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Sun Devils Eye NCAA Return After Sweep Of Long Beach…

By CB360 Contributor Kevin Kennedy

The Arizona State baseball team continued to roll over the weekend with a sweep of  Long Beach State in a non-conference series  in Tempe.  The Sun Devils outscored the Dirt Bags by a combined total of 32 to 14 in the three-game series.

The Sun Devils, who were playing in their last non-conference games of the season, won for the 13^th time in the last 15 games to improve to 35-11 overall.

Long Beach dropped to 23-22 overall. LBSU came into the weekend needing some resume building wins to boost their NCAA Tournament credentials.

Brady Rodgers

In the Sun Devils 6-3 win over the Dirtbags on Friday Devils ace pitcher sophomore Brady Rodgers dominated en route to picking up his 7^th win of the season. Rodgers (7-2 2.92 ERA) went 7.1 innings allowing three runs on 8 hits while striking out five.

Rodgers seemed to get stronger as the night worn on before he was hit in the ankle by a come-backer off the bat of LBSU freshman catcher Royce Murai in the 8^th. Rodgers allowed the next three hitters to reach after the Murai single. Prior to being hit in the leg Rodgers had retired 13 of the previous 14 Dirtbag hitters. The injury is not believed to be serious.

Long Beach rallied against ASU in the 8^th cutting the deficit to 6-3. The Dirtbags had the tying run at the plate with two outs, but Devils junior LF Johnny Ruettiger made a spectacular sliding catch in the left center field gap off the bat of LBSU sophomore Matt Duffy to end the inning and the threat.

ASU struck first with a run in the bottom of the first leading off the inning with Ruettiger double, and a single by junior Zach MacPhee. Ruettiger scored on an error by Long Beach starter junior Andrew Gagnon (4-7, 2.73 ERA).

In Saturday’s win ASU jumped out early and were never threatened in the 9-2 win. ASU led 4-0 after three innings and 9-0 after five.

Arizona State starting pitcher Kramer Champlin (7-2 2.82 ERA) bounced back from his loss to Stanford last weekend pitching eight strong innings allowing two earned on eight hits, with seven strikeouts. Champlin didn’t allow a run until the 8^th inning.

Joey DeMichele

Joey DeMichele continued his offensive tear with hit second five hit game of the season going 5-for-5 with a double and 3 RBIs. Junior DH Austin Barnes was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs. DeMichele (.406 average), and Barnes (.362) currently rank number one, and five respectively in the Pac-10 in hitting.

ASU got 14 hits in Saturday’s win with MacPhee, and Newman having multiple hit games for the second straight night. Duffy was the offensive leader for LBSU going 3-for-4 with a double, and 2 RBIs.

Long Beach’s pitching staff struggled with starter junior Branden Pinder (3-5 5.53 ERA) lasting just three innings allowing 4 runs (3 earned). Junior Matt Johnson relieved Pinder and he allowed five earned in just two innings.

In the series finale ASU exploded for its highest scoring output of the season in there 17-9 win. The Devils broke the game wide open with a six run 5^th pushing their lead to 11-2.

The Dirtbags scored six runs in the 9^th inning to make the final score look closer than the game really was.

Andy Workman led the offensive charge going 4-for-5 with 7 RBIs, a double, and two HRs. DeMichele was 2-for-5 on Sunday, he was 9-for-14 (.643) in the series. Zach Wilson was 3-for-4, and MacPhee was 2-for-3 in the win.

MacPhee was 6-for-12 in the series as the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year raised his average from .270 to .286. MacPhee hit .398 in 2010.

Long Beach starter freshman Ryan Strufing (3-2 3.92 ERA) took the loss allowing eight runs (five earned) in four innings. Freshman Kyle Friedrichs went two innings in relief of Strufing allowing five runs.

The Dirtbags fielders were no help to the team’s pitchers committing four errors, leading to five unearned runs.

ASU has been with out sophomore shortstop Deven Marrero since May 1 because of an ankle injury. Riccio Torrez was also out the last two games of the series because of injury. Neither injury is believed to be serious.

Currently ASU is second in the Pac-10 in hitting with a (.312), on base percentage (.383), runs scored (.299), hits (497), and RBIs (269). The pitching staff is fifth in the conference with a team ERA of 3.17.

The Devils sit in second place in the Pac-10 with three weekends left in the conference schedule. ASU is one game back of conference leader Oregon State. The Beavers hold the tiebreaker over ASU after sweeping the Sun Devils in Corvallis last month.

Arizona State, which went 6-2 in eight games played in ten days, now travels to USC next weekend followed by a series at Washington. The Sun Devils finish their season at home vs. UCLA.

ASU remains eligible for the NCAA Tournament, because the NCAA appeal process continues. The school is set to have its appeal heard a couple of weeks before the NCAA Tournament selections are made May 30, and it is unlikely the appeals committee will have a ruling before the 30^th.

If ASU remains eligible and continues to play well down the stretch it could find itself in position not only to be in the tournament, but also as one of the Top-8 National Seeds.

Despite not picking up any wins this weekend, Long Beach State still has some chances for some quality resume wins down the stretch.  They travel to Cal State Fullerton next weekend, and finish the year at UC Irvine.

They also have a Big West series at home vs. Cal State Northridge, and non-conference home games vs. UCLA, and Pepperdine.

(Front page photo courtesy Arizona State)

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A Rundown Of The Weekend In Berkley…

ASU players after their sweep of Cal in Berkley

The series featured a 17-inning marathon on Thursday, two complete game shutouts by ASU pitchers on Friday and Saturday and two Cal coaches ejected for arguing separate balk calls in the series finale.

Arizona State (29-9, 11-4 Pac-10) has now won six straight games since being swept at Oregon State two weekends ago. Cal (24-12, 9-6 Pac-10) was ahead of ASU in the conference standings coming into this weekend.

Thursday’s 17-inning epic was the second longest game in the history of both baseball programs. The game was a pitchers duel between ASU sophomore ace Brady Rodgers, and the Bears ace junior Erik Johnson. Both pitchers got no decisions.

Rodgers lasted 7.1 innings allowing two earned on four hits while striking out four and walking three. The three walks increased Rodgers’ season total four, while his ERA currently sits a 2.85.

Johnson went 9.0 innings for Cal, allowing two earned on eight hits, with two strikeouts and three walks. Johnson’s season ERA is 2.04- more than two points lower than his 4.09 ERA in 2010.

Thursday’s game went into extra innings tied up at 2-2. ASU took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 10^th only to see Cal rally in the bottom half of the inning to extend the game. The same thing happened in the 13^th when Cal tied it again at 4-4 with ASU blowing its second save chance of the game.

The Sun Devils struck for two run in the top of the 17^th to take a 6-4 lead. This time ASU was able to hang on. Freshman Mark Lambson pitched 3.0 shutout innings to finish the game and get the win.

Both teams used four relievers in the contest. ASU sophomore Alex Blackford pitched 4.0 innings of relief, and Cal’s freshman Louie Lechich took the loss pitching 3.1 innings of relief.

The 5 hour and 12 minute game saw the two teams combine for 29 hits, and 28 runners left of base.

In Friday’s game both coaches got what they wanted out of their starting pitchers- enough innings to rest both teams’ tired bullpens. Both starting pitchers went the distance in the Devils’ 5-0 win.

Kramer Champlin

ASU junior Kramer Champlin was spectacular, giving the Devils’ their best pitching performance of the season to date by throwing a complete game shutout. He allowed five hits, all singles, one walk, and five strikeouts. Cal did not advance a runner past second base. Champlin finished the game by retiring the last seven batters he faced. The junior improved to 6-1 with a 2.78 ERA, which is the  lowest among ASU’s weekend starters. It was also his second complete game of the season.

Cal sophomore Justin Jones allowed five earned on nine hits with two walks and no strikeouts. ASU scored two runs off Jones with three straight singles and a sac fly in the second inning. Back-to-back doubles in the sixth gave ASU a 3-0 lead. ASU scored again in the sixth when Riccio Torrez stole third and scored on a throwing error by Cal junior catcher Chad Krist giving ASU a 4-0 lead. They added their fifth and final run in the eighth.

On Saturday sophomore starter Jake Barrett went the distance in another dominating performance as ASU shut out the Bears 6-0.

The highlights of the game were Cal head coach David Esquer and assistant head coach Dan Hubbs being ejected after heated arguments with umpires following separate balk calls by first base umpire Tim Vessey.

Cal head coach Dave Esquer argues a balk call.

Esquer was ejected in the third inning when starting pitcher junior Dixon Anderson was called for a balk with ASU runners at first and third. The run gave ASU a 2-0 lead. Esquer came out and began yelling at Vessey before being thrown out by the umpire. Before leaving the field, Esquer voiced his displeasure to home plate umpire Tony Norris as well.

In the sixth Anderson was called again for a balk with runners at the corners allowing ASU to take a 3-0 lead. Hubbs came out to argue the call with Vessey, but was relatively calm compared to Esquer.

Three batters later after Anderson was taken out of the game after allowing a solo home run to Zach Wilson, extending ASU’s lead to 5-0. Hubbs was thrown out after having words with Vessey. He then continued the argument and had to be restrained by another umpire.

The fireworks overshadowed the dominant performance by Barrett.  The ASU sophomore allowed five hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He improved to 5-3 with a 4.55 ERA in his first career complete game as a Sun Devil.

Cal did get two doubles in the game but for the second straight contest failed to get a runner past second. Going back to the 13^th inning of Thursday’s game, Cal has now been held scoreless for 22 consecutive innings.

It was the first time since May of 2009 that ASU posted back-to-back shutouts. It was an overall impressive weekend for the ASU pitching staff. The three starters went a combined 25.1 innings allowing just two earned runs.

The Sun Devils seem to lack a dominant ace pitcher, something they had the last two years with Mike Leake in 2009, and Seth Blair in 2010.  The staff ERA currently sits at 3.13.  The 2010 squad finished with a 3.32 ERA.

If ASU ends up making the tournament because their appeal to the NCAA likely will not be settled by the time the tournament selections are made, postseason pitching experience could be a key. None of ASU’s current weekend starters started any of the 2010 tournament games.

Cal has a much-improved pitching staff compared to the two previous years. Already posting eight shutouts, the team ERA 2.85 compared to 4.91 last season. The Bears’ weekend starters have all lowered their ERA in 2011 at least point from last season.

Senior Kevin Miller joins Johnson, Jones, and Anderson to give the Bears four quality starters for the rest of the season, and likely into the NCAA Tournament.

This weekend was a big blow for Cal’s Pac-10 Championship hopes. They came into the ASU series just a half game behind leader Oregon State. The Beavers lead the conference with a 10-2 (.883) Pac-10 mark, ASU is next at 11-4 (.733), followed by UCLA at 10-5 (.667) and Cal at 9-6 (.600).

The Golden Bears still have to play at Oregon State, and at UCLA. Along with home series’ against Oregon, and Stanford.

This week ASU will visit rival Arizona in a non-conference game before hosting Stanford for three games beginning on Friday. The Stanford series begins a eight game home stand for the Sun Devils

Cal will play at Stanford in a non-conference game between the two rivals before beginning a three game series at home against Oregon. After the Oregon series Cal does not play in Berkeley until the final weekend of the season.

Beavers Lead Pac-10 After Weekend Sweep…

Sam Gaviglio (OSU photo)

Sam Gaviglio, the Friday starter, is a hitters’ worst nightmare. He throws almost exclusively breaking pitches, but the words “hanging curve” are not in his vocabulary. He struck out eight Stanford hitters in Friday’s game using the precise command of his curveball, baiting hitters into sitting back and swinging over pitches that ended up in the dirt and mixing in a surprise fastball every now and then.

With breaking pitches that were so deadly accurate, Gaviglio can go deep into games and keep the base paths clear – he only gave up two walks and four hits in eight innings on Friday, keeping consistent with his 0.779 WHIP this year.

But after Gaviglio beats you on Friday night (he’s 7-1 this year), lefty Josh Osich will most likely beat you on Saturday, too. Osich uses the fastball to his advantage, riding up into the mid-to-high nineties at times, and then mixing his stuff up to keep hitters guessing at the plate. Osich is 5-0 so far this season, and his six-inning, two-hit, six-strikeout, five-walk performance on Saturday was especially good because the Cardinal has a .332 team batting average against lefties this season.

Kavin Keyes had the only RBI in Friday's 1-0 Beaver win (OSU photo).

Freshmen hurlers Scott Schultz and Ben Weztler were also impressive on Sunday, but no matter who takes the hill, the Beavers’ defense gives any pitcher they trot out an advantage over most teams in the nation.

Shortstop Ryan Dunn has a massive range, and he can get to essentially any ball that comes his way, no matter if it’s to his left or right. Similarly, centerfielder Brian Stamps made three great catches in the outfield this weekend – and he came in as a defensive replacement for the last two innings of every game. It’s hard to rally on a team with such a good defense, and that great D can keep the Beavers safe even if their excellent starters get bounced early in a game.

Stanford, on the other hand, leaves this series reeling. The Cardinal has now lost five of its last six games, and the offense was downright dreadful for the entire weekend.

For example, righty Mark Appel dropped to 2-4 this season because Stanford couldn’t muster a single run off Gaviglio on Friday night. Appel went six and two-thirds innings with six strikeouts and just two walks, but he ended up losing a 1-0 decision, the second one-run game that Appel has lost this season ( the other a 2-1 loss to Vanderbilt).

The Cardinal offense appears to be struggling because shortstop Kenny Diekroeger is in the midst of a miserable slump, and in each game this weekend it was apparent that Stanford needs Diekroeger to hit if it expects to win.

Diekroeger went 2-for-12 this weekend with just one RBI, and his batting average has dropped over seventy points in two weeks, plummeting from .422 to .351. As Diekroeger goes, so do the rest of the Cardinal hitters, as the offense has only mustered 11 runs in the last six games.

After this cheerless weekend, the Card cannot afford to let the Beavers beat them again, as any hangover from the Oregon State series might be just the advantage that the visiting UCLA Bruins will exploit in this weekend’s upcoming series at Sunken Diamond. If the Cardinal expects to get back into the race for the Pac-10 title, it needs to rally hard and get wins against the Bruins’ great pitching staff.

Another Tough Test Awaits Cardinal…

Mark Appel

Stanford’s pitching has been solid, if unspectacular, the last few
weeks, and a lot of different players have had very good performances
on the mound. Mark Appel got a win over a conference opponent last
Friday, which was important for a guy who only had one win as a Friday
starter, mostly by virtue of going up against great pitchers like
Vanderbilt’s Sonny Gray and Texas’ Taylor Jungmann. I fully expect
Jordan Pries and Dean McArdle to bounce back from their losses this
weekend – they have both done it before – but getting Appel over the
hump with a win was very important.

Out of the bullpen, the story has been the tale of two lefties, with
Scott Snodgress not playing particularly well over the last few weeks
and Chris Reed becoming a dominant performer. Snodgress’ ERA has risen
to 3.48, while Reed’s ERA in the last three weeks is just below 1.00.
Reed’s four saves lead the team, and he pitched two perfect innings on
Tuesday to get a win against Pacific.

While pitching has got their side of the job done, the Cardinal
offense has fizzled lately. Stanford has score six runs in their last
three games, a surprising result for a team that clobbered Washington
State for 22 runs two weeks ago.

Kenny Diekroger

Especially puzzling was shortstop Kenny Diekroeger’s silent bat last
weekend at USC, as he went just 2-for-12 in the series after he came
in hitting .422 – the second best batting average in the Pac-10. Of
course, Diekroeger’s struggles could just be a larger issue with the
Trojans – he went 2-for-11 against USC in a weekend series at home
last year.

If the Cardinal wish to improve as it heads into the heart of the
Pac-10 schedule, it must show better plate discipline. Stanford hit
into four double plays in Tuesday’s game against Pacific, and
strikeouts have plagued the lineup. Highly touted freshman Austin
Wilson now leads the Pac-10 with 30 strikeouts, and centerfielder Jake
Stewart and designated hitter Ben Clowe both have 26 whiffs.
One bright spot has been senior catcher Zach Jones, who has 15 RBI
since March 29th, and has brought in runners in eight of the last ten
games.

Click Here to read more on this and other big weekend series around the country.

* Look for first hand insight and analysis from this Pac-10 series next week on Collegebaseball360.com!

Click this link to find out how to save 50-75% on college baseball caps and 2010 College World Series gear and memorabilia at Dugouthats.com!!

Another sign that the 2011 college baseball season will soon be underway is media day sessions with head coaches around the country. Oregon State’s Pat Casey, winner of back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007, held his media day recently in Corvallis.

Casey covered a wide range of topics and we edited things down to some really good ones. In this podcast Casey covers things like complacency among some of his players, the new bat standards in college baseball this season, competition in the always touch Pac 10 Conference, and leadership.

If you coach or play at the high school level or below, or you’ll want to hear what Casey has to say about leadership from former Beavers (and current Major Leaguers) like Jacoby Ellsbury and Cole Gillespie.

Casey

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UCLA Picked By Conference Coaches…

Oregon State is the final Pac 10 school to release its 2011 college baseball schedule. The Beavers open their season February 18-20 in Fresno, CA with two games each against host Fresno State and Gonzaga.

CLICK HERE to see the complete 2011 Oregon State baseball schedule.

A four-game series against Hartford that starts on March 4 is OSU’s first home action of the season. The Beavers also host Oregon on March 8 in non-conference action.

The Beavers play three games at Long Beach State March 18-20 and also host a three-game series with UC Santa Barbara March 25-27. Both schools hail from the Big West Conference.

Oregon State opens Pac 10 play when they visit Arizona April 1-3. Other conference road series are at Stanford, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon. OSU hosts Arizona State, Washington State, California, and USC in conference action. The Civil War series against the Ducks closes the regular season May 27-29 in Eugene, OR.

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Most of the talk surrounding Cal baseball this fall has been of the team’s impending demise, but Dave Esquer’s Golden Bears have released their 2011 schedule. Cal opens the season February 18-20 by hosting a three-game series with Utah. That set is followed by a Feb. 22 non-conference game at arch rival Stanford.

CLICK HERE to see the complete 2011 Cal baseball schedule.

After a home game vs. Santa Clara on March 8 Cal heads to nearby San Francisco to play in the AT&T Tournament with games on March 11 & 12. The entire field for the event is yet to be announced.

A home game vs. San Francisco on March 16 is followed by a three-game set vs. Ohio State March 18-20, followed by a March 21 home game against Nevada.

Cal opens Pac 10 play by hosting Washington State March 25-27. Other conference home series are against USC, Arizona State, Oregon, and Stanford. Road Pac 10 series are at Arizona, Washington, Oregon State, and 2010 College World Series runner-up UCLA.

The Golden Bears are one of a record eight Pac 10 teams that qualified for the 2010 NCAA Baseball Tournament.

Click Here to see more 2011 college baseball schedules

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The stretch drive of the college baseball season is coming, and conference races are heating up.  In this podcast CB 360 Editor Sean Stires talks with our West Coast correspondent, Chase Titleman from Road2rosenblatt.com, about teams like Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona, UCLA and how their NCAA hopes are looking.  Will the Pac 10 get more than five NCAA bids for the first time ever?

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!

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OSU’s Peavey Wins Duel With UCLA’s Cole

#24 Greg Peavey is congratulated after OSU's win (Chase Titleman photo)

Many of the baseball experts around the country have voiced their opinion that the Beavers, with a struggling hitting line-up and a pitching staff frantically trying to stay healthy, would stand very little chance against the hot-hitting bats and powerful arms of the Bruins.

Think again folks, the experts were wrong.

RHP Greg Peavey pitched a complete game 2 hitter, with 7 strike-outs as Oregon State once again used its uncanny formula of outstanding pitching, phenomenal defense and timely hitting to shock the Bruins, 4-1 in the first game of a key PAC-10 series that could have regional and super-regional implications on the road to Omaha.

UCLA’s counter-part, RHP Gerrit Cole (2.49 ERA, 6-0) added to his league leading 61 strike-outs, garnering 9 more on the night, but after a 30 pitch first inning by Cole energized the Beaver dugout and the 2,500 rabid fans in attendance, the first inning momentum swing was an ominous sign of more misfortune to come for UCLA.

Cole started the game strong by striking out Oregon State lead off hitter Adalberto Santos on five pitches, but then proceeded to throw 9 straight balls out of the strike zone, culminating in three walks, sandwiched around a hit batter, and Gerrit forced in the first run of the game without a ball touching a Beaver bat.

Although Cole struggled in doing so, he proceeded to strike out the next two batters to end the threat, but he never really got control of his secondary pitches on the night, the slider in particular.

UCLA, the hot-hitting offensive team of the two entering the game, never had a chance to get started as Adalberto Santos ran down two deep fly balls hit by (SS) Niko Gallego and (3B) Cody Regis that were caught as he banged into the outfield wall in right-center field.

UCLA suffered its third loss of the season and the last week Friday.

Santos, together with middle infielders Carter Bell (SS) and Keith Jennette (2B) were busy on the night recording 12 of Peavey’s 27 outs.  Overall, including the 7 strikeouts, only 6 balls left the infield all night, a rather uncharacteristic effort by what has been a fantastic Bruin offense this season.

While Cole continued to struggle with his pitch count most of the evening (he threw 120 pitches in 6 complete innings) the Bruins ran themselves out of a potential game changing big-inning in the 4th as (2B) Tyler Rahmatulla walked after (CF) Beau Amaral lined out sharply to left to lead off the inning.

Left-handed hitting (1B) Justin Uribe hit a perfectly executed opposite field hit and run through the six hole as Oregon State (SS) Carter Bell was covering the bag, and with one out in the inning, the Bruins were in business.

Peavey dug himself a bigger hole when he walked the next batter, (LF) Cody Keefer to load the bases.

Then, disaster struck for UCLA, further cementing an ominous tone for the Bruins in the first game of the series.

(3B) Cody Regis hit a fairly deep fly-ball to left-center, which scored Rahmatulla from third base on the sacrifice fly, but for whatever reason, Justin Uribe failed to advance all the way to third base after initially starting out for the bag, and Keefer kept running with his head down from first, assuming Uribe was headed to third.

By the time the two realized they both occupied second base, the ball was already in the infield and Uribe was tagged out by OSU (3B) Stefen Romero.

Inning over and the wave of momentum the Beavers were steadily building through the middle part of the game would soon crest over.

From here on out, the wind went out of the Bruin’s sail as they had just one other runner on the base paths the rest of the evening as Peavey retired 15 of the next sixteen UCLA hitters, getting six of his 7 strike-outs during the span of five scoreless innings through the middle portion of the game.

Although the hard-throwing right-hander from Vancouver (WA) struggled with a 24-pitch first inning and a 20-pitch fourth inning, he never threw more than 11 pitches in innings number 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

This in itself was the story line of the game.

In talking with OSU Associate Head Coach Marty Lees before the game, he mentioned that UCLA’s strength this year was their ability to run the count deep and work a walk, where in years past they were largely an overly aggressive first ball hitting team that could be fished in to hitting pitchers pitches.

The ability to run the count deep has improved the team batting average and on-base percentage as it has forced Bruin opponents into using their bullpen sooner than anticipated, which has helped the Bruin batting averages in the process as they force the starters off the bump and get deep into the pen.

But on this night, the tables were turned.

Oddly enough, the statement by Lee’s proved prophetical, as the Bruins let Peavey off the hook in the middle innings by reverting back to old form, swinging at the first pitch and hitting a rather large number of balls into the “Field Turf,” which plays into Oregon State’s strength.

The Beavers stole the momentum and the game in the process.

The big blow for the Beavers occurred in the seventh as light hitting (RF) Michael Miller, who was hitting a meager .193 entering the game, hit a line drive opposite field double down the right-field line and OSU had a man in scoring position to lead off the inning.

On a 1-2 pitch, (3B) Stefen Romero (.326) was plunked by LHH relief pitcher Mitchell Beacom (3.75, 1-0) on an inside fastball, which prompted Oregon State head coach Pat Casey to pinch-hit bunt specialist Andy Quiring for Danny Hayes, an odd move since Hayes was hitting .353 entering the game, but Casey obviously felt the lefty-lefty match-up with the bunt in order was not in OSU’s best interest.

However, on the first pitch to Quiring, the Beavers caught another break as Beacom drilled the second batter of the inning, this time an inside breaking ball, to load the bases.

This prompted UCLA head coach John Savage to pull Beacom after just 12 pitches, bringing in RHP Eric Goedell (3.15, 2-0)

The Beavers had the right man in the right spot as the rally train sounded its horn coming through the campus area next to the ballpark in Corvallis, and (C) Parker Berberet launched a 2-1 fastball into left center for a double, driving in all three base runners on base.

This had been a tradition at Oregon State for years and it is uncanny how many times the Beavers start a game changing rally after the rally train rolls through town, tooting its horn.

The horn was right on cue for the Beavers tonight and with a win in game two tomorrow, the Beavers can begin to toot their horn around the country in their drive to get back to the Dog pile in Omaha.