Oregon State baseball in pursuit of fourth national championship
Months and months of going through the grind of the baseball season have set the Oregon State Beavers five wins away from the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Oregon State will begin its journey to another possible national championship Friday night in the NCAA Baseball Tournament as it will play New Mexico State in the Corvallis Regional at home in Goss Stadium at 7 p.m. Before that, San Diego and Vanderbilt will play. The two winners will play each other Saturday in the double-elimination tournament.
Oregon State got a bit of a taste of the NCAA Tournament after losing in the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament Championship to Stanford Sunday night. That experience could help the Beavers in the upcoming regional.
"It is just the same mindset," Oregon State catcher Gavin Logan said. "We got the postseason feel last weekend in the Pac-12 Tournament and it is going to be very similar this weekend and for now on.
"We just have to get through the grind and mentality, we just have to get through it."
Oregon State went through a grind during the Pac-12 Tournament. Not only did the Beavers have to play four out of five days, but they also had to endure five games, including two on Saturday and a championship game on Sunday.
Oregon State lost to UCLA in its first matchup Saturday, then the two teams played again to see who would advance to the Pac-12 Championship against Stanford on Sunday. After the Beavers won, they had to wait until Sunday night to play Stanford. Once the Cardinal won the Pac-12 Championship, 9-5, the Beavers then had to wait to catch a flight back to Corvallis Monday morning and then prepare for their regional this weekend.
Following five games in five days, the Beavers took some days off before returning to practice on Wednesday. Now Oregon State will have a chance to add another national championship to its trophy case.
The Oregon State baseball program has been one of the standards of college baseball since 2005. During that span, the Beavers have won three national championships, made six College World Series appearances and made the NCAA Tournament every year except 2016.
Oregon State will enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed overall, behind only No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 Stanford. While the Pac-12 Tournament didn't go the way the Beavers expected, the players and coaches are confident the team can win their fourth national championship.
"It is going to be a great opportunity for all of us to see all of the people that come out," Logan said. "It is really going to be awesome."
For the first time since 2019, Oregon State will host a regional at Goss Stadium. The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID pandemic and last year the Beavers traveled to TCU, where they were in the Fort Worth Regional before losing to Dallas Baptist.
Oregon State being one of the top eight seeds is significant because not only will it host this weekend's Corvallis Regional, but it would host the super regional if the team advances.
Oregon State coach Mitch Canham believes it's a huge advantage playing at home this weekend and potentially next weekend in the super regionals.
"We get to sleep in our own beds, their families get to be here," Canham said. "A lot of guys haven't experienced a regional having all of the fans.
"We've had a few games where we had sell-out crowds, 4,000-5,000 people. "There have been a handful of events that have provided a great student experience.
"You are excited for the student-athletes, you are excited for the university, you are excited for the fan base and it is going to be a great place to showcase Oregon State on national television."
About that softball team...
This time of the year, Oregon State fans are used to its baseball team playing in the postseason. However, the Oregon State softball team has also performed well as the team will play in the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City beginning Thursday.
The Beavers will play the Florida Gators at 4 p.m. at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium after defeating Stanford on the road in the super regional. While the Beavers baseball team has been busy, they have been following the Beavers softball team as they have drawn inspiration from watching them advance to the Women's College World Series.
"When you see someone else doing something special, everyone else wants to do it, too," Canham said. "It is pretty cool that they're leading the charge on this. Their postseason run, they've played really good competition and in their games, they're smiling and jumping around and that's important.
"Oregon State in the World Series, that's special. We anticipate them coming home with the trophy because they have the talent to do it, they have the coaches to do it, and they have the support of Beaver Nation to do it."
Oregon State vs. New Mexico State, Friday, June 3
TV: ESPNU
Radio: KEJO 1240-AM (Corvallis), KKNX 840-AM (Eugene)
Contact Register-Guard sportswriter Antwan Staley at astaley@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @antwanstaley.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon State baseball in pursuit of fourth national championship
