Really impressive, Oregon State baseball. Amazing comeback. This afternoon the team defeated USC 9-0, advancing to the super regional phase of the NCAA tournament. That seemed really unlikely three days ago.
After fighting hard all season to become a highly ranked team (#8 in the country) that earned the right to host both a Corvallis regional and super-regional in the 2025 NCAA tournament, the top seeded Beavers flopped in a 6-4 opening loss to fourth seed Saint Mary's last Friday.
In a double elimination tournament, losing the first game makes for an uphill battle, since another loss means an exit from the tournament. But the Oregon State coach, Mitch Canham, presciently laid out what he hoped would happen next in an Oregonian story about the Saint Mary's game.
The top-seeded Beavers had just suffered a stunning and staggering 6-4 defeat to the fourth-seeded Saint Mary’s Gaels in the opener of the Corvallis Regional, sending the decisive favorites into the loser’s bracket in their own backyard. So after fighting tooth and nail all season as college baseball’s only independent, which required traveling an obscene number of miles and playing an oversized number of games on the road, it was only fitting that their biggest obstacle of all would come at home during the most important time of the year.
“With everything that we’ve gone through this year, it must be this way,” Canham said, smirking. “To really make a statement and to do something special at the end of it all, if it means going through (the losers’ bracket) and needing to win all those other games, well, sure then. Why not? That makes for a better story, that makes for bigger memories.”
And make no mistake, the memories were almost universally forgettable Friday night, when the Beavers (41-13-1) flopped in front of the largest crowd (4,339) in Goss history, squandering the home-field advantage they worked so hard for all season.
To make Canham's "better story" come true, Oregon State had to win four games in a row against tough post-season competition. I really enjoy watching the Beavers play, but after the opening loss, I was nervous about Saturday's game against TCU. It was an elimination game for Oregon State, as each of the four games would be.
The Beavers beat TCU 7-2. One down, three to go.
Oregon State's first game on Sunday was a rematch against Saint Mary's, which had lost to USC. The score ended up being a blowout 20-3 victory for the Beavers. Two down, two to go.
The Beavers then played USC in the regional championship game. Oregon State won 14-1. Three down, one to go.
Todays's game against USC was an elimination game, since both Oregon State and USC only had one loss. The Beavers won 9-0, making them champions of the Corvallis regional and sending them on to a super regional matchup against Florida State next weekend, also in Corvallis.
In the four games that Oregon State won after their opening loss, the Beavers outscored their opponents 50-6. Amazing dominance. They looked loose and confident. Home runs and double plays were commonplace. Florida State should be really nervous.
Of course, there's no guarantee Oregon State will win the super regional and make it to the Men's College World Series. But the way the Beavers played the past three days, it would be unwise to bet against them.
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