#10 Oregon State (26-7, 7-1) @ #16 Stanford (16-11, 3-5) - 1:00 PM (PDT) - Sunken Diamond, Stanford, CA - 1240 KEJO/860 KPAM/kpam.com
Oregon State and Stanford meet at 1:00 PM west coast time today to conclude the three game series between the Beavers and Cardinal. After today's game, the Beavers are off until next Thursday when they will host the Washington State Cougars at Goss Stadium.
Oregon State comes into today's game with a record of 26-7, 7-1 in the Pac-10, having already won the series, and will be looking for their first ever series sweep in Palo Alto. The Beavers have good wins against Gonzaga (2), Connecticut, Oregon, Long Beach State (2), Arizona (2), Arizona State (3), and Stanford (2). Their bad losses have came against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Seattle University, and UC Santa Barbara.
The Beavers are currently on a eight game winning streak after rebounding from their 4th worst loss ever, before defeating Arizona twice two weeks ago, Portland last Tuesday, Arizona State three times last weekend, and Stanford twice so far this weekend. Oregon State is currently ranked 10th in the nation.
The Cardinal come into the game with a record of 16-11, 3-5 in the Pac-10. Their good wins have came against Rice (2), California, Vanderbilt, Texas, and Long Beach State (2). In Pac-10 play, Stanford defeated Washington State twice before dropping a series to the USC Trojans last weekend.
Yesterday, the Cardinal fell 8-1 in the second game of the series at Sunken Diamond. After today's game, Stanford will take the field again on Tuesday when they face the Santa Clara Broncos.
Oregon State's starter for today's game was initially TBA, but this morning coach Pat Casey decided on freshman Scott Schultz (2-0, 3.09) from Gig Harbor, WA. Stanford will send out Dean McArdle (4-1, 3.29). In McArdle's last start, Dean went 2 innings, giving up 4 runs (All earned) on 4 hits. In the Beavers last Sunday game, Ben Wetzler (4-1, 4.37) took the mound for Oregon State.
Last year, Stanford went 31-25. Stanford made the NCAA Tournament, but went two and out in the Fullerton Regional. The Cardinal went 3-0 against the Beavers in 2010.
This season, the Cardinal have had one of the toughest schedules in the nation. They began their season with a three game series at Rice, followed by a single game against California, and a three game series at Vanderbilt. They have also since had three game series with Texas, Long Beach State, and Washington State.
The weather is is expected to be great for the duration of the game. The Weather Channel calls for 67° and mostly cloudy at 1:00 PM, with the temperature rising to 68° near the end of the game. The weather for next Thursday's game in Corvallis looks alright, with a few showers in the forecast and a high of 58°.
Go Beavers!