The Beavs continue their home stand with four games spanning Friday through Sunday. Game times and probable starters are listed below.
| Date | Opponent | Pitching Matchup | Time (PT) |
| 03/11 | New Mexico State | Sam Gaviglio (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Ryan Beck (2-0, 5.79) | 5:35 p.m. |
| 03/12 | VMI | Ben Wetzler (1-1, 4.40) vs. Jason Farley (0-3, 5.50) | 4:30 p.m. |
| 03/13 | VMI | James Nygren (2-0, 1.72) vs. Sam Roberts (1-1, 4.26) | 12:05 p.m. |
| 03/13 | New Mexico State | Josh Osich (1-0, 3.68) vs. Dan Reid (3-0, 2.84) | 4:05 p.m. |
VMI stands for Virginia Military Institute. Not going to lie, I had to look that up. The "Keydets", as they are wittily known, play in the Big South Conference, and have posted a 7-6-1 record thus far. From what I could gather, this is their starting lineup:
C Alex Haitsuka Sr. .289 1 5
1B George Piccirilli Jr. .386 1 13
2B Justin Hess Sr. .220 0 0
3B Chase Worthington Jr. .205 1 8
SS Sam Roberts Sr. .440 1 7
LF Graham Sullivan Sr. .296 1 7
CF Rob Dickinson So. .195 0 1
RF Jacob Morley Jr. .275 0 2
DH Andrew Montague So. .143 0 1
They have a 1B and SS who can mash, but the rest of the team appears to be club-swinging cavemen. Much like the Beavers, they lack team pop. However, their team OBP is .400, so Wetzler and Nygren must avoid walks.
New Mexico State, meanwhile, sport an impressive 11-2 record, but their opponents combined mark is 27-46 (.37 winning percentage). They are 1-1 versus winning teams, and their best victory to date was over Cal State Northridge.
Parker Hipp is the Aggies best offensive player. He is hitting .555 with 4hrs and an outrageous .950 slugging percentage. As a team, New Mexico State is batting .372 with a .555 slugging percentage. Again, given the competition, take these (impressive) numbers with a grain of salt.
Sunday's nightcap versus Dan Reid will pose the biggest challenge. Reid, a 6"3 Oklahoman, went 6-3 last season, and is off to a 3-0/2.84 start this year. Like last weekend, expect the Beavers to take all four games, with the series finale being a tight contest that could swing either way.
Radio: KPAM
Stream: Try this
I seem to have misplaced my link for all the Beavs streaming home games. Will you please re-post it Angry?
Thanks man…look forward to following the games one post at a time.
I usually only write one post for the entire weekend series. I do have some semblance of a life. :)
Speaking of your life, still moving? Where did you choose? You know you want to live in Corvallis.
Thanks for asking.
It’s been stressful. My last day of work is Tuesday. Then I get two weeks severance. After that, the unemployment line. Sucks pretty bad.
We’re looking at Minneapolis and San Jose/SF now, since we both have family/connections in those cities.
I’ve got an army buddy from Minnisota, he loves it there if you’re the outdoor type, lots to do. Watch out for the snow though ;-) gonna be quite the shock going from sunny SoCal to snowy MN. Good luck to you on your move. If you find yourself in Corvallis let me know, I’m pretty sure I owe you a beer or two for all your hard work on the site.
Sounds good, I’ll take you up on it so long as you include the lady beav. I couldn’t get up there this year, which truly sucked.
I think San Jose has some of the best weather in the US, if not the world!
Agreed. Just visited for a concert a few weeks ago, I loved San Jose. Definitely a cool town.
Of course the Ladybeav is invited! Seriously though, if you find yourself in the valley look me up!
Yeah yeah, I meant comments, not posts…bad terminology on my part…you do a good set up…then your resident experts keep it rolling nicely. There’s some great college baseball knowledge here.
Angry, stay out of the water down there in Santa Barbara!
The “try this” link was great last time, here is hoping for a repeat.
The big O shows radio KKOV 1150 am for Friday’s game, KPAM for weekends. No idea who will announce games, likely Parker since Basketball is (thankfully) over.
Glad I didn’t have to look up Virginia Military Institute! I had heard about the school because of when I’ve watched the Big South basketball tournament.
The Beavers should win all 4 games handily. Btw Angry, you have the Beavers facing Reid on Monday at the bottom of your post, it’s actually the second game of the doubleheader on Sunday.
Should be a nice weekend and they should be able to extend their win streak to 11.
Has the 1:00 VMI/NMSU game shown us anything more about these clubs? Anybody followi it?
VMI won 7-2. It showed NMSU’s record is deceiving and they’re a bad team. Both teams are bad.
Misprint in the O, radio is 1550 KKOV, looks like no Parker….darn!
Stream workin’ fine.
chats up if you guys wanna join, see ya there
6-0 Beavs.
BeavGirl, the chat was lame–nobody talked. Sorry.
well you and your 5 gimmicks should get crackin in there!
I’m in chat if anyone’s interested
Date with with the gf… Was 6-0 when I left the house, updates anyone?
Ugh silly phone not letting me edit… -with +night.
The score is still the same. Sam G has now pitched 28 consecutive scoreless innings (record is 47+) by Helton of Tennessee.
So disgusted with Casey, play my man Poyer or cut him loose.
*like*
I asked cliff about that as well… He said his time will come.
Nice play by Carter Bell to end inning, he’s been golden in the field; soon to start hitting’??
It’s funny, after the game yesterday I almost wrote that the one criticism would be that the Beavs scored almost all their runs in one inning. Before I hit enter I thought, “Man, they won by 7–that is nitpicking”…then Pat Casey comes out and says he’s furious with the offense for that very reason. Interesting. I think he’s spot on, to be honest. Glad he said it.
Yeah, that was a good report by Cliff. I think it is important that these guys stay hungry and don’t take anything for granted (they need to know that playing time depends on performance).
How ’bout those shirts on the ‘”keydets”?
Poyer is starting tonight. That I like to see
The home plate umpires strike zone is HUGE. Good for Wetzler though.
umpire*
Wetzler has looked good at times so far. He just needs to get fastball down in the zone. He struggled with his fastball command, hopefully he can get better command of it and go deep in this game.
Hopefully that RBI double gets Carter Bell going and he can get hot at the plate.
I’m in chat if anyone is interested to join.
I’m in chat if anyone is interested to join.
Love the way Carter Bell is swinging the bat tonight. He looks like he’s into a groove and starting to hit the ball hard. If he can get real hot it will add a lot of depth to the lineup.
We’re looking really nice in baseball this year!
is it possible to get a quick rundown? I missed the whole game today :-(
A decent game in my opinion. Poyer had two walks and a ground out; made a nice play in outfield. Carter Bell got some hits an may be coming around. Overall our infield looks great and Susac does so well behind the plate. Our speed on the bases messed with the opposing pitchers mind.
I saw some learning going on (outfield play and on the basepaths) and am optimistic for this team.
By the quote on Cliff’s blog I think Casey is really using these games as a teaching/motivating tool.
I imagine someone else will give a better play-by-play type summary.
Wetzler went 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on just 4 hits
Offense started slow but in the fourth scored 6 runs thanks to 1 balk and some clutch hits with runners in scoring position to extend their lead to 7-0 and blow it open. They cruised from then on for a 13-3 win. Carter Bell got out of his slump and had 3 hits and 2 RBI’s. Garrett Nash added two hits and three RBI’s, Stamps had a hit and a couple RBI’s, Susac added another RBI. That’s pretty much it.
Beavs win 13-3. Always nice to get a “W”. Hopefully they get the doubleheader in tomorrow and can add two more wins.
Excellent. Nice to have a team to root for that seems to win the games they should win.
I thought it might be cool to share a Q&A with Oregon State WR – JORDAN BISHOP with the readers here:
http://duckingbeaver.com/2011/03/12/qa-with-jordan-bishop-wr-athletic-freak/
Terron Ward Q&A coming later tonight…. some good stuff.
You’ve inspired me to go after some interviews I’ve been meaning to land. I have the exact opposite approach, though. I can’t learn much from guys we’ve signed. I go after the guys we whiffed on.
I’ve finished up my first one. It’ll be posted tomorrow morning.
Anyone ever read “Baseball Digest”, they do the same type of “non-offensive” Q&A with a big leaguer every month. It is my least favorite part of the magazine. There is a place for it, but if you follow this website on a regular basis, it would be clear that this is not that place!
Seriously, no wonder Jordan Bishop agreed to it. It’s all about the greatness that is Jordan Bishop coupled with the palpable awe of the interviewer. That’s good ego medication.
Honestly though, I think he and Wheaton are going to be a scary duo this year.
Exactly….
Wheaton never responded to my Q&A request (surprise?) but he and Bishop are the main guys this coming season….. Bishop’s talent hasn’t even been tapped, as Riley never uses him. Hopefully that changes this year.
Bishop is inconsistent. He made some tremendous catches, but also drops a lot of routine balls. You could have asked him about that (i.e. lack of focus). It’s the seemingly small and insignificant plays that make up the bigger picture of a team’s success or failure in any given season.
On a scale of 10, I’d list Bishop as a 6 right now. Potential galore but until he does it every down, every game he’s just a slightly above average WR.
You guys think any frosh WR’s will see time this year? I mean we have Geno Munoz too, and he did decent when he was n the field.
That is a possibility given we signed four great WRs, but I think there’s enough veteran talent that Riley will elect to redshirt the freshmen. If James Rodgers doesn’t come back, the odds of freshman playing obviously increases dramatically.
Munoz reminds me a lot of Anthony Wheat Brown. Slightly slimmer and a bit more agile.
I’d think:
Wheaton
Bishop (slot)
James Rodgers
Without James Rodgers:
Wheaton
Bishop (slot)
Cummings/Gwachum/Munoz
Another possibility is putting Bishop at WR and moving Mitch Singler to slot. He’s one walk-on who gets my seal of approval. I’m that down on Catchings.
Hatfield seems to be a year away (physically) or he’d be in the mix as well.
We really need James Rodgers to recover…
I likw the upshot of Gwachum but he had a lot of drawbacks last spring, namely, the inability to catch a football.
Anyone else worried about James Nygren today?
He’s definitely not going to cut it in Pac-10 play. Hopefully Casey is just waiting out the injuries and not getting hooked on this guy.
Well, Nygren and Osich switched spots today. Nygren is just starting until Booser is healthy from his back issues IMO. What’s unfortunate for Booser is, he won’t have many starts under his belt when he enters Pac-10 play because of his back issues. So he may struggle early on.
I think he switched up because Game 2 will likely be rained out, and Casey doesn’t have a ton of confidence in Nygren. Smart move unless the game is played–New Mexico State can easily beat him.
Michael Miller starting, WHY?! What is Pat Casey doing?! Him and Norris starting together is cruel punishment!
Jake Rodriguez is my favorite of the new guard. Not only can he mash, but he has a cannon. The intangibles (confidence, etc) look great, too.
Max Gordon too? Wow! This game will be tough with those three playing.
So let me get this straight, I criticize Pat Casey for playing Gordon and Norris and they’re the two ones who get on base and contribute a run in the first?! Maybe I should do that more.
Gordon has been serviceable of late. He won’t cut it in Pac-10 play, so what is annoying is he’s taking at-bats away from someone who could excel in conference (like Poyer). Norris…didn’t he just come back from injury? I feel like he never plays. I don’t have a huge issue with him.
Miller is terrible. He should never see the field.
Norris didn’t have an injury, that’s Dylan Jones you’re thinking of. Norris is the guy who always stares at strike three with runners in scoring position. I have an issue with Norris because Pat Casey has always liked him, I can’t figure out why.
A hit for Carter! Dare I say he’s baaaaack?
I wouldn’t go that far. If he continues to hit the ball hard today and against LBSU then you can say he’s back. They definitely could use his bat in the lineup.
Back from what? Hasn’t he always been a pretty weak hitter (~.250 last year)?
Well he started out the season hitting the ball well and hard a lot then he went into a bad slump. So maybe he’s back to that?
Agreed, that why I didn’t simply say “he’s back”
The series against the Dirt Bags will tell a lot; I think Casey has laid a great groundwork so far.
This has to be the worst outfield combo I’ve seen from Pat Casey has ever put together.
Wow Carter Bell got a break there. Hard to tell if that really was a balk, but he can’t get fooled like that. He should have been picked off.
I had a feeling this game would be tough. They have basically three good hitters in the lineup and everyone else is well, let’s just say offense isn’t exactly their strong suit.
Believer, how’d that force out look to you?
Looked like he just barely got him. Wasn’t a very good slide by Miller.
Yeah, mighty close. Looked like the baseman was gonna lose it.
It was actually a good thing Miller was thrown out. If they threw Gordon out at first, the third baseman would have been closer to the line to keep Miller close to third, which means that Susac’s liner would have been most likely snagged on one hop and no run would have scored.
Gonna be fun to watch Kavin develop, looks like a good youngster.
Tony Bryant has pitched fairly well this year. He had that rocky performance against the Ducks but other than that he’s been good. Bullpen looks really good overall.
Max Gordon works the count well. He’s growing on me a little.
That’s why Casey likes him. He still isn’t a good hitter.
Starting to rain now. Almost certain there will be a lengthy rain delay for the second game at best.
Very weak offensive showing.
any chance the beavers will be ranked soon
Yes, they were around 30 in the coaches poll. They should move up to ~25. Though, sometimes RPI/weak teams actually can push a team down. The 5-1 victory was weak and may actually hurt them.
Anyone hear if game 2 is rained out? I was away for an hour or so.
Edit: it was rained out.
Smart move by Casey starting Osich in Game 1.
Aggie game pushed back or just cancelled then?
Found this:
http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/031311aac.html
Not gonna be rescheduled.
Long Beach State v Cal is still going right now if you wanna listen in on our next opponents a little bit.
Audio stream here: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/lbsu.portal?mode=link&eventId=17076&broadcastType=audio#
Currently Cal 5, LBSU 0
Rehashing an old topic:
Angry, what is your plan for asking the hard questions from athletes/athletic dept personnel? You have been pretty creative with this website so I am not set to doubt you, but you must have a creative approach in your interview. I think a lot of reporters ask “lay-up” questions because that won’t offend the person. Stroking their ego will instead guarentee you future access and/or inside tips from that individual. How do you plan to glean the information we all desire without burning any bridges?
Overall, I think this is a problem with all of journalism. It is a rare find to get real journalism with real investigative work. Here’s hoping that you have successful interviews, it will add another neat element to the blog.
I just posted the interview, so feel free to critique it and let me know if I was too soft. I feel like I did a find job and asked what I wanted to know, but others might see it differently.
Beavs ranked #30.
Oklahoma at #3 is the biggest joke. Their SOS is near 200 I believe.