Jonathan L. Bowen
06-24-2007, 11:19 PM
I'll make this a little more on topic, in a very sad attempt -- I wish I could have had a RED to record the Beavers in Omaha this year, that'd have been awesome, I'd make my own little documentary or something ;)
I'm an OSU alumni and very proud of the Beavers for successfully defending their national title and becoming the first team in a decade to win back-to-back College World Series titles. I really got into college baseball last year when this upstart OSU team nobody gave a chance did the impossible -- they won a record six straight elimination games, sometimes using pitchers who had no rest for long stretches, and they upset all of the big powerhouses en route to the first national championship in school history, the first-ever title from a team facing six elimination games, and the first baseball title for a team in a cold weather state in 50 years. I was very proud of those guys, it was like a Disney story, you just never see that happen. They were even down 5-0 in the middle of the 2nd game of a best of three series (down 1-0 in the series) to UNC, and they came back to win, forcing a game three, then they won that, too.
This year, it was harder at the start, and easier after. OSU had a 28-3 non-conference record, but faced a tough conference in the PAC-10 with ASU playing so well, and they finished 10-14 in conference play. If not for beating UCLA 2 of 3 at the end of the year, they wouldn't have received an invite to the NCAA tournament of 64 teams. They won their first game, lost their second to Virginia, then came through the loser's bracket to beat Virginia twice in a row. They made it back to the College World Series again, for the third year running, and played a close game against Cal State Fullerton, but that was the last close game they'd have. They crushed Arizona, then they crushed UC Irvine, and then they played UNC for the National Championship, best of three, and beat them down badly 11-4 the first game, and today won a second consecutive title by battering them 9-3 again.
They are the first team in history to win a title with a losing conference record, but during the CWS they trailed just 1 inning out of 45 and were undefeated at 5-0. They are also the first team to repeat in a decade, and just the fifth team in history. It's very hard in this sport, they lost all but 2 of their position players and their top 3 starters plus their closer. But none of that mattered, they made it back, and they won again.
And now people nationwide know that last year was not a fluke. OSU has the premiere baseball program in the nation right now. It's great for me being from Oregon because let's face it, there's not a lot to cheer for up there, the Blazers have been a joke for a while now, if you go up further, the Sonics are even more of a joke, the Mariners suck and have never won anything, the Seahawks have mostly been mediocre every year but finally had a great year, and they get boned. Basically the Ducks (football and basketball) are the most fun we have, getting to see them do fairly well every year. But now the Beavers have given us a winner and a sport that they dominate playing. Players who grow up in the Pacific Northwest now are not going to say, "Well, I could go to OSU, but screw it, I'll go down to Southern Cal, there are all kinds of great schools there where I can play." Now they will say, "I know if I want to win, and I want to play for a great team, I'm going to OSU, where the last two championship trophies are held."
I have a feeling we'll be back again next year. Winning three in a row would be extremely improbable, but everything about OSU's run has been improbable, so you never know! With the pitching talent they have in Reyes, a freshman, and others, there's definitely a future, though, and I see them returning to defend the title.
I'm an OSU alumni and very proud of the Beavers for successfully defending their national title and becoming the first team in a decade to win back-to-back College World Series titles. I really got into college baseball last year when this upstart OSU team nobody gave a chance did the impossible -- they won a record six straight elimination games, sometimes using pitchers who had no rest for long stretches, and they upset all of the big powerhouses en route to the first national championship in school history, the first-ever title from a team facing six elimination games, and the first baseball title for a team in a cold weather state in 50 years. I was very proud of those guys, it was like a Disney story, you just never see that happen. They were even down 5-0 in the middle of the 2nd game of a best of three series (down 1-0 in the series) to UNC, and they came back to win, forcing a game three, then they won that, too.
This year, it was harder at the start, and easier after. OSU had a 28-3 non-conference record, but faced a tough conference in the PAC-10 with ASU playing so well, and they finished 10-14 in conference play. If not for beating UCLA 2 of 3 at the end of the year, they wouldn't have received an invite to the NCAA tournament of 64 teams. They won their first game, lost their second to Virginia, then came through the loser's bracket to beat Virginia twice in a row. They made it back to the College World Series again, for the third year running, and played a close game against Cal State Fullerton, but that was the last close game they'd have. They crushed Arizona, then they crushed UC Irvine, and then they played UNC for the National Championship, best of three, and beat them down badly 11-4 the first game, and today won a second consecutive title by battering them 9-3 again.
They are the first team in history to win a title with a losing conference record, but during the CWS they trailed just 1 inning out of 45 and were undefeated at 5-0. They are also the first team to repeat in a decade, and just the fifth team in history. It's very hard in this sport, they lost all but 2 of their position players and their top 3 starters plus their closer. But none of that mattered, they made it back, and they won again.
And now people nationwide know that last year was not a fluke. OSU has the premiere baseball program in the nation right now. It's great for me being from Oregon because let's face it, there's not a lot to cheer for up there, the Blazers have been a joke for a while now, if you go up further, the Sonics are even more of a joke, the Mariners suck and have never won anything, the Seahawks have mostly been mediocre every year but finally had a great year, and they get boned. Basically the Ducks (football and basketball) are the most fun we have, getting to see them do fairly well every year. But now the Beavers have given us a winner and a sport that they dominate playing. Players who grow up in the Pacific Northwest now are not going to say, "Well, I could go to OSU, but screw it, I'll go down to Southern Cal, there are all kinds of great schools there where I can play." Now they will say, "I know if I want to win, and I want to play for a great team, I'm going to OSU, where the last two championship trophies are held."
I have a feeling we'll be back again next year. Winning three in a row would be extremely improbable, but everything about OSU's run has been improbable, so you never know! With the pitching talent they have in Reyes, a freshman, and others, there's definitely a future, though, and I see them returning to defend the title.