2008 Baseball Season In Review
Oregon State Season In Review
28-24 Overall • 11-13 Pacific-10 Conference
14-7 Home • 9-14 Road • 5-3 Neutral
The Season
Oregon State finished the regular season with a 28-24 mark and 11-13 record in Pacific-10 Conference play. The Beavers finished in a tie for sixth with USC and Washington.
Head Coach Pat Casey
Head Coach Pat Casey finished his 14th season at the helm of the Oregon State program and 21st overall. At the conclusion of the season, his record stands at 468-292-4 at OSU and 639-405-5 in 21 collegiate seasons.
End Of The Season
Oregon State swept Pacific in a three-game series at Goss Stadium to cap off the season. The series sweep was Oregon State’s only of the year; seven of the Beavers’ eight Pac-10 series resulted in either 2-1 or 1-2 series results.
But Four Games Was A Season Long
Oregon State won a season-high four straight from March 24 to March 29, including a 10-inning, 2-1 victory over Washington in OSU’s second Pac-10 game of the season.
Seniors
Oregon State will lose nine seniors from the 2008 club. They are pitchers Mike Stutes and Reed Brown, infielders Lonnie Lechelt, Drew George and Jordan Lennerton, catcher Erik Ammon and outfielders Braden Wells, Chris Hopkins and Daniel Robertson.
But He Returns
Ryan Ortiz will return to the team in 2009 after having a spectacular offensive season. Primarily at catcher, Ortiz led the club in average (.351), hits (66), doubles (16), RBI (55) and walks (29). He also had five home runs, good for a tie for second on the club. Of his five home runs, three were grand slams.
Pac-10 Awards
Ryan Ortiz became OSU’s second catcher to land on the All-Pac-10 First Team list in as many years when he was honored by the conference. He followed in the footsteps of Mitch Canham a year before him. Kevin Rhoderick, Daniel Robertson and John Wallace were all recognized by the Pac-10 as well, earning honorable mention honors.
Goodbye Mike
Mike Stutes leaves OSU as one of the most accomplished pitchers in school history. He leaves with 287 strikesouts, second-most at OSU, and 24 victories, which ties him for ninth-best.
Over Four Years
Over the last four seasons, the Beavers have accumulated a 173-70 record overall (.712). In Pacific-10 Conference games, Oregon State has posted a 56-39 record (.589).
All-Academic
Jason Ogata was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Region VIII First Team toward the end of the season while at the conclusion of Oregon State’s 2008 campaign, Braden Wells was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Second Team.
Lots Of Appearances
Mark Grbavac and Kraig Sitton both appeared 22 times this season for the Beavers, which tied them for the club lead. Grbavac tied for the team lead with four wins after posting a 3.62 ERA, while Sitton was 2-0 with a 3.91 ERA.
Ortiz And His Career Season
Ryan Ortiz certainly made a big impression on the Oregon State faithful in 2008. The sophomore, who had only four at bats as a freshman in 2007, led the club with a .351 batting average, 66 hits, 16 doubles and 55 runs batted in. He spent most of his season at catcher, but started 10 games at first base, providing the Beavers with versatility.
Ortiz, Lechelt And The Pac-10
Ryan Ortiz and Lonnie Lechelt both had big weeks at various times during the season and the Pac-10 recognized their efforts. Ortiz earned the honors March 25 while he was in the midst of his season-long 10-game hit streak. Lechelt, meanwhile, garnered honors April 22 after he drove in 11 in OSU’s 2-1 series victort at Arizona State.
That Was Pretty Tough
Oregon State played arguably its toughest schedule in school history, with more than one-third of its opponents in 2008 ranked in Baseball America’s Top-25 when the Beavers played them. At one point in Pac-10 play, OSU saw four straight ranked opponents -- No. 7 Cal, No. 10 Stanford, No. 2 Arizona State and No. 23 Arizona -- and went 6-6 against them. The Beavers finished 8-11 against top-25 teams and 4-7 against those in the top-10.
Against The Field
OSU played 24 games against 2008 NCAA Regional participants and went 12-12 overall. Look deeper, however, and one would find that the Beavers took their series against three No. 1 seeds -- Arizona State, Georgia and Arizona -- and two against No. 2 seeds -- Pepperdine and UCLA.
Stutesy
Mike Stutes concluded his senior season after an impressive three years at Oregon State, cementing him as one of the most decorated pitchers in school history. The right-hander leaves Oregon State with 287 strikeouts, which is second-most in school history. A transfer from Santa Clara in 2006, he also leaves with 24 wins, which is good for a tie for ninth in OSU history.
To Return
Oregon State is scheduled to return five starters from the 2008 club. Pitching-wise, Jorge Reyes and Greg Peavey are scheduled to return as weekend starters, while Kevin Rhoderick saved 12 games a freshman closer this season. Twenty-four of the team’s 37 home runs (64.8 percent) return as does 179 of the 320 RBI (55.9 percent). Pitching-wise, 24 of the team’s 28 wins should return as Mike Stutes was Oregon State’s only full-time senior pitcher.
Return To USA
Kevin Rhoderick and Ryan Ortiz participated in USA National Team Trials June 11-23. They attempt to join Kevin Gunderson, Jonah Nickerson and Darwin Barney as Beavers who have played for Team USA.
Pac-10 Honors
Ryan Ortiz’s selection to the All-Pac-10 First Team gave Oregon State at least one player named to the squad in every season since 1993. Since 2000, the Beavers have had 23 selections to the All-Pac-10 First Team.
Sitton And The Inherited Runner
Perhaps there was no Oregon State reliever better at stranding runners than lefty Kraig Sitton, who inherited 33 runners in 2008, and allowed just eight to score (24.2 percent). His last 12 consecutive did not score.
Bats Break Out
Oregon State’s most offensive stretch came in early March when the Beavers played in a tournament hosted by San Diego State. OSU batted .355 and averaged 10.5 runs per game with four home runs over the four-game stretch. OSU had 25 hits against San Diego State in 22-3 win; the Beavers had scored 12 the previous day against Santa Clara. The 34 combined runs is the most in consecutive games for the Beavers since scoring 14 against California and then 25 against Portland in the 2004 season.
At Home
Oregon State went 14-7 (.667) at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field in 2008, marking the club’s fourth-straight winning season at home. All-time, the Beavers are 1,004-434-1 (.698) in games played at home. Over the past four seasons, the Beavers, who won a single-season high 27 games in 2006, are 84-23 (.785) at home.
What The True Freshman Accounted For
Oregon State’s 2008 freshman class was considered the third-best incoming class, according to Baseball America. The group accounted for nine of the team’s 28 wins (32 percent), 14 saves, 23 of the 52 games started by pitchers (44 percent) and 153 of 397 strikeouts (38.5 percent). Offensively, the freshmen were far less numerous, but had a combined 11 doubles, 21 RBI and 37 walks.
OSU And The Draft
Oregon State continued its run in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft as seven Beavers were selected by MLB clubs on June 6. Oregon State has now had 24 players taken over the last three seasons, including a program-best nine in 2006. In 2007, OSU had two players chosen in the first round for the first time when Mitch Canham and Eddie Kunz were selected.
More On The Draft
The multiple draft selections gives Oregon State at least one player drafted every year since 1986. The Beavers have had at least two players selected in every season since 2001.
And Those Selections Were
The 2008 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft saw the following players selected from OSU:
• Mike Stutes, 11th round, Philadelphia
• Lonnie Lechelt, 21st round, Florida
• Chris Hopkins, 24th round, Toronto
• Mark Grbavac, 32nd round, New York Mets
• Jordan Lennerton, 33rd round, Detroit
• Daniel Robertson, 33rd round, San Diego
• Jason Ogata, 38th round, Texas
Defense
As of June 8, the Beavers stood 15th nationally with a fielding percentage of .973, which ranked them third among Pac-10 teams. The fine defensive percentage continued a trend for the Beavers, who finished second nationally in 2007 (.977) and eighth in 2006 (.975). Oregon State finished Pac-10 play in 2008 with an impressive .981 fielding percentage, which trailed only Stanford at .982.
Peavey
Greg Peavey allowed 13 earned runs in his first three appearances, but finished the season strong, going at least 4 1/3 innings in each of his last five outings, three of which were relief appearances. Peavey threw 27 1/3 innings over his last five games, posting a 3.29 ERA while opponents hit .260 against him. He struck out 15 during that stretch.
Stutes And The Complete Game
Mike Stutes threw Oregon State’s first complete game in almost two full years when he allowed just one run and four hits in OSU’s 7-1 series-opening win against UCLA May 9. He struck out nine, just one off tying his season high, and walked three.
Stutes, Again
Mike Stutes went five or more innings in each of his last 10 starts. During that stretch, he was 3-4 and averaged 6 1/3 innings per start. Over his last five games, he averaged 7 2/3 innings per start.
Salami
Ryan Ortiz was just one home run shy of tying for the team lead, finishing with five. Of his five home runs, three were grand slams. Ortiz finished the season with 55 RBI, 18 of which came off home runs as his other two round-trippers were three-run shots.
Multi Games
Jason Ogata led OSU with 18 multiple-hit games, while Ryan Ortiz paced the club with 13 multiple-RBI efforts.
2007 Signing Class
The Beavers signed 11 players to national letters of intent in November, 2007, including three players from the state of Oregon. Four players in Baseball America’s top 100 high school players nationally signed with the Beavers.
