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.

As the season progress we will be doing more and more podcasts with people around the country who cover college baseball.  Our first one is with a new collaborator with our site, Chase Titleman from Road2rosenblatt.com.  Chase is a former college baseball player who is passionate about the sport.  His latest effort is something he calls the Key Stats Indicators-KSI Rankings Index.

Segment #1 of this podcast goes into detail on the system that combines current stats to rank the teams.  CLICK HERE to see it all broken down.  Chase has also had the chance to see several West Coast teams this year, and in segment two we talk about them.

To receive alerts when this and other exclusive audio is posted, and to access it on your mobile phone click the LEXY icon on the “College Baseball 360″ audio player above out Twitter feed on the right of this page.

Chase

Segment #1

Chase2

Segment #2

CLICK HERE for Chase’s preview of this weekend’s Oregon State-UCLA Pac 10 showdown.

A Team By Team Look At This Weekend’s Games

Collegebaseball360.com has recently teamed-up with Road2rosenblatt.com to help bring you even more great college baseball information.  Chase Titleman has a look at this weekend’s Pac 10 games as well as team capsules.  Following are a few of the capsules.  CLICK HERE to see more.

P.S.-Chase and I will record a Podcast later today to talk about his new Key Stats Indicator ratings index as well as several west coast teams.

Arizona

• After leading Oregon 8-3 with two outs in the Top of the 6th Inning two weeks ago, the Cats have dropped 4 straight, ending what was once a 15 game winning streak.

• Cats lead the PAC in Team Batting Average (.358), Runs Scored (247) and Total Bases (500)…WOW!

• C – Jett Bandy leads conference in batting average (.450) and is tied for 1st in total bases (77), followed by Steve Selsky (.433), Robert Refsnyder (.423) and Seth Mejias-Brean (.396).  Joey Rickard is 2nd in conference in RBI’s with 34.

• Kurt Heyer (2.08 ERA, 4-0) leads the pitching staff with 50 strike-outs and just 7 base on balls.

Arizona State

• Recent 24 game win streak is a program record for a start to the season, but only the 2nd longest overall behind the 1972 record of 32 in a row.

• SS Drew Maggi was named PAC-10 Player of the Week after going 6-13 against Oregon (.462).

• Pitching staff is led by starters Jake Borup (2.43 ERA, 6-0) , Seth Blair (3.12 ERA, 5-0) and Merrill Kelly (3.52 ERA, 6-0), while relievers Mitchell Lambson (1.48 ERA, 41K’s/8BB’s), Jake Barrett (4.50 ERA, 28K’s/5BB’s) & Jordan Swagerty (0.93 ERA, 25K’s/7BB’s) shine in closing roles.

UCLA

• Bruins lead the PAC in ERA (2.32), Strike-outs (293) and Opponent Batting Average (.191).

• So. RHP Gerrit Cole leads conference in opponent batting average (.157) and strike-outs (61), while Sr. RHP Garett Claypool has the best ERA (1.21).

• Tyler Rahmatulla & Dean Espy both lead the Bruins with .422 AVE, followed by Justin Uribe .403, and Blair Dunlap .394!  Every starter in the starting line-up is hitting .300 or better.

• Suffered 2nd loss of the season to Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday after Jordan Pries of Stanford shut down the Bruins on Saturday.  The 23-2 record is the best start in school history.

READ MORE!

(Front page viewer photo courtesy Chase Titleman.)

Passion Buckets Full Of Baseball And Final Four

April is here, and my Passion Bucket is overflowing.  For those who’ve never heard of a Passion Bucket, it’s a term that was coined by UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel and made popular on the Dan Patrick Radio Show.  It’s also a term that was used by Cornell basketball player Ryan Wittman prior to last week’s Sweet 16 basketball match-up with Kentucky.

Wittman’s use of the term stirred-up some unwarranted controversy when John Feinstein took it to mean “we’re the smart kids”.   Turned out Wittman’s coach, Steve Donohue,  had just told him to drop the “Passion Bucket” during the presser at Patrick’s request.  Turns out Passion Bucket just stands for how much enthusiasm or excitement you have for something, and mine is overflowing with thoughts of college baseball and the Final Four…and even how they run together…

Brad Stevens

Butler’s in the Final Four.  How cool is that?  Their home floor, Hinkle Fieldhouse, is where the movie Hoosiers was filmed.  The college baseball equal would be Creighton making it to the College World Series.  Wait…that happened in 1991.  Butler’s coach, Brad Stevens, is home grown, just like Brian O’Connor, who pitched at the Series for the Blue Jays in ’91 and who took Virginia to Omaha last year.  Stevens looks so young he gets mistaken for the water boy, but he’s worked his way up the ladder since starting as Butler’s Coordinator of Basketball Operations ten years ago.  By the way, Minnesota Twins reliever Pat Neshek played college ball at Butler.

Tom Izzo is a guy you just have to respect.  He’s taken Michigan State to six Final Fours in 12 years.  His teams grind out possessions and games like a Polish lady with big forearms grinds out Kielbasa.  It got me thinking…what’s Michigan State’s college baseball counterpart?  I’m going with Texas:  Walk, sac bunt, infield hit, 4-3 RBI…Augie Garrido’s great pitching and small ball approach is college baseball’s answer to Izzo’s Spartans.  Augie’s obviously had some success at it too.  And how about Jake Boss, Jr.’s MSU baseball team?  At 16-4,  his Spartans open Big Ten play vs. Iowa this weekend with the best record in the conference.

Speaking of Texas, the Longhorns (18-7) leave their home state for the first time this season when they visit Oklahoma this weekend.  Texas has played road games at Rice and Texas Tech with three neutral site games at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

Arizona State (23-0) and UCLA (21-0) are the only two remaining unbeaten Division One teams in college baseball.

Merrill Kelly

The Sun Devils visit Oregon this weekend in their second Pac 10 series, while UCLA hosts Stanford in it conference opener.  The most amazing thing to me about ASU’s unblemished record is the fact they’ve done it without Josh Spence (10-1, 2.37 ERA in ’09) throwing one pitch so far this year.  The Aussie has been out all year with an arm injury, but his teammates have more than picked-up the slack.  Sophomore Jake Borup pitched all of 8.0 innings last year, but he’s 5-0, while juco transfer Merrill Kelly is tied for the national lead at 6-0.  Meanwhile, Gerrit Cole (6-0, 2.63 ERA) and Trevor Bauer (5-0, 2.33 ERA) have lived-up to their expectations at UCLA.  Both teams have off the charts talent and numbers in the line-up.  Too bad they don’t meet until the end of the month.  Oh, if you want to read a good rant on these teams and the national rankings check out what Chase Titleman has to say at Road2rosenblatt.com!

Who’s been impersonating as the three Conference USA teams that went to at least a Super Regional last year?  Last year’s CWS Cinderella, Southern Mississippi (14-9) , has lost five of its last seven games, including losing two of three last week to UAB.  East Carolina (17-9) just bludgeoned North Carolina Central by a combined 65-12 last weekend, but they just lost a 15-13 slug fest to UNC Wilmington and had losses to Monmouth and High Point.  ECU opens C-USA play this weekend vs. Tulane and then heads to Memphis next week.  Speaking of Memphis, the Tigers took two of three from Rice (14-12) last week for their first ever series win over the Owls, which are falling out of the polls with losses in five of their last eight games.  All three C-USA teams have played tough opponents, all three have hit in spots and consistent pitching has eluded all three as well.

Joe Godri

Villanova (17-4) is off to its best start since head coach Joe Godri arrived in 2002.  The Wildcats have a tough task ahead of them this weekend if they want to keep it going.  Godri’s ‘Cats will be “big game hunting” when they travel to Louisville (21-3) for their second Big East series of the season.  Godri has a tradition of plastering the logo of top-caliber teams his team has beaten on his office wall, and just one win at Louisville this weekend would go a long way.  Wildcats Justin Bencsko (.485) and Matt Szczur (.500) have names that are hard to pronounce, but they’re among the nation’s hitting leaders.  Louisville’s Thomas Royse (5-0, 1.42 ERA) and Neil Holland (4-0, 0.42 ERA, 6 SVs) might be the best pitchers they’ll face this season.

That series and many others start on Thursday this weekend due to Easter coming this Sunday.  Here’s hoping your Easter Baskets and Passion Buckets are full!