Oregon State Ready to Begin Title Defense

You can hear the game live in the Salem-area on 1490 KBZY AM.

The Beavers hit the field for practice. Photo: OSU Athletics

(OMAHA, Neb.) - Oregon State’s baseball team spent Friday morning getting in a final practice for its College World Series opener, then the Beavers had the rest of the day free to enjoy the Omaha hoopla that surrounds college baseball’s biggest event every June.

On Saturday, OSU (44-18 overall) will begin its third straight appearance in the College World Series when it takes on Cal State-Fullerton (38-23) at 4:00 PM PDT.

Freshman righthander Jorge Reyes will get the pitching start for the Beavers.

Saturday’s game will be televised on ESPN, and all of the Beavers’ CWS games can be heard on KEJO-AM (1240) in the Corvallis area, KUIK-AM (1360) in the Portland area, KKNX-AM (840) in the Eugene area, KBZY-AM (1490) in the Salem area, KICE-AM (940) in the Bend area, KMED-AM (1440) in the Medford area, KRNR-AM (1490) in the Roseburg area, KNPT-AM (1310) in the Newport area, KAGO-AM (1150) in the Klamath Falls area and KODL-AM (1440) in The Dalles area, and KTIX-AM (1240) in the Pendleton area.

On Friday morning, the Beavers worked out for about two hours at Bellevue East High School in front of several dozen fans. A steak feed that had been scheduled has been bumped back to Sunday, so OSU’s players, coaches and staff were on their own for the afternoon.

“I like being here,” Oregon State catcher Mitch Canham said. “Even if we had a few more days to practice before our first game, I wouldn’t mind because I get to enjoy the atmosphere longer. I wouldn’t mind being here for several months out of the year just because of the situation we’re in. You can’t beat being here.

“The day after you leave, you get home and we were celebrating (the 2006 national championship) in downtown Portland and Corvallis, and the next day we were saying, ‘I can’t wait to get back.’ There’s not a day in the year we don’t think about being here.”

Canham’s recommendation to his teammates visiting for the first time was the Henry Doorly Zoo, located just beyond the rightfield fence of Rosenblatt Stadium.

“The gorillas are tight,” Canham said. “The dome that is the desert exhibit is sweet, too. Check it out.”

Second baseman Joey Wong is one of the Beavers in Omaha for the first time, but he had another obligation to get out of the way before sightseeing.

“It’s been great,” Wong said. “We’ve been treated real well. I’m just going back to the hotel now and get some rest, do my chemistry final and watch some games on TV.”

After OSU’s practice on a warm, hazy morning, Beaver head coach Pat Casey was asked if the atmosphere surrounding this year’s team is different than it had been the past two seasons.

“I really don’t know – we’ll find out,” Casey said. “I really feel like when the guys come back here, they need to enjoy the atmosphere, because that’s part of the College World Series. When we cross the white lines Saturday at 6 o’clock (CDT), I fully expect them to be ready to go – just like today; practice was nothing but business.

“Now we’ll go look at some film and have a meeting, and after that they’re going to have some free time to enjoy what goes on at the College World Series.”

Have OSU’s CWS veterans clued in the newcomers about what to expect?

“I’m sure they’ve talked to them about it,” Casey said. “That’s one thing about locker rooms – sometimes they close the doors and keep the coaches out, and that’s where the leaders talk to them about what it’s all about and what they expect, and we’ve got great leadership.”