Oregon State (5-3) vs. Saint Mary's (5-3) - 10 AM PST at Surprise Stadium - Surprise, Arizona - KPOJ 620 AM (Not Streamed)
The Beavers kick off yet another 4-game weekend this morning, facing off against the Gaels to start the Coca-Cola Classic. Oregon State is coming off a bad weekend, losing two blowouts, but escaping with a series split, and ultimately "escaping" the top 25 this week.
The Saint Mary's (CA) Gaels won the first 5 games of their season, but lost 2 against BYU, and one against San Jose State, bringing their record to 5-3.
Probables for the game are Ben Wetzler (2-0, 7.84) for OSU and Martin Agosta (1-0, 0.60) for the Gaels.
Wetzler has an ERA that can only be expected (and hoped) to go down, as it's unrealistic to have a 7.84 ERA with a 1.68 WHIP. However, as the Beavers will have played 12 games over 3 weeks after the Coca-Cola Classic, Oregon State could use some more length out of their starting pitchers, especially the Friday (Thursday) night (morning) pitcher. Wetzler has racked up 10 1/3 innings over his two starts.
Agosta, on the other hand, has gone deep into both games he's pitched, his inning total is 15. To go along with the junior righty's 0.60 ERA, he's posted a 0.93 WHIP and a 8.5 K/9.
Saint Mary's finished 6th out of the 8 team West Coast Conference, and finished 27-28 overall. The Beavers lead the head-to-head series with a record of 4-2-1.
With a solid performance from Wetzler, the Beavers should get a win out of this one, although it's not likely Pat Casey will throw all of the best bullpen arms, given the upcoming schedule.
After playing Saint Mary's, the Beavers will play Winthrop Friday, Saint Louis Saturday, and Northern Illinois Sunday, all at 10 AM PST.
Go Beavers!