Quick Links: Oregon State Falls Short Of College World Series Final

• The old adage goes that all good things must come to an end. And on Saturday, Oregon State’s amazing 56-win campaign came crashing down at the hands of LSU, who beat the Beavers on a second-straight day to secure their trip to the College World Series Final against Florida. The defeat gave Oregon State their first back-to-back losses as a program since May of 2016 and ended arguably the greatest regular season in college baseball history in disappointing fashion.

• Despite the loss, one consistent bright spot during the Beavers stay in Omaha was freshman catcher Adley Rutschman, who made a handful of stand-out defensive plays over the past few games, including snagging a bunt out of mid-air against LSU. A talented player who should be featured for years to come both on the diamond and gridiron for the Beavers, Rutschman also comes from a pretty well regarded family unit with some serious ties to top-level sports, as explained in this piece by the Omaha World-Herald.

• Speaking of Rutschman, the rookie had a critical at-bat during Saturday’s game against the Tigers, in which he took an obvious ball four for a walk, that somehow became a strikeout. This video from Sports Illustrated gives a bit better of a look at the call, that may have factored into the momentum swing of the game during the third inning.

Unfortunately for the Beavers, who were just a day removed from #FoulGate, Oregon State seemed to be getting the short end of the stick when it came to the home plate umpire’s strike zone all day long, as evidence in the clip below from CJ Fogler, as well.

• The Oregonian was one of the few sites to hit on the impact of Oregon State’s last-minute pitching change, when head coach Pat Casey started Bryce Fehmel despite saying earlier in the week that Drew Rasmussen would be given the nod. Apparently, the change at the eleventh hour didn’t sit too well with LSU, who used the line-up alteration as some extra motivation.

ICYMI

• ESPN compiled their list of the toughest “three-game-stretches” in college football for the 2017 season and as expected, Oregon State’s daunting mid-season battles with Washington, USC and Colorado came in at #6 overall on the list.