2005 — http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8573

2006 — http://hdl.handle.net/1957/9379

2007 — http://hdl.handle.net/1957/9378

This list was compiled by Kip Carlson and Paul Andresen from many sources, including yearbooks, media guides, athletic department records and correspondence, newspaper microfilm, and the Oregon Stater (alumni magazine). It is certainly not a complete list of everyone who wore the uniform, nor can it be assumed to be a complete list of lettermen, as some records are missing or incomplete. While not perfect, it should include anyone who saw a reasonable amount of playing time for OSU.

The list gives player’s name (last and first in columns A-B), year played (column C), position (column D); year in school (column E) and hometown and high school (column F).

Games Played (listed by Opponent)

As Kip Carlson and Paul Andresen began delving into OSU’s baseball past in the mid-1990s, it quickly became apparent that no accurate list existed of all of the games played. Some games were reported inaccurately; others were missing all together. Over the years, those holes have been filled in, and today we’re pretty confident that the list is complete.The chronological list shows running totals for team’s record at any point in each particular season as well as their overall record since 1907. If you wanted to know that in 1918 the 10-game schedule consisted entirely of games against Willamette and the Ducks, or that the 1962 team began the season with an 18-0 record, this table is the place to look.The games played (by opponent) list shows running totals by year and overall against every team that OSU has ever played. When a college’s name changes, as many have over the years, games are listed by their present name. If you wanted to know that until the 2006 College World Series, North Carolina and OSU had never met or that when the Ducks quit playing baseball after the 1981 season, OSU owned a 151-145 edge, this table will tell you that and more.

The lists give the date of the game (year in column A and month/day, when known, in column B); game number that year and overall (columns C-D); opponent (column E); home/away/neutral site (column F); win/loss (column G); score (OSU in column H and opponent in column I).

The chronological table lists the win-loss-tie record for season to date (columns K-L-M); for 1907 to date (columns N-O-P); and for conference season to date (columns Q-R-S).

The opponent table lists the win-loss-tie record versus that opponent for the season to date (columns K-L-M) and for 1907 to date (columns N-O-P).

Planning for the project began in the spring of 2005 before the OSU baseball team made its first trip to the College World Series in more than 50 years (since 1952). The 2006 team’s run to the National Championship provided new energy for the project. The project staff knew that OSU baseball, as the reigning National Champions, would receive significant attention from fans and the media in 2007.

The Archives’ baseball-related photographs are scattered in many different collections and had been poorly described or un-identified. This project brings the images together in one “virtual” collection and provides enhanced descriptions. OSU Sports Information has provided more recent images (especially of the 2005 and 2006 teams) and other images that are not part of the Archives collections.

In the course of the project, more than 1500 baseball images were identified in the Archives’ collections, almost double the number we expected.

This project includes several features not previously used in OSU Libraries digital projects:

• Narrative content is provided through a blog allowing users to add comments.
• Streaming video of several films of OSU baseball is available from within both the media and narrative components of the site.
• Extensive descriptions are provided for many of the images on the site.

Many OSU Libraries staff contributed to this project: Linda Kathman, Sue Kunda, and Terry Reese in the Digital Production Unit; Larry Landis and Elizabeth Nielsen in the University Archives; Reid Parham in Library Technology, who designed the site; and many student assistants who scanned photographs and other items.

Kip Carlson in OSU Sports Information provided images and text for the site and supported the project from its inception as a way to honor the rich history of OSU baseball.

The OSU Libraries and OSU Sports Information especially acknowledge the yeoman service of Paul Andresen as a volunteer on this project. Paul’s extensive knowledge of and enthusiasm for OSU baseball history and his tenacity in tracking down all manner of details about players, teams, and games are reflected in the detailed descriptions he prepared to accompany many of the images and the essays about various aspects of OSU baseball history which he wrote for the site.

DVDs of the films and videos on this site can be ordered by contacting the University Archives through the Ask an Archivist page. The approximate cost is $25 per DVD.

View game 1 - second part.

View game 2.

The doubleheader versus Washington State University at Coleman Field on May 21, 1983 was televised on KBVR-TV, with Ken Shafer and Mark Snider announcing. The original footage is recorded on 5 3/4″ videotapes.

The 1983 team, defending Pacific 10 Northern Division champions, ended the regular season with a nine-game winining streak including a doubleheader sweep of Washington State University on May 21 at Coleman Field, to capture its second consecutive division crown.

A record 3100 fans jammed Coleman Field on Fan Appreciation Day to watch Jeff Reece hurl OSU to a 2-1 extra-inning victory in game one. WSU entered the final day of the seasonal series and the division title, but the Cougars suffered a tail-chopping 14-5 defeat in game two and cancelled their post-season travel plans.

From 1983 Beaver yearbook, p. 214.

This footage of Coach Jack Riley (20) with a wireless microphone was shot at the April 7, 1982 game versus Portland State University at Coleman Field. This was the Northern Division league opener for both teams. The Beavers won 5-4 in ten innings. The innings are not identified on the footage, but include the following:

Inning A (Beavers at bat)

• Pat Shaw (14) flies out
• Jeff Myers (6) single
• Todd Thomas flies out
• Myers is thrown out trying to steal second, with Mickey Riley (2) at the plate

Inning B (Beavers at bat)

• Mickey Riley (2) at bat
• Bill Gassaway (8) at bat
• Jim Wilson (22) fly out

Inning C (Beavers in the field)

• Mike Gorman (21) pitching
• Jim Wilson (22) making a putout at first

The original footage is 3/4″ videotape that is extensively degraded. The length is about 9 minutes.

The original film is 16 mm color silent and is about eleven minutes long.

View film.

This was the first game of a double header played on May 10, 1975, with the Beavers winning 6-5 in ten innings. OSU also took the nightcap 11-7. These were the last regularly scheduled games of the conference season. OSU finished in a tie with Washington State for the Northern Division title, and a one-game playoff ensued in Pullman the following Wednesday, with the Cougars prevailing 6-4. OSU finished the season with a 28-10-1 record. Assuming that the film is in chronological order, all the action takes place from the eighth inning on. Pat Barry, pitching in relief, was the winning pitcher in each game of the double-header.

Postscript: Rowe, who had no hits in his last 20 AB’s, singled in Merrill for the winning run. Merrill was a JV player, who Riley had grabbed at the last minute as a roster fill-in.

Prepared by Paul Andresen; October 1, 2006.

This short clip from the 1925 film The Old Grad Comes Back shows the members of the 1925 Northwest Conference champions playing pepper on the lawn near Waldo Hall.

This is a b/w silent film. The length is 14 sec.

Prothro happened by baseball practice one day, and Rich mysteriously became convinced that he should really be at spring football practice.

Paul Andresen: 2/22/2007

The other links:

Mickey Riley, son of Pat Casey’s predecessor, Jack Riley, played for his father on the 1980-1983 editions of the Beavers.

Lou Tanselli, son of Jack Riley’s predecessor Gene Tanselli played for the Beavers from 1979 to 1981. Lou played for Riley, not his father.

Ralph Coleman, Jr. played for his father on the 1952-1954 teams. Additionally, Ralph Sr.’s brother Ed Coleman played for Oregon Agricultural College in 1924, and was the second player from Oregon State to make it to the major leagues.

Slats Gill, the coach from 1932-1937 didn’t have a son playing for the Beavers, but did have a future son-in-law. Beaver first baseman Bob Christianson (1948-1950) married Jane Gill, Slats’ daughter.

Norb Wellman, who pitched in 1952-1954, married Ann Ridings, daughter of Red Ridings, Beaver shortstop and captain of the 1925 team. The Wellmans continue to be active supporters of Beaver baseball.

Another father-son act to perform at Coleman field was Tom Bowen (1956-1958) and son Ken (1984-1987).

Brothers Bob and Jim Beall both played for the Beavers, overlapping by one year, Bob played from 1968 to 1970, and Jim from 1970 to 1972. Bob went on to a successful major league career, but is remembered locally for playing third base left-handed for the Beavers.

Terry Baker’s older brother Gary played second base for the Beavers from 1959 to 1961.

Paul Andresen: 2/22/2007

It almost never happened.

Baker was a legendary athlete at Portland’s Jefferson High School, and was named 1st team all –state in football, basketball, and baseball.

In baseball, Baker led the Democrats to the 1959 Oregon state championship. The winning pitcher in the title game, Baker batted .438 on the season. Although a natural left-hander, (he played football and basketball that way) Baker was a right-handed pitcher on the diamond. He learned to throw and field right-handed when he inherited his older brothers’ hand-me-down right-handed gloves. Oddly, he other thing he did “right-handed” is punt the football.

Baker lettered three times in basketball, and led Jefferson to the Portland Interscholastic League city championship his senior year. He averaged 20 points as a junior and 18.8 as a senior, and was a two-time first-team all-state selection.

Playing quarterback and tailback on the gridiron, he helped lead the squad to back-to-back state championships and a combined 23-0 record. He was a great passer and runner but his statistics were somewhat tempered by the sheer talent on the team which included Mel Renfro, future University of Oregon and Dallas Cowboys standout It’s no wonder that Jefferson averaged better than 46 points per game during Baker’s senior season.

He accepted a scholarship to Oregon State to play basketball, and was a starting guard on some very good teams, including the 1963 outfit which made OSU’s last appearance in the Final Four. He had plans to play baseball, and had turned out for the Rook baseball team, but other plans were afoot, and due to early season rainouts, he never got into a game.

Tommy Prothro, Beaver head football coach, and as Baker describes him “a master psychologist”, had talked to Baker about football, even though Baker had not played on the Rook team. In those days, scholarship athletes also held part-time campus jobs, and Baker’s assigned tasks kept him around the football team. Members of the team urged him to give playing a thought then several of Baker’s fraternity brothers (also players) urged him to attend an innocuous team meeting. When he arrived and looked at the chalk board, he found himself listed as the #2 tailback. The rest, as they say, is history.

Terry Baker is the answer to a well-known trivia question as the only Heisman Trophy winner to also play in college basketball’s Final Four.

Paul Andresen: 2/22/2007

Ralph Coleman

• (b. Canby 1896, Canby HS, OAC)
• 35 seasons, 878 games
• 1923-1928,1930-1931,1938-1966
• 561-316-1
• .639

Jack Riley

• (b. Salem 1938, Grant HS, Linfield)
• 22 seasons, 1019 games
• 1973-1994
• 613-411-5
• .596

Pat Casey

• (b. McMinnville 1959, Newberg HS, U of Portland)
• 12 seasons, 648 games
• 1995-2006
• 391-253-4
• .603

All three also played minor league baseball in Oregon; Coleman and Casey for the Portland Beavers, and Riley for the Salem Senators.

Paul Andresen: 2/14/2007

Lest one think that Corvallis was any sort of picture of racial tolerance in those days, consider that the same issues of the OAC campus newspaper that covered the game also announced the upcoming faculty black-face minstrel show.

Paul Andresen: 2/13/2007

After a stint in the army, Hendry continued to play amateur ball in Oregon, and one day, out of the blue decided he wanted to be an umpire. He attended umpire school in 1969, then spent nine years working his way up through the minors, much as players do. In 1977, he made the final step and had a long big league career. Hendry is retired and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Paul Andresen: 2/13/2007

Today, with metal bats costing ten times or more the price of a wood bat and having finite lives, the economics of the situation is again being questioned, but the bat companies offer sufficient incentives and keep the cost of bats relatively cheap, which still matters in the budgetary constraints of the college game.

The chief complaint against metal bats is that they augment offense tremendously, as the ball comes off a metal bat much harder than is true of wood. This was especially so in the early days of metal bats, when offense (runs scored) jumped thirty percent between 1974 and 1985. In 1998, perhaps motivated by the football-like 21-14 score in the finale of the 1998 College World Series, the NCAA considerably tightened metal bat performance standards, and offenses have returned to more traditional levels.

With the encouragement of major league baseball and the NCAA, a number of “wood bat” summer baseball leagues for college players have sprung up around the country, patterned after the well-established Cape Cod League in Massachusetts. It’s an opportunity for good college players to step up in competition, and it allows major league scouts a chance to see how prospective players (pitchers and hitters both) react to the “wood game”, as there are no metal bats allowed anywhere in professional baseball. Beginning in the summer of 2007, just such a team, the Corvallis Knights will play in the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League, calling Goss Stadium at Coleman Field home.

Paul Andresen: 2/13/2007

Paul Andresen: 2/13/2007

In the bottom of the tenth, the Beavers tripled home a run with one out, but left the tying and winning runs stranded.

The game put the Ducks in first place in the Northern Division standings. It was not to last, however, as the Beavers took the pennant and went on to Oregon State’s first appearance at the College World Series.

Paul Andresen: 2/13/2007

Here are his selections for the Beaver all-star squad:

Catcher

Howard Maple (1927-1929), Mike Duffy (1921-1923)

Pitcher

Dick Young (1923-1925), Ed Coleman (1924), Al Brown (1930-1931), Fritz Tebb (1924-1925), Fred Nightingale (1929-1930), Ralph Coleman (1918)

First Base

Dick Wynne (1924-1925)

Second Base

Loris Baker (1924-1926), Bernie Hafenfeld (1926-1929), Russ McKennon (1928,1930-1931)

Third Base

Red Bouton (1929)

Shortstop

Red Ridings (1923-1925), Billy Quayle (1927-1929), Hughie McKenna (1921-1923)

Outfield

Wes Schulmerich (1925-1927), Art Escallier (1924-1926), John Siegrist (1924-1926), Red Ballard (1929-1931), Mush Torson (1928-1930), Bergan Belleville (1927-1929)

Paul Andresen: 2/13/2007

All three of these teams lost their final regular season conference game before heading to the post-season and the College World Series—in 1952, a 5-18 loss to the University of Oregon in Eugene; in 2005, a 2-12 loss to USC in Corvallis; and in 2006 a 1-3 loss to UCLA in Corvallis.

Paul Andresen: 2/13/2007

Thanks to some monks passing through The Dalles, Kasberger enrolled at Mount Angel College in 1915. He played basketball, football, and baseball there for two years, then transferred to OAC in the fall of 1917, a twenty-one year-old freshman. He was an active student leader and quite the “big man on campus”. Joe lettered in baseball in 1920, 1921, and 1922. He also played football and basketball for the Beavers and was fraternity brother of Spec Keene and Slats Gill.

After graduating in Linus Pauling’s 1922 class (with a perfect “straight-A” average, incidentally), Joe returned to Mount Angel to coach, staying until the school tragically burned to the ground in the fall of 1926. Kasberger found other coaching jobs in Oregon over the next three years before enrolling at Columbia University in January 1930 to pursue a Master’s degree. Discovering that the program would take longer than he had planned, Joe abandoned his studies, and accepted the vacant football and baseball coaching positions at St. Benedict’s Prep, a catholic high school in New Jersey for the 1930 season. He stayed until he became ill in 1968, dying of cancer in 1969. In the process, he became one of the greatest coaches in New Jersey high school history, posting a 200-65-15 record in football, and 593-137-3 in baseball. His baseball teams once won 64 consecutive games over a four-year period

So where does that leave OSU? As it turns out, there was always a part of Kasberger that remained an Oregonian. He coached many great athletes over the years that he encouraged to head west to Oregon for college. More than a few of them came to Corvallis. For baseball, the prizes were John Thomas and Bobby Buob, who were both key components of Oregon State’s 1952 College World Series Team. Preceding those two was Joe Hellberg who played for the Beavers in 1947.

John Thomas was also a talented football player, one of several St Benedict’s players to take to the football field for the Beavers. Oregon State wasn’t the only regional school to benefit, as Kasberger also sent players to his old friend Spec Keene at Willamette University.

For more information about Kasberger, see: Joe K. : a biography of Joe Kasberger, by Dennis A. Joyce (1998).

Paul Andresen: 2/13/2007

Walker pitched in one game for the Cincinnati Reds in 1910, and OAC student newspaper reported that he had “dazzled ‘em” pitching for San Francisco in the Pacific Coast League that same year, yet no one knew quite who he was, and he picked up the moniker “Mysterious Mitchell”.

How Walker got connected with OAC has not been discovered. It was at one point rumored that Fielder Jones would return to coach the team in 1911, so it’s possible he came at Jones’ recommendation. They could have easily become acquainted when Walker was playing baseball at the University of Chicago (he was a graduate of that prestigious institution) at the same time that Fielder Jones was managing the Chicago White Sox.

After leaving Corvallis, Walker pitched for four major league teams in four years starting in 1912. His one-year stay in Corvallis with the Beavers is mysterious indeed.

Paul Andresen: 2/12/2007

Jones didn’t completely leave baseball behind, as he acted as secretary of the Northwestern League, a lower minor league operating in Southwest Washington. For reasons that still aren’t clear, Jones accepted the position as baseball coach at OAC for the 1910 season, and soon the papers were full of reports looking optimistically ahead to the season. Jones and his boys didn’t disappoint running up a 14-4 record, still the best percentage record (.778) in OSU history, while winning the Northwest Collegiate League flag.

Jones stayed at OAC only one season. He returned to the Northwestern League as an active player for Centralia in the summer of 1910, where he hit .360 as a 39-year-old. The next year, he was the league President, a job he held until 1914, when he returned to the major league managerial ranks taking over the Federal League Terriers. When that league folded after two years, Jones moved over to take the reigns of the St Louis Browns. Jones retired to Portland midway through the 1918 season, and lived out his years there, passing away in 1934.

Paul Andresen: 2/12/2007

Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (OR-5) introduced a resolution this week officially congratulating her alma mater’s baseball team for winning the 2006 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 College World Series.

“Never in my life have I witnessed a team with more heart, grit, and guts than our OSU Beaver baseball team,” said Hooley when she introduced the resolution. “The team showed outstanding dedication, resilience, character and sportsmanship throughout the season in achieving the highest honor in collegiate baseball.”

“The Beavers have brought pride to Oregon State University, the Corvallis community, the State of Oregon and Beaver Nation,” said Hooley congratulating the team on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

Hooley’s office celebrated the Beaver victory today with Congressman David Price (NC-4) and his office with BBQ from Durham, North Carolina. After losing a friendly bet on the game, Congressman Price, a University of North Carolina alum, is ordering the BBQ from his home district which includes Chapel Hill for Congresswoman Hooley and her staff.

Rep. David Wu this week also gave remarks on the House floor commending the team.

Senator Wyden and Senator Smith commend OSU Baseball Team on Senate Floor

Senator Wyden began by stating, “in the midst of all the serious business that is before the Senate, I and my good friend from Oregon, Senator Smith, wanted to take a few minutes tonight and talk to the Senate about the great pride and joy that Oregonians are feeling tonight as a result of our terrific Oregon State Beavers who have won the college world series.

“Showing incredible determination, they would not give up spirit. After losing their first games in both the tournament and in the championship series, the players at Oregon State and the coaching staff came back. They came back to be the first team since 1998 to lose their first game and go on to win the college title.

“Senator Smith and I are especially proud because in this day of professional sports seeming to be part of every college environment, most of these players are from Oregon. They come from almost every nook and cranny of our State. They come from the Pacific Northwest, and they represent the best values of our State—particularly hard work and a sense that if you just stay at it and you are persistent, you can get the job done.

“We want to salute all the players, and particularly three we are going to be losing—three star pitchers: Jonah Nickerson, Dallas Buck, and Kevin Gunderson. They are going on to play professional next season. But we are going to be back in that world series next year.

“I get a chance, along with my colleague, to enjoy so much that makes our state special. We try to team up on a bipartisan basis on some issues. But we are particularly thrilled as Oregonians’ two U.S. Senators to make sure that the country sees that when you work hard, you play by the rules, and you don’t give up, nearly always good things happen.

“Tonight, Oregonians are wearing the orange and black of the Beavers.

“I want to yield the rest of my time to my friend and colleague because, as Oregonians’ two U.S. Senators, we are savoring this moment along with more than three million people who represent our State. I yield the remainder of my time to my colleague.”

Senator Wyden followed Senator Smith and remarked, “Senator Smith said it very well.

“I wanted to wrap up by noting a comment from pitcher Dallas Buck, who was the winning pitcher in the championship game.

“When asked about why he stayed at Oregon State instead of going pro out of high school, I quote: “Best decision I ever made.'’ And we happen to think that is the best decision a lot of young people are making in our State, to go to Oregon State University. It is a wonderful university, both for sports and academics.

“We are going to salute them, as Senator Smith has indicated, when we get a chance to join them at the White House with the President. That is what makes this so special for us.”

OSU Federal Affairs Update; June 30, 2006

For the 2007 season, a FieldTurf surface was installed on the infield and a new scoreboard with a video display area was erected beyond the right-centerfield fence. Plans are being made to further expand and improve Goss Stadium at Coleman Field for the 2008 season, adding permanent seats down each foul line plus a multi-purpose room overlooking the field and an academic center.

After 97 seasons at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field (OSU didn’t play varsity baseball in 1917, 1944 or 1945), the Beavers are 973-420-1 all-time at home for a winning percentage of .698. Last season, Oregon State was 27-4 at home, setting a record for home victories in a season, and averaged 1,642 fans per home date. During the regular season, OSU was 22-4 at home and averaged 1,383 fans per home date. Since the start of the 2005 season, OSU is 53-9 at home.

Due to the surging interest in Beaver baseball, OSU added bleachers to the ballpark for the 2006 season that increased the capacity of Goss Stadium at Coleman Field to 2,300; for the postseason, bleachers beyond the outfield fences increased that to 3,100. For both the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Oregon State sold out approximately 1,200 season tickets.

OSU was 26-5 at home in 2005 and averaged 1,484 fans per home date; at the time that was a record for home wins in a season, beating the 20-4 mark of the 1998 Beavers. During the 2005 regular season, the Beavers were 21-4 at home and averaged 1,133 fans per home date.

Oregon State’s ballpark made its initial venture into night baseball in 2002 with the addition of its first-ever set of lights. The first night game saw OSU beat fourth-ranked Stanford 4-1 on April 27.

Goss Stadium was added to Coleman Field over the winter of 1998-99. New bleachers have raised capacity for the 2006 season to 2,300 (up from the previous 2,000), with the main grandstand seating approximately 1,400 of those. The structure includes a press box, concession/lobby area, dugouts, locker rooms, restrooms and storage areas.

Oregon State Sports Information Release: 01/23/2007

As OSU burst onto the national baseball scene in 2005, Casey passed a pair of personal milestones. Casey earned his 300th win with the Beavers when Oregon State beat California-Davis 8-0 on February 19, 2005 at the San Diego Tournament, and he earned his 500th win in eighteen seasons at OSU and George Fox when the Beavers beat UCLA 3-1 on May 6, 2005.

Casey has a record of 391-253-4 with the Beavers for a winning percentage of .606. Casey’s career record of 562-366-5, which includes seven years at George Fox in Newberg, is good for a winning percentage of .605.

Of the nineteen head coaches in OSU baseball history, only a pair of men who spent more than two decades each guiding the Beavers - Ralph Coleman (1923-28, 1930-31, 1938-66) and Jack Riley (1973-94) - have coached more wins for Oregon State.

Casey was named the Pacific-10 Northern Division Coach of the Year in 1997 after leading the Beavers to a 38-12-1 mark, at the time a school record for wins in a regular season. During Casey’s time at OSU, ten Beavers have earned All-America honors, forty Beavers have been drafted by Major League Baseball teams - including first-round pick Jacoby Ellsbury in 2005 - and eleven more OSU players have signed with professional teams as free agents.

Casey came to OSU from his alma mater, George Fox, after leading the Bruins to a 171-113-1 record and winning three NAIA District 2 titles at the school in Newberg, Ore.

Oregon State Sports Information Release: 01/23/2007

How else to sum up all the story lines that came together with the Beavers beating North Carolina in the best-of-three series for the College World Series championship?

OSU (50-16 overall, 16-7 Pacific-10) was the first school to win the national title from the Pacific Northwest, an area often viewed by the rest of the country as just too soggy to produce high-quality baseball teams or players. And of the twenty-five players on Oregon State’s CWS roster, sixteen were from Oregon high schools and six more were from elsewhere in the region.

In a game that had seen increasing domination by the Sun Belt schools, the Beavers were the first truly northern-based school to win the CWS in forty years, dating back to Ohio State’s title in 1966.

Oregon State had to survive six elimination games at the CWS to win the title, including rallying from a five-run deficit in the second game of the series against UNC. En route, OSU became the darlings of baseball fans not just in Omaha, but across the country, for their perserverance and performance.

“It might be hard for some people to believe all of this happening for this ballclub,” OSU head coach Pat Casey said. “But I know how hard these guys have worked over the past few years to reach this point. Everything about being a national champion, all the good things that go with that, these guys have absolutely earned.

“You might get to the point where it’s a lot bigger stage than you’ve ever played on before, with more people watching and more at stake. But once you start playing, it’s still a baseball game and you’ve still got to do the things that win baseball games. Our guys kept their focus on that, they played their hearts out, and they were rewarded for it in the end.”

OSU was making its second straight trip to the College World Series, and having a roster loaded with players familiar with the Omaha experience made a big difference. The Beavers knew the ballpark, were familiar with the city, and had already adapted to the adulation that the crowds at the CWS heap upon the teams involved.

“The second year, that feeling of ‘just happy to be here’ is over,” OSU outfielder Tyler Graham said. “People’s minds are on the games. There are fewer distractions this year than there were last year.”

Indeed, the experience of having been at the CWS a year earlier provided motivation for OSU. As the 2006 season went on, the closer the Beavers got to the College World Series, the more they wanted to relive the carnival-like experience that Omaha provides during the tournament.

When all was said and done, OSU’s list of highlights for 2006 was a lengthy one:

• The national championship
• A second straight College World Series appearance
• A second straight Pacific-10 championship
• A school record for wins (50)
• A school record for home wins (27)
• A second straight season of hosting both NCAA Regional and NCAA Super Regional competition at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field
• National Coach of the Year honors for Casey
• Pacific-10 Player of the Year honors for outfielder Cole Gillespie
• A second straight Pac-10 Coach of the Year award for Casey
• The initial Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year award for second baseman Chris Kunda
• All-America honors for four Beavers - Gillespie and pitchers Dallas Buck, Jonah Nickerson and Kevin Gunderson - the most-ever All-America selections in a single season for OSU
• A place on the USA Baseball National Team for shortstop Darwin Barney
• Nine players taken in the Major League Baseball draft, the most-ever selected from OSU in one season. Four of those players—Gillespie, Buck, Gunderson and Nickerson—were taken in the first seven rounds, the highest any quartet of OSU players had ever been drafted
• All-Region first team honors for Gillespie and Buck, and a second-team selection for Gunderson
• Leading the nation in saves for Gunderson
• The College World Series Most Outstanding Player award for Nickerson
• College World Series All-Tournament Team berths for first baseman Bill Rowe, third baseman Shea McFeely, Gillespie, Nickerson and Gunderson
• Pacific-10 All-Academic honors for catcher Mitch Canham and pitcher Jake McCormick
• Career and single-season strikeout records for Nickerson

This time, in many ways, it was a tougher road for OSU to travel to reach the CWS. After surprising the nation in 2005, the Beavers went into the 2006 season ranked in the top-ten nationally and picked to repeat as Pac-10 champions, so there would be no sneaking up on anyone.

“Everyone we played, right from the start of the season, was gunning for us,” Casey said. “There’s a little more pressure in that situation, and on top of that we had to battle through some things early in the year.

OSU had a number of players in and out of the lineup due to injuries early in the season, outfielders Tyler Graham and Gillespie and second baseman Ryan Gipson among them. That had the Beavers juggling their lineup on an almost-daily basis, and Oregon State’s record was 12-7 after the Beavers lost the final game of a series at Southern California on March 19.

After a pair of weekends in non-conference play at home, OSU evened its Pac-10 record by taking a series from Arizona at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. The Beavers then got things rolling with a pair of late-April series against the Bay Area schools, sweeping Stanford at home by giving up just one run in three games and then taking all three games at California the next weekend.

That moved the Beavers into sole possession of first place in the conference race, a position that wasn’t threatened until OSU visited Arizona State in mid-May. The Sun Devils rallied in the late innings to win each of the first two games, pulling within one game of OSU going into the series finale. ASU jumped to a four-run lead on a hot Sunday afternoon, but Oregon State came back for a 9-8 win to push its lead in the standings back to two full games over its nearest pursuer.

The Beavers swept Washington State the next weekend to wrap up at least a tie for the Pac-10 title, then clinched sole possession of the championship by winning the first game of a season-ending series against UCLA at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.

The Beavers then swept through the NCAA Corvallis Regional by beating Wright State 5-3, Kansas 11-3 and Hawai’i 12-3. OSU then drew Pac-10 rival Stanford in the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional; the Cardinal had made a late run to reach the postseason and then knocked off defending national champion Texas in advancing to the final 16. OSU eeked out a 4-3 win in the opener, then blasted the Cardinal 15-0 in the second game to sweep the Super Regional and book their second straight trip to Omaha.

Oregon State Sports Information Release: 01/23/2007

This commemoration of the centennial of OSU baseball is a collaborative project of the University Libraries and Intercollegiate Athletics and includes materials from the OSU Archives and OSU Sports Information.