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After backing up Andrew Moore's masterpiece in the rain that was Oregon St.'s 5-2 win over Washington St. Friday night with Drew Rasmussen's perfect game 3-0 win yesterday, the Beavers will look to complete a sweep of the Cougs this afternoon. Oregon St. already has the series win for the 5th year in a row against Washington St.
To fully appreciate what Rasmussen did, its important to realize its just the 4th EVER by a team in the conference, and the first in 42 years. And while there have now been 3 in 5 years in all of Division I baseball, prior to that there was a 7 year run without any anywhere.
And consider that it was selected as Sportcenter's #1 highlight of the day, this in a day with both the NCAA Tournaments in full swing.
Rasmussen's perfect game is the first one in Oregon St. history, and given some of the pitching performances Beaver Nation has witnessed over the last decade, it really takes something spectacular to stand out. But coupled with Moore's 122 pitch effort on Friday, what it means for today is the entire bullpen is ready to go, giving Head Coach Pat Casey and pitching coach Nate Yeski all kinds of options.
A win would be the 3rd home series sweep of the season for the Beavers, who improved to 17-5 overall, and back above .500, to 3-2 in the Pac-12 on the strength of Rasmussen's history making day.
The Cougars, who dropped to 12-10, and 1-4 in the Pac-12, have now dropped 4 games in a row, and 5 of their last 6.
The game, scheduled for first pitch just after 1 PM, will be carried by Pac-12 Oregon and Washington. Beaver fans will be hoping to make quick work of the Cougs, so they can make their way up the street from Goss Stadium to Gill Coliseum in time to see most of Oregon St.'s second round NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament game against Goznaga, which will tip just after 4 PM.
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Oregon St. will look to junior transfer RHP Travis Eckert (2-0, 2.97) for yet another super weekend start, while Washington St. will make a final decision as game time approaches. RHP Nick Leonard (1-3, 5.40 ERA) was eventually the choice for the Cougs.
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com