Oregon State Wraps Up Fall Baseball Practices

Sophomore right-hander Jorge Reyes returned for his second year after earning College World Series Most Valuable Player honors last season.

Greg Peavey Photo courtesy: OSU Athletics

CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Oregon State baseball team wrapped up its fall practices on Wednesday, working out under sunny skies and slightly cold temperatures at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.

The team spent the final practice split into two squads for a final scrimmage.

The Beavers had been practicing as a team since Sept. 17, when the two-time defending national champions took the field at Goss for the first time in the fall. The six-week span of workouts – as allowed by NCAA rules -- were held in preparation for the 2008 season. Oregon State is slated to open the campaign in late February. Practices begin earlier that month.

“We got a lot accomplished,” Oregon State head coach Pat Casey said. “We had a lot of young guys play. We had some fun here at the end. We let a couple of the older guys draft a couple teams and play.

“It’s time for us to get to individual work and spend some time on the smaller things. We saw what we needed to see and had a chance to watch everyone play. We got to see guys play multiple positions and pitchers throw in starting roles and relief roles. It was good for us to see what we have and what we need to do to get to be the club we want to be.”

During the fall, the club scrimmaged a majority of days during the fall, including holding the Orange and Black World Series the week leading up to the end of practices. The black and gray squads tied the series, 2-2-1.

In mid-October, Oregon State players, coaches and staff got out of the town for the weekend to play in front of the team’s fans in central and southern Oregon.

The Beavers scrimmaged in front of almost 1,800 fans at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend on Oct. 13. The following day, the team headed to Klamath Falls for another scrimmage.

Oregon State welcomed back senior right-handed pitcher Mike Stutes, who was drafted in the ninth round of the 2007 MLB Draft by St. Louis but did not sign.

Sophomore right-hander Jorge Reyes returned for his second year after earning College World Series Most Valuable Player honors last season.

Senior first baseman Jordan Lennerton manned first base during the fall, while sophomore infielder Joey Wong, junior outfielder John Wallace and senior center fielder Chris Hopkins all returned after starting last season.

The Beavers also welcomed a highly-touted recruiting class to campus in the fall. Beginning their first seasons with Oregon State are middle infielder Garrett Nash (Draper, Utah) and first baseman Brandon Hayes (Eugene, Ore.).

The Beavers went deep on pitching with the class, picking up left-handed pitchers Tanner Robles (Murray, Utah) and Josh Osich (Boise, Idaho) and right-handers Greg Peavey (Vancouver, Wash.) and Kevin Rhoderick (Scottsdale, Ariz.).

Source: OSU Athletics

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