The Beavers salvaged a game from the Cal Bears today with a key 9-2 win. Some thoughts:
- Confidence... More than anything else, this game has to help out Oregon State's confidence. The Beavers know they could have won the series, but winning a game against a very good Cal team is critical. The Beavers were just two or three timely hits away from beating Tyson Ross and Cal on Friday, but runners left on base haunted the Beavers. Runners on base was also a problem today (11), but the Beavers got many more hits (13) and more runs (9) to make the game worthwhile.
- Jorge Reyes... Jorge was brilliant today, giving up two runs on five hits in six and two thirds innings. He struck out five of the 29 batters he faced, and only walked one. It seems like Jorge is starting to pick up where he left off last season, as he's really started to settle down in his last two outings. It will be interesting to see if Reyes gets the Saturday start this weekend against Stanford, or if a young guy like Nygren will continue to start on Saturdays.
- Rhoderick in, Game Over... Kevin Rhoderick has been outstanding in his closing role this season, and although he didn't earn a save today, he's been sensational over the course of his ten appearances. He gave up only his second hit of the season today in fifteen innings of work, and continues to have a legit 0.00 ERA. He now has 20 strikeouts on the year.
- Beaver Offense... The Beavers had by far their best offensive game of the series today, scoring nine runs on thirteen hits. They almost had as many hits in Game 3 of the series than they did in Games 1 and 2 combined. The Beavs still left a fair number of men on base (11) and had some baserunning errors, but still came out on top. Drew George was perfect at the plate, going 4-for-4 with three singles, a double, and a walk with three runs scored.
Stanford is next.
GO BEAVERS!
--JB--