The Oregon State baseball team is already getting national recognition, and we’re still over two weeks away from opening day. The Beavers prepare for their first matchup on February 15, with a triple-header in Palm Springs, California.
The top-ranked Beavers, who finished last 40-20 in 2012, met with media Tuesday to discuss team leadership and pitching rotation among a plethora of topics. Head coach Pat Casey has an impressive record as the Beavers coach, going 618-376-4.
“Guys are anxious to get playing,” Casey said. “I think our workouts have been solid.”
One of the looming topics overlooking the upcoming season is the pitching rotation. Casey didn’t hesitate in mentioning the play of Ben Wetzler and Dan Child.
“Taylor Starr and Matt Boyd both proved they could start…We see (Boyd) in the rotation along with Wetzler, Child, Starr, and there are a lot of people who could start.”
Meanwhile, Jace Fry, is healing from elbow surgery after an impressive 2012 campaign going 5-3 with a 2.45 ERA, striking out 53 batters in the process.
The Beavers will have to live up to the hype, as they enter the season ranked in the top-15 in all of the major polls – No. 6 by Baseball America, No. 8 by Perfect Game, No. 10 according to Collegiate Baseball, and finally No. 14 by ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Pac-12 boasts as one if not the best conference in the nation. Six of the eleven schools rank in the top 25 across the five major polls. Schools include Stanford, UCLA, Oregon, Arizona, and Arizona State.
Oregon State opens up their season in the Palms Spring Tournament, February 15th, when they will battle Utah Valley on the first day with the first pitch scheduled for 4pm. They will then take on Gonzaga Saturday, and concluded with back-to-back games with UC Riverside on Sunday and Monday respectively. The Beavers will start Pac-12 Conference play at Arizona on March 15th.
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