Ellsbury singled home the tying and winning runs with 2 out in the eighth inning as OSU rallied from a 7-5 deficit to a 9-7 win in the opening game, giving him 4 RBIs in the game. He then homered as the Beavers came back from a 9-2 deficit to win the second game 11-10. Ellsbury also had a pair of acrobatic catches to rob Cardinal hitters of extra-base hits in the second game of the series.
Oregon State sophomore lefthander Anton Maxwell (Anchorage, Alas./East HS, Feather River CC) was named the Pacific-10 Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 14-20. In an 8-0 win over California-Davis on Feb. 19, Maxwell walked the first hitter of the game and then retired 21 straight Aggies, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning. He earned the win for 7.1 innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 8.
BEAVERS IN BASEBALL AMERICA MIDSEASON REPORT: Oregon State was named the top surprise team in the nation and several Beavers earned individual honors in Baseball America magazine's midseason report, which was issued April 8. Sophomore righthander Dallas Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS) was named the nation's top pitcher to that point, and he was joined on the midseason All-America first team by junior outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS). Sophomore righthander Jonah Nickerson (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City HS) was named to the second team.
In ranking the Beavers as the nation's top surprise team, Baseball America writer Will Kimmey noted OSU's jump from preseason predictions along with its outstanding pitching, adding: "And despite a small state population, poor weather and defections of top prep talent to other programs, coach Pat Casey has assembled a roster of 23 Oregon natives that should challenge for the conference title."
Baseball America projected OSU as 1 of 6 teams from the Pac-10 to reach the NCAA Regionals. OSU was also among its 16 schools projected to host a first-round regional.
Of Buck's midseason stats, Kimmey wrote: "Those results were not entirely unexpected after the 6-foot-2 Buck led the Cape Cod League with a 0.77 ERA last summer by using his lively low-90s fastball and hard slider to devour hitters using wood bats."
BASEBALL AMERICA NOTES TALENT ON "OREGON'S TEAM": When Baseball America spotlighted Oregon State for its college baseball preview for the weekend of April 1-3, the magazine dubbed the Beavers "Oregon's team." It's no wonder - of the 39 players on the OSU roster, 23 are from the Beaver State.
"They're proud of being from Oregon," OSU head coach Pat Casey told Will Kimmey of BA. "That's important for our guys to accept this challenge. They're creating a name for themselves."
It was also mentioned that Corvallis native Harold Reynolds, a former major league All-Star and currently an ESPN broadcaster, was interested in helping Oregon State obtain a regional in his hometown, should the Beavers be in postseason contention as the regular season winds down.
"Tell Pat Casey I'm in," Reynolds said in Baseball America, noting OSU's 21-4 record at the time. "I'd love to do that. It'd be great."
OREGON STATE'S STARTING PITCHING: Oregon State quickly settled into a starting rotation of sophomore righthander Dallas Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS), sophomore lefthander Anton Maxwell (Anchorage, Alas./East HS, Feather River CC) and sophomore righthander Jonah Nickerson (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City HS). There's no arguing with the results. Through the end of the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional on June 13, that trio has combined for a record of 32-3 with a 2.77 earned run average; in 51 starts, the trio is averaging just over 6.1 innings and 5.0 hits, 2.3 walks and 5.8 strikeouts per start, and opponents are batting just .214 against them. For more on each of OSU's weekend starting pitchers, see the player notes section in pages 13-17.
BEAVERS TWO CLOSERS: Oregon State can call on a pair of capable closers this season, one from either side, as junior righthander Nate Fogle (Gresham, Ore./Centennial HS, Mt. Hood CC) and sophomore lefthander Kevin Gunderson (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS) have shared the job. Through the end of the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional on June 13, the pair have combined to go 10-5 with 19 saves and a 2.91 ERA; in 105.1 innings, they have allowed 78 hits and 32 walks while striking out 101 and opponents are batting .210 against them. Of the 60 runners they have inherited, only 18 have scored. For more on each of OSU's closers, see the player notes section in pages 13-17.
OFFENSE BEGINS WITH ELLSBURY: Junior centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS) is a versatile enough player that he's productive in any number of places in the batting order. Over the last 38 games, though, he's settled into the leadoff spot and he's batted there 44 times overall this season. In that position in the lineup through the end of the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional on June 13, Ellsbury is batting .419 with 6 homers, 3 triples, 15 doubles, 39 RBIs and 19 stolen bases; he has a .507 on-base percentage and a .629 slugging percentage while hitting leadoff. For more on Ellsbury, see the the player notes section in pages 13-17.
JENKINS DRIVES `EM IN: Senior first baseman/catcher Andy Jenkins (Salem, Ore./South Salem HS, Mt. Hood CC) had to play his way into Oregon State's lineup when he came back for his senior season, not starting in the Beavers' first 3 games of 2005 and not becoming a full-time starter until mid-March. He's started everywhere from third through eighth in OSU's batting order but has largely settled into the cleanup spot, having started there in 21 of OSU's last 24 games and 33 times overall. In that position in the lineup through the end of the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional on June 13, he's batting .398 with 3 homers, 2 triples, 8 doubles, 1 triple and 42 RBIs. For more on Jenkins, see the player notes section in pages 13-17.
ELLSBURY, BUCK EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA FROM BASEBALL AMERICA: The outstanding numbers by Oregon State junior outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (Madras, Ore./Madras HS) and sophomore righthander Dallas Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS) mean they've lived up to some high-level preseason billing. Both were named to Baseball America magazine's Preseason All-America team.
Ellsbury was named to the Preseason All-America third team, and he was also named to the magazine's Gold Glove team. Baseball America ranked him as the nation's 23rd-best junior and the Pacific-10's sixth-best prospect for 2005 draft. BA also rated Ellsbury as the Pac-10's fastest runner and best defensive outfielder. Last fall, Ellsbury was named the Cape Cod League's 17th-best pro prospect by Baseball America after batting .245, with 1 homer, 3 triples, 2 doubles and 7 RBIs, and going 12-for-15 on stolen bases.
Buck was named to the Preseason All-America second team and rated the nation's fourth-best sophomore by Baseball America. The magazine listed him as the Pac-10's top prospect for 2006 draft. Last fall, BA named Buck to its Summer All-America team for his Cape Cod League season - a 4-1 record, 0.77 ERA, 58 innings, 26 hits, 20 walks, and 65 strikeouts. He was also named league's third-best pro prospect by BA.
BEAVERS IN NATIONAL RANKINGS: Oregon State has climbed to its highest-ever rankings in the national baseball polls in 2005. On May 2, OSU was ranked No. 4 by Baseball America magazine; previously, OSU's highest-ever ranking in a national poll was No. 5 in the Collegiate Baseball polls published March 29, 1963 and April 26, 1968. Here is where Oregon State has been in the national rankings this season:
POLL ESPN / SPORTS BASEBALL COLLEGIATE NATL. COLL. DATE WKLY. COACHES AMERICA BASEBALL BSBL. WTRS. Preseason NR NR NR NR Feb. 7 Votes (28th) NR NR Votes Feb. 14 NR NR NR Votes Feb. 21 Votes (36th tie) NR NR Votes Feb. 28 Votes (29th) 24th 28th 34th Mar. 7 Votes (28th) 23rd 28th 23rd Mar. 14 Votes (26th) 22nd 30th 25th Mar. 21 23rd 18th 28th 14th Mar. 28 Votes (27th) 18th 27th 17th Apr. 4 23rd 16th 15th 16th Apr. 11 15th 11th 11th 12th Apr. 18 16th 9th 11th 12th Apr. 25 11th 6th 9th 8th May 2 10th 4th 9th 8th May 9 6th 3rd 8th 7th May 16 5th 3rd 3rd 4th May 23 4th 3rd 3rd 4th May 30 2nd 2nd 3rd 2nd June 6 No poll 2nd 3rd 2nd June 14 No poll 3rd 2nd
BOYD'S WORLD ELEVATES OREGON STATE: A way to look at how teams rate nationally is the college baseball website, Boyd's World (www.boydsworld.com). Each week its author, Boyd Nation, runs the scores from across the nation through the NCAA's formula for figuring the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) that helps the NCAA selection committee determine the postseason field. He posts these on Boyd's World, and also posts his own Iterative Strength Ratings (ISR), which he describes as "the results of an algorithm designed to measure the quality of a team's season to date by combining their winning percentage with the difficulty of their schedule. The algorithm computes all teams simultaneously and attempts to take advantage of inter-regional games more accurately than other rating systems." Here is where the Beavers have ranked in Boyd's World this season:
DATE PSEUDO-R.P.I. I.S.R. Mar. 1 17th 1st Mar. 8 27th 2nd Mar. 15 16th 3rd Mar. 22 22nd 2nd Mar. 29 16th 3rd Apr. 4 7th 1st Apr. 11 8th 1st Apr. 18 10th 2nd Apr. 25 8th 2nd May 2 12th 1st May 9 14th 1st May 16 12th 1st May 23 13th 1st May 30 13th 1st June 7 10th 1st June 14 8th 1st
OREGON STATE AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: Here is where Oregon State ranks among the NCAA Division I leaders through the end of the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional on June 13 (complete lists are available at www.ncaa.org):
INDIVIDUAL BATTING 14. Jacoby Ellsbury .413 36. Andy Jenkins .395 INDIVIDUAL SACRIFICES (per game) 7. Tyler Graham 0.29 INDIVIDUAL EARNED RUN AVERAGE 21. Jonah Nickerson 2.10 25. Dallas Buck 2.12 94. Kevin Gunderson 2.80 INDIVIDUAL WINS 7. (tie) Dallas Buck 12 18. (tie) Anton Maxwell 11 INDIVIDUAL SAVES 7. (tie) Kevin Gunderson 14 TEAM BATTING AVERAGE 20. Oregon State .320 TEAM EARNED RUN AVERAGE 8. Oregon State 3.08 TEAM FIELDING PERCENTAGE 36. Oregon State .969 TEAM WINNING PERCENTAGE 2. Oregon State .821
OREGON STATE AMONG PACIFIC-10 LEADERS: Here is where Oregon State ranks among Pacific-10 leaders through the end of the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional on June 13 (complete lists are available at www.pac-10.org):
INDIVIDUAL BATTING 1. Jacoby Ellsbury .413 3. Andy Jenkins .395 INDIVIDUAL SLUGGING 6. Jacoby Ellsbury .596 INDIVIDUAL ON-BASE 1. Jacoby Ellsbury .502 2. Ryan Gipson .484 5. Andy Jenkins .461 INDIVIDUAL RUNS 7. (tie) Jacoby Ellsbury 55 INDIVIDUAL HITS 3. Jacoby Ellsbury 97 9. (tie) Andy Jenkins 79 INDIVIDUAL RUNS BATTED IN 7. Andy Jenkins 55 INDIVIDUAL DOUBLES 6. (tie) Jacoby Ellsbury 19 INDIVIDUAL TRIPLES 6. (tie) Jacoby Ellsbury 3 INDIVIDUAL HOME RUNS 9. (tie) Mitch Canham 8 INDIVIDUAL TOTAL BASES 7. Jacoby Ellsbury 140 INDIVIDUAL WAKS 10. Jacoby Ellsbury 35 INDIVIDUAL SACRIFICES 2. Tyler Graham 16 6. (tie) Ryan Gipson 7 INDIVIDUAL SACRIFICE FLIES 6. (tie) Darwin Barney 5 INDIVIDUAL STOLEN BASES 3. Jacoby Ellsbury 25 4. Tyler Graham 21 INDIVIDUAL EARNED RUN AVERAGE 1. Jonah Nickerson 2.10 2. Dallas Buck 2.12 5. Kevin Gunderson 2.80 INDIVIDUAL OPPONENTS BATTING 2. Dallas Buck .189 4. Jonah Nickerson .207 7. Kevin Gunderson .213 INNINGS PITCHED 1. Dallas Buck 123.1 INDIVIDUAL STRIKEOUTS 5. Dallas Buck 116 6. Jonah Nickerson 109 INDIVIDUAL WINS 1. (tie) Dallas Buck 12 3. (tie) Anton Maxwell 11 9. Jonah Nickerson 9 INDIVIDUAL SAVES 1. (tie) Kevin Gunderson 14 6. (tie) Nate Fogle 5 INDIVIDUAL APPEARANCES 4. Kevin Gunderson 32 TEAM BATTING 2. Oregon State .320 TEAM SLUGGING 3. Oregon State .446 TEAM ON-BASE 1. Oregon State .417 TEAM EARNED RUN AVERAGE 1. Oregon State 3.08 TEAM OPPONENTS BATTING 1. Oregon State .223 TEAM FIELDING 5. Oregon State .969
2005 BEAVERS ON OREGON STATE LISTS: Here are the 2005 Oregon State players on or near the school's all-time top-10 lists for career or single-season leaders through the end of the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional on June 13:
CAREER AT-BATS 1. Andy Jarvis, 2000-03 725 2. Jon Yonemitsu, 1990-93 648 3. Ken Bowen, 1984-87 643 4. Brian Barden, 2000-02 639 > 5. Jacoby Ellsbury, 2003-present 632 < career="" hits=""> 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, 2003-present 234 < 2.="">Andy Jarvis, 2000-03 232 CAREER RUNS > 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, 2003-present 167 < 2.="" ken="" bowen,="" 1984-87="" 150="" career="" doubles="" 3.="" josh="" carter,="" 1999-2001="" 42="" (tie)="">Andy Jarvis, 2000-03 42 5. Brian Barden, 2000-02 39 6. Seth Pietsch, 2001-03 38 7. Drew Hedges, 1997-2000 37 > (tie) Jacoby Ellsbury, 2003-present 37 < 9.="" ken="" bowen,="" 1984-87="" 36="" 10.="">Troy Schader, 1997-99 35 > Shea McFeely, 2004-present 29 < career="" triples="" 1.="" todd="" thomas,="" 1980-83="" 13="" 2.="" chuck="" fisk,="" 1952-55="" 10="" (tie)="">Seth Pietsch, 2001-03 10 4. Jeff Doyle, 1975-77 9 (tie) Eric Stark, 1998-2001 9 (tie) Aaron Mathews, 2002-04 9 7. Dave Backen, 1978-81 8 (tie) Dave Schoppe, 1988-91 8 (tie) Abino Vazquez, 1996-97 8 > (tie) Jacoby Ellsbury, 2003-present 8 < career="" runs="" batted="" in="" 10.="">Troy Schader, 1997-99 118 > Jacoby Ellsbury, 2003-present 100 < career="" walks="" 10.="" tim="" lambert,="" 1985-88="" 98=""> Jacoby Ellsbury, 2003-present 91 < career="" total="" bases="" 1.="">Andy Jarvis, 2000-03 382 2. Brian Barden, 2000-02 355 3. Joe Gerber, 1997-2000 347 4. Jacoby Ellsbury, 2003-present 335 < career="" stolen="" bases="" 1.="" todd="" thomas,="" 1980-83="" 62=""> 2. Jacoby Ellsbury, 2003-present 59 < career="" strikeouts="" 10.="" andrew="" checketts,="" 1996-98="" 197=""> Dallas Buck, 2004-present 173 <> Jonah Nickerson, 2004-present 163 < career="" saves=""> 1. Kevin Gunderson, 2004-present 17 < 2.="">Jared Sanders, 2002-04 12 3. Mike Boire, 1996-98 11 4. Jim Grove, 1979-82 9 > 5. Dallas Buck, 2004-present 7 < 6.="" dave="" schoppe,="" 1989-91="" 6="" 7.="" ron="" daulton,="" 1984-86="" 5="" (tie)="" tim="" lambert,="" 1985-88="" 5="" (tie)="">Stephen Copeland, 2000-03 5 > (tie) Nate Fogle, 2005-present 5 < season="" at-bats=""> 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, 2005 235 < 2.="">Brian Barden, 2002 232 3. Aaron Mathews, 2004 227 4. Brian Barden, 2001 226 5. Seth Pietsch, 2003 224 6. Josh Carter, 2001 220 > 7. Darwin Barney, 2005 219 < 8.="">Andy Jarvis, 2003 217 9. Andy Jarvis, 2001 214 10. R.A. Neitzel, 1990 211 (tie) Troy Schader, 1999 211 > Shea McFeely, 2005 206 <> Tyler Graham, 2005 204 <> Andy Jenkins, 2005 200 < season="" hits=""> 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, 2005 97 < 2.="">Brian Barden, 2001 83 3. Brian Barden, 2002 81 > 4. Andy Jenkins, 2005 79 < 5.="" josh="" carter,="" 2001="" 78="" (tie)="">Seth Pietsch, 2003 78 7. R.A. Neitzel, 1990 75 8. Dave Brundage, 1986 74 (tie) Joe Gerber, 1999 74 (tie) JoeGerber, 2000 74 (tie) Aaron Mathews, 2004 74 > Darwin Barney, 2005 67 <> Shea McFeely, 2005 66 < season="" runs="" 1.="" jason="" stranberg,="" 1997="" 67="" 2.="">Jacoby Ellsbury, 2003 56 (tie) Jacoby Ellsbury, 2004 56 4. Dave Brundage, 1986 55 > (tie) Jacoby Ellsbury, 2005 55 < 6.="" ben="" bertrand,="" 1997="" 52="" (tie)="">Seth Pietsch, 2003 52 8. Chris Wakeland, 1996 51 (tie) Brian Barden, 2001 51 (tie) Seth Pietsch, 2002 51 > Shea McFeely, 2005 49 <> Tyler Graham, 2005 46 < season="" doubles="" 1.="">Seth Pietsch, 2002 24 (tie) Tony Calderon, 2003 24 3. Chris Biles, 2003 21 4. A.J. Marquardt, 1993 19 (tie) Joe Gerber, 2000 19 > (tie) Jacoby Ellsbury, 2005 19 < 7.="" jeff="" brauning,="" 1989="" 18="" (tie)="">Troy Schader, 1999 18 (tie) Josh Carter, 2001 18 10. Marc Malloy, 1994 17 (tie) Brent Watts, 1994 17 (tie) Chris Wakeland, 1996 17 > Shea McFeely, 2005 15 < season="" runs="" batted="" in="" 1.="" joe="" gerber,="" 2000="" 67="" 2.="" jim="" wilson,="" 1982="" 62="" (tie)="" rob="" colley,="" 1998="" 62="" 4.="" bob="" mcnair,="" 1980="" 59="" 5.="" joe="" gerber,="" 1999="" 57="" 6.="">Brian Barden, 2001 55 > (tie) Andy Jenkins, 2005 55 < 8.="" al="" hunsinger,="" 1981="" 54="" (tie)="" ryan="" lipe,="" 1997="" 54="" (tie)="" ben="" bertrand,="" 1998="" 54="" (tie)="" josh="" carter,="" 2001="" 54=""> Jacoby Ellsbury, 2005 47 <> Darwin Barney, 2005 47 < season="" walks="" 6.="" ken="" bowen,="" 1986="" 40="" (tie)="" dave="" brundage,="" 1986="" 40="" (tie)="" troy="" haugen,="" 1989="" 40="" (tie)="" joe="" gerber,="" 2000="" 40="" (tie)="">Shea McFeely, 2004 40 > Jacoby Ellsbury, 2005 35 <> Shea McFeely, 2005 32 < season="" total="" bases=""> 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, 2005 140 < 2.="">Seth Pietsch, 2003 133 3. Joe Gerber, 1999 128 4. Brian Barden, 2002 125 5. Bob McNair, 1980 124 6. Seth Pietsch, 2002 123 (tie) Aaron Mathews, 2004 123 8. Brian Barden, 2001 122 9. Joe Gerber, 2000 120 10. Josh Carter, 2001 118 > Andy Jenkins, 2005 113 < season="" stolen="" bases="" 1.="" dave="" brundage,="" 1986="" 29="" 2.="" jeff="" brauning,="" 1989="" 28="" 3.="" kim="" bradshaw,="" 1957="" 26="" (tie)="" jeff="" doyle,="" 1976="" 26="" 5.="" steve="" lyons,="" 1980="" 25=""> (tie) Jacoby Ellsbury, 2005 25 < 7.="" jeff="" doyle,="" 1976="" 24="" 8.="" scott="" hardin,="" 1994="" 23="" 9.="" todd="" thomas,="" 1983="" 21=""> (tie) Tyler Graham, 2005 21 < season="" wins="" 1.="" scott="" christman,="" 1993="" 14="" (14-1)=""> 2. Dallas Buck, 2005 12 (12-1) < 3.="" cecil="" ira,="" 1962="" 11="" (11-3)="" (tie)="" jeff="" reece,="" 1983="" 11="" (11-3)="" (tie)="" mason="" smith,="" 1994="" 11="" (11-3)="" (tie)="" andrew="" checketts,="" 1998="" 11="" (11-1)="" (tie)="" scott="" nicholson,="" 2001="" 11="" (11-2)="" (tie)="">Jake Postlewait, 2004 11 (11-3) > (tie) Anton Maxwell, 2005 11 (11-1) < 10.="" cecil="" ira,="" 1963="" 10="" (10-3)="" (tie)="" john="" sipple,="" 1985="" 10="" (10-2)="" (tie)="" jeff="" post,="" 1990="" 10="" (10-4)="" (tie)="" mike="" thurman,="" 1994="" 10="" (10-4)="" (tie)="" rod="" scheckla,="" 1998="" 10="" (10-6)=""> Jonah Nickerson, 2005 9 (9-1) < season="" saves=""> 1. Kevin Gunderson, 2005 14 < 2.="">Jared Sanders, 2002 9 3. Mike Boire, 1997 8 4. Dallas Buck, 2004 6 5. Jim Grove, 1982 5 (tie) Stephen Copeland, 2001 5 > (tie) Nate Fogle, 2005 5 < season="" strikeouts="" 1.="" ken="" forsch,="" 1968="" 121="" 2.="" scott="" christman,="" 1993="" 119=""> 3. Dallas Buck, 2005 116 < 4.="" mason="" smith,="" 1994="" 115=""> 5. Jonah Nickerson, 2005 109 < season="" innings="" pitched="" 1.="" scott="" nicholson,="" 2001="" 130.2="" 2.="" thad="" johnson,="" 2001="" 122.2=""> 3. Dallas Buck, 2005 122.0 < 4.="" mason="" smith,="" 1994="" 120.2="" 5.="" cecil="" ira,="" 1962="" 116.2="" 5.="" mike="" thurman,="" 1994="" 114.2="" 7.="" scott="" christman,="" 1993="" 110.2="" 8.="" scott="" anderson,="" 1984="" 108.1="" 9.="" jeff="" post,="" 1992="" 107.2="" 10.="" jeff="" reece,="" 1983="" 107.1=""> Jonah Nickerson, 2005 103.0 <> Anton Maxwell, 2005 95.2 <>
2005 ENTRIES IN THE BEAVER RECORD BOOK: Here are Oregon State's entries in the school record book through the end of the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional on June 13:
HITS IN A SEASON, INDIVIDUAL: 97, Jacoby Ellsbury, 2005 (old
record 83, Brian Barden, 2001).
HITS IN A CAREER, INDIVIDUAL: 234, Jacoby Ellsbury, 2003-05
(old record 232, Andy Jarvis, 2000-03).
RUNS IN A CAREER, INDIVIDUAL: 167, Jacoby Ellsbury,
2003-present (old record 150, Ken Bowen, 1984-87)
DOUBLES IN A GAME, INDIVIDUAL (TIED): 3, Mike Lissman vs.
New Mexico State, Feb. 5; Shea McFeely at Arizona, Apr. 15;
Jacoby Ellsbury at UCLA, May 8; Mitch Canham vs. St. John's, June 4.
TOTAL BASES IN A SEASON, INDIVIDUAL: 140, Jacoby Ellsbury, 2005
(old record 133, Seth Pietsch, 2003).
HIT BY PITCH IN A GAME, INDIVIDUAL (TIED): 3, Todd Shelton vs.
New Mexico State, Feb. 3.
HIT BY PITCH IN A CAREER, INDIVIDUAL (TIED): 30, Jacoby
Ellsbury, 2003-present (equals 30, Ryan Lipe, 1995-98).
SAVES IN A SEASON, INDIVIDUAL: 14, Kevin Gunderson, 2005 (old
record 9, Jared Sanders, 2002).
SAVES IN A SEASON, TEAM: 21, 2005 (old record, 14, 2002).
SAVES IN A CAREER, INDIVIDUAL: 17, Kevin Gunderson,
2004-present (old record 12, Jared Sanders, 2002-04).
STRIKEOUTS IN A SEASON, TEAM: 451, 2005 (old record 421, 1998).
HIT BATTERS IN A SEASON, INDIVIDUAL: 32, Dallas Buck, 2005
(old record 20, Dallas Buck, 2004).
HIT BATTERS IN A CAREER, INDIVIDUAL: 51, Dallas Buck,
2004-present (old record 39, Mark Newell, 1996-2000).
WINS IN A SEASON, TEAM: 46, 2005 (old record 1986, 39-15).
WINS IN A REGULAR SEASON, TEAM: 41, 2005 (old record 38, 1997,
38-12-1).
THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED: Here's the last time Oregon State players accomplished several notable feats through the end of the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional on June 13:
THREW A NO-HITTER: Apr. 11, 1967; Cleve Benson, Eric Selberg
and Jack Humphrey vs. Portland. OSU 11, Portland 0. (Individual -
Apr. 12, 1947; Fred Gallagher vs. Montana. OSU 1, Montana 0).
WAS NO-HIT: Mar. 27, 1994; Jack Gullard, Lewis-Clark State
at Honolulu, Haw. Lewis-Clark State 1, OSU 0.
THREW A 1-HITTER: Apr. 24, 2005 (1st game); Anton Maxwell
vs. Washington State. OSU 8, Washington State 1.
THREW A SHUTOUT: May 13, 2005; Dallas Buck at Washington.
OSU 7, Washington 0.
HAD 10 OR MORE STRIKEOUTS BY A PITCHER: Mar. 25, 2005; Dallas
Buck vs. Dallas Baptist (12 strikeouts). OSU 7, Dallas Baptist 2.
THREW A COMPLETE GAME: June 4, 2005; Jonah Nickerson vs. St.
John's. OSU 11, St. John's 1.
HIT 3 HOMERS IN A GAME: Mar. 11, 2001; Andy Jarvis vs.
Washington State at Yakima, Wash. Washington State 8, OSU 7.
HIT 2 HOMERS IN A GAME: June 5, 2005; Danny Anderson vs. St.
John's. OSU 19, St. John's 3.
PINCH-HIT A HOME RUN: Mar. 28, 2005; Scott Nelson vs. Brigham
Young (grand slam). OSU 12, Brigham Young 5.
HIT A GRAND SLAM: Mar. 29, 2005; Scott Nelson vs. Brigham
Young (pinch hit). OSU 12, Brigham Young 5.
HIT AN INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN: Feb. 13, 2004; Andy Jenkins
vs. Utah. OSU 8, Utah 6.
LED OFF A GAME WITH A HOME RUN: Mar. 29, 2005; Jacoby Ellsbury
vs. Brigham Young (BYU's Sean McNaughton also led off the game with
a homer). OSU 11, Brigham Young 6.
HIT A WALKOFF HOME RUN: June 3, 2005; Shea McFeely vs. Ohio
State. OSU 4, Ohio State 3.
HIT BACK-TO-BACK HOME RUNS: May 14, 2005; Mitch Canham and
Shea McFeely at Washington. OSU 7, Washington 4.
HIT BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK HOME RUNS: Apr. 11, 2000; Brian
Barden, Curtis Davis and Joe Gerber at Portland. OSU 13,
Portland 5.
HIT 2 TRIPLES IN A GAME: May 3, 1997; Abino Vazquez at
Portland State. OSU 7, Portland State 5.
HIT 3 DOUBLES IN A GAME: June 4, 2005; Mitch Canham vs.
St. John's. OSU 11, St. John's 1.
HIT FOR THE CYCLE: June 13, 2005; Andy Jenkins vs.
Southern California (2-run double in 1st inning, solo homer in
3rd inning, single in 4th inning, triple in sixth inning; added
1-run single in 7th inning to go 5-for-5). OSU 10, Southern
California 8.
HAD 5 HITS IN A GAME: June 13, 2005; Andy Jenkins vs.
Southern California (hit for the cycle). OSU 10, Southern
California 8.
HAD 4 HITS IN A GAME: June 13, 2005; Andy Jenkins vs.
Southern California (had 5 hits, hit for the cycle). OSU 10,
Southern California 8.
DROVE IN 9 RUNS IN A GAME: Mar. 2, 1985; Ken Bowen at Chico
State. OSU 36, Chico State 12.
DROVE IN 8 RUNS IN A GAME: Mar. 31, 2004; Shea McFeely at
Portland. OSU 25, Portland 4.
DROVE IN 7 RUNS IN A GAME: Mar. 31, 2004; Shea McFeely at
Portland (drove in 8 runs). OSU 25, Portland 4.
DROVE IN 6 RUNS IN A GAME: May 18, 2004; Tony Calderon vs.
Portland (2nd game). OSU 16, Portland 3.
DROVE IN 5 RUNS IN A GAME: June 5, 2005; Shea McFeely vs.
St. John's. OSU 19, St. John's 3.
SCORED 6 RUNS IN A GAME: Mar. 2, 1985; Ken Bowen at Chico State.
OSU 36, Chico State 12.
SCORED 5 RUNS IN A GAME: Mar. 5, 2000; Brian Barden at
Washington. OSU 27, Washington 4.
SCORED 4 RUNS IN A GAME: Apr. 24, 2005; Tyler Graham vs.
Washington State (1st game). OSU 7, Washington State 6.
STOLE 4 BASES IN A GAME: Apr. 11, 1991; David Anderson
vs. Willamette. OSU 8, Willamette 0.
STOLE 3 BASES IN A GAME: Feb. 28, 2004; Jacoby Ellsbury
vs. Sacramento State at Riverside, Calif. Sacramento State 10,
OSU 3.
HAD 5 WALKS IN A GAME: May 21, 1970; Bob Beall vs. UCLA.
UCLA 7, OSU 2.
HAD 4 WALKS IN A GAME: May 13, 2005; Cole Gillespie at
Washington. OSU 7, Washington 0.
TURNED A TRIPLE PLAY: Apr. 4, 2000; Joe Gerber and Will Hudson
vs. Portland (line drive to 1B Gerber for 1 out; Gerber steps on
first base before runner returns for 2 out; Gerber throw to SS
Hudson covering second base before runner returns for 3 out).
SCORED 10 OR MORE RUNS IN AN INNING: June 5, 2005; 13 runs in
second inning vs. St. John's. OSU 19, St. John's 3.
RAIN ON THE ROAD: If the recent trend continues, Oregon State will have better weather luck at home than it does on the road. Since the start of the 1997 season, the Beavers have had 48 games cancelled or rescheduled due to rain. Of those, only 17 have been games at OSU's Goss Stadium at Coleman Field; 21 were at ballparks in California, Nevada, Hawai'i, Texas or Florida. Another 10 were at ballparks elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. OSU has lost just 4 home games to rain during that time, while having 16 games cancelled at sites outside the region and 4 called off at other parks in the region. The Beavers have rescheduled 13 home games, 5 games outside the region and 6 at other parks in the region.
OREGON STATE HEAD COACH Pat Casey: Pat Casey, now in his 11th season at OSU, was named the Pacific-10 Coach of the Year in 2005 for a season in which OSU set a school record for wins and he passed a pair of personal milestones. Casey was also named Co-Coach of the Year when the College Baseball Foundation announced its National Honors Team.
Casey earned his 300th win with the Beavers when Oregon State beat California-Davis 8-0 on Feb. 19 at the San Diego Tournament, and he earned his 500th win in 18 seasons at OSU and George Fox when the Beavers beat UCLA 3-1 on May 6.
Casey has a record of 341-235-4 with the Beavers for a winning percentage of .591. Casey's career record of 512-348-5, which includes 7 years at George Fox in Newberg, is good for a winning percentage of .595.
Of the 19 head coaches in OSU baseball history, only a pair of men who spent more than 2 decades each guiding the Beavers - Ralph Coleman (1923-28, 1930-31, 1938-66) and Jack Riley (1973-94) - have coached more wins for the Beavers.
Casey was named the Pacific-10 Northern Division Coach of the Year in 1997 after leading the Beavers to a 38-12-1 mark, a school record for wins in a regular season. During Casey's time at OSU, 19 Beavers have been drafted by Major League Baseball teams and 4 more players have signed as free agents.
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.
OREGON STATE'S ALL-TIME RECORD: Oregon State's all-time record in varsity baseball is now 1,824-1,248-15, a winning percentage of .593. OSU's all-time record in conference games is now 806-596, a winning percentage of .575. To break the numbers down a step further, since starting varsity baseball in 1907, the Beavers have scored 20,271 runs and allowed 15,647 runs. That's an average score of 6.57-5.07.
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. The ballpark's first game saw Salem High beat the Beavers 4-0 on April 12, 1907.
Now in their 96th season at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field, the Beavers are 945-415-1 all-time at home for a winning percentage of .695. OSU was 26-5 at home this season and averaged 1,484 fans per home date; that's a record for home wins in a season, beating the 20-4 mark of the 1998 Beavers. During the regular season, the Beavers were 21-4 at home and averaged 1,133 fans per home date.
Oregon State's ballpark made its initial venture into night baseball in 2002 with the addition of its first-ever set of lights. The first night game saw OSU beat fourth-ranked Stanford 4-1 on April 27.
Goss Stadium was added to Coleman Field over the winter of 1998-99. The ballpark normally holds 2,000 fans, with the main grandstand seating 1,400 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.
OREGON STATE DUGOUT CLUB: The Oregon State Dugout Club is an organization devoted to supporting Beaver Baseball. The group is open to the general public and dues are $30 per season. Also, anyone entering the OSU Dugout Club Golf Tournament automatically gains membership. This year's tournament will be held June 27 at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis. For more information on the OSU Dugout Club, call (541) 737-2825.
OREGON STATE RADIO BROADCASTS: Oregon State baseball will again be broadcast this season, with most of the Beavers' 2005 schedule heard in the mid-Willamette Valley on KEJO-AM (1240) and via the internet at www.osubeavers.com and www.yahoo.com. There is a charge for listening via the internet; the cost is $4.95 per month for all OSU broadcasts that are on the internet. Mike Parker, the voice of the Beavers, handles play-by-play with assistance from Jon Warren and Kip Carlson. All of Oregon State's postseason games can be heard on both KEJO and the internet, with the College World Series games also being heard on KUIK-AM 1360 in Portland area, KKNX-AM 840 in Eugene, KMED-AM 1440 in Medford, KTIX-AM 1240 in Pendleton, KICE-AM 940 in Bend, KNPT-AM 1310 in Newport, KOHU-AM 1360 in Hermiston and KODL-AM 1400 in The Dalles.
TELEVISION BRINGS OUT BEST IN BEAVERS: Oregon State made its first television appearances of the season in the NCAA Super Regionals. Since 1998, Oregon State has played on national cable television 9 times and the Beavers have gone 5-4 in those games, including a 5-2 mark at home. Since Fox Sports Net (formerly Prime Sports) began televising games in 1990, Oregon State has a 29-16 record in televised games, including 8-4 in national TV games.
Danny Anderson, SENIOR OUTFIELDER (MODESTO, CALIF./BEYER H.S., SAN JOAQUIN DELTA J.C., SAN JOSE STATE U.): 5 multi-hit games, 2 multi-RBI games ... June 12 vs. Southern California, homered ... June 5 vs. St. John's, 2-for-4, 2 homers, 4 RBIs, 3 runs in first start since May 15 ... May 21 vs. Southern California, pinch-hit RBI single helped OSU clinch tie for Pac-10 title ... May 8 at UCLA, off bench, 2-for-2, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 run ... Apr. 9 at Stanford first game, 3-for-5 ... Mar. 12-Mar. 24, in 3 games, batted .429 (3-for-7) with 1 double ... Feb. 19 vs. California-Davis, 3-for-4, 1 double, 4 runs ... Feb. 6 at Arizona State, homered ... Feb. 3 vs. New Mexico State, 2-for-3, 2 RBIs.
Darwin Barney, FRESHMAN SHORTSTOP (BEAVERTON, ORE./SOUTHRIDGE H.S.): Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team ... Pacific-10 Freshman of the Year ... All-Pacific-10 first team ... 18 multi-hit games; 11 multi-RBI games ... has a hit in 41 of 56 games; has a RBI in 30 of 56 games; has a run in 33 of 56 games ... at least 1 walk in 13 of last 21 games ... currently has 5-game hitting streak; during streak, batting .364 (8-for-22) with 4 RBIs, 6 runs ... June 5 vs. St. John's, 3-for-6, 2 RBIs ... May 20 vs. Southern California, 2-run, 2-out single in eighth inning broke 0-0 tie in pitcher's dual between OSU's Dallas Buck and USC's Ian Kennedy; OSU went on to 5-4 win ... May 15 at Washington, 10th-inning sacrifice fly helped clinch OSU win ... May 13 at Washington, 2-for-4, 2 RBIs ... May 8 at UCLA, 3-for-4, 3 RBIs, 2 runs ... Apr. 29 vs. Arizona State, 2-for-3, 1 double, 1 RBI, 2 runs ... Apr. 10-Apr. 24, at least 1 RBI in 6 straight games ... Mar. 28-Apr. 16, in 10 games, batted .489 (22-for-50) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 11 RBIs ... Apr. 9-Apr. 16, 5-game hitting streak; during streak, batted .500 (12-for-24) with 2 doubles, 6 RBIs ... Apr. 16 at Arizona, 3-for-6, 3 RBIs ... Apr. 15 at Arizona, 2-for-4, 2 doubles, 1 RBI ... Apr. 9-10 series at Stanford, batted .500 (7-for-14), including 4-for-5 in third game ... Mar. 22-Apr. 9, scored a run in 10 straight games ... Mar. 28-Apr. 2, in 4 games, batted .556 (10-for-18) with 1 double, 1 triple, 5 RBIs ... Apr. 1 vs. California, 3-for-5, 1 triple, 2 RBIs ... Mar. 29 vs. Brigham Young, 3-for-5, 1 double, 3 RBIs ... Mar. 28-Mar. 29 in series vs. Brigham Young, batted .556 (5-for-9) with 1 double, 3 RBIs, 4 runs ... Mar. 18-Mar. 25, 5-game hitting streak; during streak, batted .263 (5-for-19) with 1 double, 1 homer, 4 RBIs ... Mar. 19 vs. Sacramento State, 2 stolen bases ... Mar. 18 vs. Sacramento State second game, homered ... Mar. 6-Mar. 13, in 4 games batted .400 (6-for-15) with 3 RBIs ... Mar. 12 vs. Pepperdine, first collegiate homer ... Feb. 5 vs. New Mexico State, 3-for-5 ... Feb. 3-Feb. 25, started career with 8-game hitting streak; during streak, batted .324 (12-for-37) with 1 double, 5 RBIs.
Dallas Buck, SOPHOMORE RIGHTHANDER (NEWBERG, ORE./NEWBERG H.S.): Louisville Slugger All-America first team; USA Today Sports Weekly All-America first team; National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America second team ... All-Pacific-10 first team ... USA Baseball National Team Trials invitee, declined invitation ... Baseball America/Louisville Slugger Player of the Year Watch list; Roger Clemens Award watch list ... Baseball America magazine Midseason National Top Pitcher, Midseason All-America first team; Preseason All-America first team ... has struck out 8 or more batters in 8 of 17 starts; has allowed 3 or fewer earned runs in 15 of 17 starts; has allowed 4 or fewer hits in 10 of 17 starts ... June 11-13 in NCAA Super Regional, earned win and save as OSU clinched berth in College World Series by taking 2 of 3 games from Southern California ... June 13 vs. Southern California, earned save; 1.1 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts; was first relief appearance since middle of 2004 when he moved from closer to starter for start of Pac-10 season ... June 11 vs. Southern California, earned win; 7.2 innings, 7 hits, 4 runs, 6 walks, 2 strikeouts ... June 3 vs. Ohio State in NCAA Corvallis Regional, no decision; 7.1 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 5 walks, 5 strikeouts ... May 6-May 20, at least 7 strikeouts no mor ethan 4 hits in each of last 3 starts of regular season ... College Baseball Foundation National Honor Roll, Pacific-10 Pitcher of the Week for May 16-May 23 for May 20 vs. Southern California, earned win; 8.2 innings, 2 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts ... CBF National Honor Roll, Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week for May 9-May 16 for May 13 at Washington, earned win; 9.0 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts ... May 6 at UCLA, earned win; 8.0 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts ... Apr. 29 vs. Arizona State, earned win; 6.0 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 4 walks, 3 strikeouts ... Apr. 22 vs. Washington State, no decision; 8.0 innings, 4 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 2 walks, 6 strikeouts ... Apr. 15 at Arizona, took loss; 6.2 innings, 8 hits, 6 runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts ... Apr. 9 at Stanford first game, earned win; 7.0 innings, 11 hits, 7 runs (3 earned), 1 walk, 3 strikeouts ... Apr. 1 vs. California, earned win; 7.0 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts ... Mar. 18-Mar. 25, set career-highs in strikeouts in back-to-back games with 10 vs. Sacramento State, 12 vs. Dallas Baptist ... Mar. 25 vs. Dallas Baptist first game, earned win in first career complete game; 9.0 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts ... Mar. 18 vs. Sacramento State first game, earned win; 6.0 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 2 walks, career-high 10 strikeouts ... Feb. 25-Mar. 18, pitched 24.2 innings across 4 games without allowing an earned run ... Mar. 11 vs. Cal State-Northridge, earned win; 8.0 innings, 4 hits, 1 run (0 earned), 1 walk, 8 strikeouts ... Mar. 4 vs. California-Riverside, no decision; 6.2 innings, 4 hits, 1 run (0 earned), 3 walks, 9 strikeouts ... Feb. 25 at California-Santa Barbara, earned win; 7.0 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts ... Feb. 3-Feb. 6, named to all-tournament team at Bob Schaefer Memorial Tournament ... Feb. 3 vs. New Mexico State, earned win; 5.0 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts.
Chris Campos, SENIOR OUTFIELDER (MODESTO, CALIF./BEYER H.S., LOYOLA MARYMOUNT U., MODESTO J.C.): 6 multi-hit games; 5 multi-RBI games ... June 13 vs. Southern California off bench, 2-for-3, 1 run as OSU clinched berth in College World Series ... Apr. 9-Apr. 16, had a hit in 4 straight games ... Apr. 9 at Stanford second game, 2-for-5, 1 douible, 3 RBIs ... Apr. 1 vs. California, 1-for-1, 1 double, 2 RBIs, 3 walks, 1 stolen base ... Mar. 12-Mar. 22, in 4 games, batted .571 (8-for-14) with 4 doubles, 7 RBIs ... Mar. 13 vs. Winthrop, 3-for-4, 1 double, 3 RBIs ... Mar.
