Beware the Ghosts of Beavers Past

By Mark Garland

As the saying goes, pitching and defense win championships, and well, last night between the Louisville Cardinals and Oregon State Beavers, we had plenty of both. While a few uncharacteristic errors cost both teams runs, the pitching was absolutely lights out, with a tremendous effort from the starters on both sides.

UL's Patrick Forbes had his slider working on the outer half, and OSU's Dax Whitney was landing his big curve ball. Louisville struck out 14 times, and Oregon State had 12 of their own. To emphasize, there was only a pair of extra base hits, one for each team, and both in the 9th inning of a well-played game.

The freshman Whitney came to Oregon State specifically to pitch a game in the College World Series. Little did we know this was going to be the first game of his freshman season here in Omaha. The young man was poised, and Head Coach Mitch Canham praised his preparation and mentality when taking the ball in big games.

“So, I personally wasn't shocked," Canham commented. "I was calm knowing he was going out there and competing, because I know what he's put himself through. And even watching his bullpens or anything else, he works at such a high level of intensity that it wasn't shocking.”

His outing was so impressive that Louisville Head Coach Dan McDonnell also had this to say, “I had heard how good Whitney was, I just had never seen him. But it was one of those, 'hey, Coach, this guy was a first-rounder out of high school if he wanted to sign.' But unfortunately for us, he chose to go to Oregon State.” 

While the bullpen was great for both teams, Louisville would battle back, down 3-1 headed into the 9th. Zion Rose led off with a triple to really get the Cardinals going. Tegue Davis singled him home shortly afterward, making it a 3-2 game.

Tanner Shiver came in to pinch run and was caught stealing, but that didn’t stop the Cardinals. An infield single by Alex Alicea was followed by two errors that moved him to third base. Kamau Neighbors singled Alicea home, and the game was tied! OSU reliever Kellan Oakes escaped the inning with no more damage, and the Beavers appeared unfazed by the new predicament ahead of them. 

The Beaver fanbase travels well and was absolutely on display all game long, no more so than the bottom of the 9th, when it made its presence felt.

Trent Caraway grounded out to start but had words of wisdom to share about Louisville freshman pitcher Jake Schweitzer. Aiva Arquette was down to a 1-2 count but then roped a single to center. While both squads have had a prolific post-season history, the Beavers seem to always be able to call on the ghosts of College World Series’ past in times of need.

Gavin Turley had already broken Canham’s Oregon State post-season career RBI record earlier in the game, but what took place next was definitely his most meaningful one yet. In the first pitch of his at-bat, Turley lined a ball down the left field line, scoring Arquette from first, winning the game, and entering Oregon State lore himself forever. Walk-off wins are always exciting, but it's just magnified here in Omaha!

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