Home Baseball Arizona State @ Oregon State

Arizona State @ Oregon State

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Conference play begins in a few hours. We’re about to find out how good the baseball team is.

5:35, 1:35, and 12:35 start times, with a live stream available on the main site.

Go Beavs

160 COMMENTS

  1. Going to the game (my neighbor gave me his ticket — great seat located a few rows below the booth and directly behind home plate). Looking forward to it.

  2. Back from Goss and OSU’s 3-2 win over Arizona State. Boy, is OSU’s starting infield impressive!

    First, the new guys. Cadyn Grenier had a tough day at bat, but he appears to be a big upgrade at 3rd base from what OSU had last year, and I expect his batting will come around soon (the ASU pitchers kept him off balance tonight, but Grenier clearly has a quick bat). Nick Madrigal looks solid at second base, and also looks real good at the plate already (including a clutch hit tonight).

    As for the returners, Morrison and Harrison both looked good, too. Harrison played a solid first base, and had the big 2-run homer. Morrison also hit the ball, and made a real nice play in the hole at shortstop, making a long, strong throw to first. Morrison in particular looks like he added strength in the off-season — seems less like a kid, more like a man.

    I’m guessing OSU’s starting infield is as good — or better — than any infield in the Pac-12. Maybe in the country.

    The outfield seems more like a work in progress.

    Nobach made a key mistake in center field (starting back when he misjudged how softly the ball was hit) to allow a run to score. He did make a diving catch later to make up for it, but it reminded me more of Max Gordon than of Jeff Hendrix. Hendrix would have made that particular catch look easy — Nobach made the play, but required a dive to do it. Donahue started in left field, and didn’t do anything particularly good or bad, but I assume he’s still learning a new position (like Nobach) and there may be some growing pains.

    Rasmussen looked good on the mound. He, too, seems more mature compared to last year. Showed good command most of the night, until he started to tire late in the game. I think he’ll be a solid #1 starter for us this year if he stays healthy.

    The new scoreboard at Goss is big, as advertised. One complaint — I wish they’d show the pitch count for each pitcher on the new scoreboard. There’s certainly room to do that, and it’s a useful stat for fans.

    • Good observations (as usual) silver. Wish I’d read your post about where you were seated sooner; I’d have tried to find ya.

      I really thought Morrison handled relay duties well in about the 7th inning, didn’t get the out but made it MUCH closer than I expected.

      Rasmussen seemed to miss low as he tired; most guys I’ve seen miss high.

      ASU had a first rate pitcher tonight, so it may be too soon to figure the Beavs bats aren’t as good as the non-con games led us to believe. I understood Jim Wilson to indicate that ASU’s Saturday arm is excellent…….could be a long day if Jake doesn’t throw his best game of this season.

      Lastly, great to see Harrison get that HR. Whether it was being in the 5th hole or that Hawaiian “hang loose” thing, it will be very big if he returns to last years form.

      • Agree on the relay. If I was scouting I’d tell my team to make sure, don’t try to stretch it because you’re going to get thrown out.

    • After Nobach misjudged the blooper they moved him back to left and Donohue to center. I didn’t notice until Nobach crashed into the wall on the Woodmansee dinger.

  3. OSU baseball – Game 2 vs ASU. Beavers score 6 runs in the bottom of the first, aided by two ASU errors. Jake Thompson pitching well so far.

    Obviously early, but looks like Beavs well on their way to winning their opening Pac-12 series.

  4. Back to hoops for a sec….Those boys from the Ivy League showed us how you rebound! Wow…. 20+ offensive boards helped cut Duke’s lead from 27 to 3.

    Imagine if we had made boards a priority this year

  5. t5, this is where Jake usually fades. One out single and Ybarra on to PH…he’s a strong guy. Jake bears close watch now.

    UPDATE: Ybarra gets solid single but Jake escapes on a double play. Still not comfortable with Jake, however with the score he won’t be pulled soon.

  6. Anderson a two out RBI single and this one has entered “laugher (laffer?)” territory.
    NOTEWORTHY: Ice has gone hitless, Harrison has one hit, a double.

  7. b8. Well, Ice is gonna go hitless today. After being HBP for the second time Atwood comes on to PR for Logan.
    Who’ll catch the 9th? Possibly Gretler, per an earlier interview.

  8. I just saw some guy rain money off the top of a parking garage. Then I saw some guy almost kill himself trying to get the bills stuck on an awning. I kid you not, freaking Portland…

  9. off topic:

    For you guitar pickers around here………………….

    I picked up a brand new Squier Affinity Telecaster (Fender makes them) a few months back for a nice price. I decided to replace the original china pickups that came with it with a set of Fender Noiseless N3 single coils. The first set came with a bad bridge pickup that didn’t work (Amazon is really nice and will send you another on their dime, just return the original) so I patiently waited for the replacement to arrive. Got them installed this evening and holy shit! These things sound fucking amazing! I highly recommend them. Also added some Fender locking tuners to make string changes a breeze. Just a few mods you can make to a cheaper made Fender guitar to make it more unique and sound like a real Fender. While at guitar center today I did play around with a few Strats and Tele’s and I like the necks a lot better than any on the Squier or chinese knock offs. But I wasn’t paying $1300 for a new guitar

    • Years ago I had a fender telecaster that was assembled in Mexico; despite its lower price, what a great guitar. Damn thing was stolen and I didn’t ever get a replacement for it.

      Enjoy the set up!

    • Congrats Whiskey.

      Guitars are always on topic. Buying a new guitar that you love to play is a great feeling. You’ll instantly practice so much more. How much do you practice as of now?

      Are those noiseless pickups like humbuckers? I’ve heard people mention them on forums, but I never looked into them.

      • “guitars are always on topic”……ummmm even acoustics?
        I’m happy with a Taylor GS Mini I recently picked up on CL. Turns out those may be becoming the Model T of guitars; a company rep told me they make 200 a day!

      • I try to play several times a week. Been playing over 20 years and it’s just something I do for my own personal enjoyment and as a stress relief. I can put my headphones on and plug in after my sons go to bed and just forget about everything else.

        The noiseless pickups are really just a stacked single coil. Fender does make vintage noiseless single coils as well. But they do sound really amazing. All they do is eliminate the dreaded 60 hz hum (Isn’t that what humbuckers were designed to do?). Me personally I just prefer the sound and play-ability of the Fender style guitars. I have an Epiphone Les Paul studio that I just don’t pickup very much. Too high of an action (I prefer a low action) and I just can’t seem to get it low enough. Maybe changing out the bridge is an option to lower it that I’ll look into in the future.

        My first electric was a fernandes jazzmaster wannabe with three single coils. Still have it and it was always the first one I’d grab. It’s over 20 years old and beat to shit so it’s time for a rebuild. I decided this wasn’t going to be an overnight project so I wanted something else I’d love to play just as much and get it setup right before I started the tear down of my fernandes. This Squier certainly fits that bill and right now it’s number one in the line up of the 6 guitars I now own (3 electric, 3 acoustic). I really like the sound of the Texas special single coils that Fender makes but I have not decided on those or the Vintage noiseless they also make. Soon.

        It’s never too late to learn a new skill or hobby. Always loved the sound of an acoustic guitar growing up so I took lessons for 3 years when I turned 18 (a long ass time ago) and bought my first guitar(s) in 1994. Someday soon I’m going to need a separate room for all my guitar shit lol

        • I’ve been making an effort to play more often lately. It helps that my boys are getting bigger and showing an interest. I scored them an old Peavey 3/4 size electric, looks like an explorer with one humbucker and a volume knob. Keep it simple. Actually sounds half decent, I have them plugged in to a little fender practice amp and they’ll go thru binges of taking turns messing with it.

          • I’m so used to the short scale and 50s neck on my Les Paul that Fender necks feel weird to me. I can get in to some of the superstrat style guitars but I’ve never bonded with a strat.

            You ever played one of the skinny Gibsons with P90s? SG or LP junior? They’re pretty cool and have a feeling and sound that’s different from the regular Les Paul or Fender.

          • my oldest son has taken up the drums and I got him a real drum kit for Christmas. That was really what the trip to guitar center yesterday was all about was him spending his $ on some upgrades to his drum kit. I just happened to come across the locking tuners while there and decided to give them a try and like I said they make changing out strings a breeze and only takes a couple minutes now. Youngest is certainly interested in the guitar but I think he should be a little older. The attention span is lacking and as you know at that age they can become disinterested quickly. Learning to play and become competent isn’t something that happens overnight. I recall the first year being a struggle but a sudden transformation happened between the first and second year. It takes time and lots of practice as I’m sure you know

          • I have not. I have thought about the short scale necks as I have smaller hands. Some of those guys have ginormous hands and make it look easy. Mark Kendall is a guy that comes to mind. He can make a 5 fret jump from index to pinky without moving his hand placement and it looks easy for him. I can’t do that.

            I might try and find a short scale neck on a guitar at a music shop and play around with it to see if I might like it. If I do I might swap out the neck on my fernandes during the rebuild to give it a shot. There’s nothing wrong with the original neck so I’ll hang on to it just in case if I decide to go forward with that. Thanks for the ideas!

          • I have very small hands and play a full scale with an enormous neck (vintage 50s spec, which were like Babe Ruth baseball bats). It feels GREAT. Misconception that short scale is good for small hands. All you have to do is build hand dexterity and stretch and you can play almost any neck. I don’t see any benefit of short scale necks. Anything you can do on a short scale you can do on a full scale, but the opposite isn’t true.

        • I recommend at least 30minutes per day of highly focused practice. Anything less than that is playing catch up rather than moving forward as a player; generally you’ll plateau or even get worst just practicing a few days per week. I practice 2hrs per day. :/

          I find that three 40 minute practices work best because you soak information in during the breaks and can refocus what you want to work on.

          Try it for 2 weeks and see how good you become.

          • I’m in pure catch up mode right now. Ten years ago I was in a band and we practiced 3 times a week for a few hours and I was playing at home in between. Got married and had kids and started a business and couldn’t justify the time any more.

            I’m just starting to pick it back up with any consistency so I’m just trying to get back to where I was, then I’ll work on improving.

    • Teles are cool guitars. I’m always surprised when I see someone playing one outside of the “normal” country/classic rock twang sounds. El Hefe from NOFX, Brett Gurewitz from Bad Religion and one of the guitar players from Slipknot come to mind.

      A pickup swap can really transform a guitar. I think I’m gonna try the JB/Jazz set in my Les Paul soon.

      • “A pickup swap can really transform a guitar”

        True story.

        There’s folks out there who buy the cheap fender knock offs just so they can mod them to their personal liking without having to spend the $ on a Fender

        I personally love the country/southern rock twangy sound. The bridge pickup has always been my favorite just for that sound. As my mother always said growing up, if everybody was the same, we’d have nobody to make fun of

      • Teles are simple, but imo sound better for rock than a strat. Strats are a little “glassy” and chimy sounding. A tele is more rounded and growling, at least on the neck pickup. Jazzmaster is the best Fender, imo…I need to get one. Had one years ago, but it was a Japanese version — they had bad components and were really difficult to setup.

        Regarding scale…that is something you’d get used to after about a week or two of serious practicing. Short scale is a bit of a crutch..easier to play, but a lot of problems (less sustain, less tension for strumming, etc). I’d say get a full scale, practice on it hardcore for two weeks, and tune it down a half step to reduce tension if that’s an issue. You can do anything on full scale but the same can’t be said of short scale.

        A really cool guitar is a Gretsch Duo Jet. It’s semi hollow so can be noisy/feedback, but the dynasonic sounds like a hybrid of a P90 and tele pickup. They’re pricey but cool. Right now I’m using it as my second guitar to the more versatile strat, but Ideally I get a Jazzmaster soon.

        Oh, and a main reason to buy an expensive guitar is the quality of the wood. A MIM guitar can weigh 1lb more than the American equivalent…this is especially important when trying to find something like a good piece of ash (MIM ash is usually like 1lb heavier than the AVRI ash. We’ll play/practice longer on a lighter guitar). The other big reason is the components are really good, they hold intonation better, etc. A MIM you’ll spend a few hundred dollars getting it up to a good spec, and if you ever resell it you probably won’t recoup the loss, whereas an American guitar has a chance to actually appreciate in value. Just a thought when factoring in cost. Nobody likes spending $1,300, but a lot should go into that decision. Another anecdote: I found that as I bought more pricey guitars, I practiced more. Two reasons: they play like butter and sound great, so more fun to play, and also I felt guilt owning a guitar like that and not playing it. So price can even motivate you to play more. IMO a $1300 guitar on the used market is the best of both worlds…I buy expensive guitars used and talk the guy down.

        • Agree on the Tele, they definitely have a cool hard rock growl when you want them to.

          As far as scale length and necks, I can’t imagine the scale length vs hand size being much of a factor. Neck size and profile, different story. I don’t have huge hands and I can’t play a thin wizard style neck for very long. The fatty Gibson 50s style neck is perfect for me.

          I play heavy 13-56 strings in eb on my LP. I also play thin picks. It’s a strange combination that somehow developed over the years, but I like it. I play the same size strings on my acoustic too.

          • Why such heavy strings? Do you tune down a lot? That’s a lot of tension…

            I’m the opposite, use .10-46s and usually a heavy gauge pick (.88 to 1.14). The only time I’ll go with a light pick is if I want a certain type of jangle strum sound. But I switch between chords and leads a lot, and heavy picks are much better for lead.

            It takes a lot of work to get back to where you were after that type of break. Probably a month of consistent practice, if not more. Best advice is to break everything down into small/slow movements and act as if you’re learning from scratch, because after a large break you basically are. That approach will result in the quickest progress. If you just sit down and whale on songs and think it will get you back to speed, it won’t, because much of the correct muscle memory needs to be relearned first. Good luck, WFO! Music is great.

          • The strings and picks thing was just a slow no real reason other than I like how they play evolution. I do play some drop D but the guitar is tuned to e flat. I play mostly metal in drop D and punk in eb. A heavier pick is definitely better for lead playing especially pinch harmonics and such. I don’t do a whole Hell of a lot of that so I concentrate more on my rhythm sound.

        • far east cheap electrical components and age is the reason I plan to rebuild my fernandes jazzmaster wannabe. It’s been a great guitar and plays really easy.

  10. D1 Baseball says, in their Ten Thoughts-Saturday, “the story of the night was the start by righthander Jake Thompson. Thompson has always had a power arm, but consistency has been an issue at times throughout his career. Thompson, though, was terrific on Saturday, striking out six, walking two and allowing just five hits in seven shutout innings…”

    The piece goes on from there but it seems a little soon to me to be jumping on any Jake bandwagon, and the reference to consistency, I think, shows the writers at D1 agree. Still, one can hope that Saturday was the start of improvement for Jake.

    ALSO: D1 says Washington may be the darkhorse of the PAC, Angry may see a good series if he does come up in early April.

    • Can’t see them losing at home, plus they’ve been playing some of their best basketball at season’s end, compared to last year at least. Should be an interesting game, but I’d be surprised if OSU doesn’t post a double digit win.

  11. All five Pac-12 WBB teams (OSU, ASU, UCLA, Stanford, Washington) won their first round games easily. Apparently Pac-12 WBB does not suck.

    • Hope that’s how it goes. Louisville lost to DePaul so if OSU gets past this game, at least they won’t have Louisville close to home. Got my fingers crossed!

  12. Great play by Grenier to close out the t5, 2-1 good guys. That is at least two highlight defensive plays for Grenier in the series.
    As to the question of whether ASU is in decline, they are missing two guys who were expected to contribute. Can’t recall names/positions right now.

    UPDATE, per D1: ASU has been “without their projected ace (Hever Bueno, forearm strain) and projected closer (Andrew Shaps, who is playing center field but hasn’t been pitching due to elbow tenderness).”

  13. Top of the fifth, Travis E. walks two batters. Then, on a slow roller between short and third, Cadyn Grenier cuts off the ball and makes a major league throw to nip the runner at first and end the inning (preserving OSU’s 2-1 lead). As noted in a prior post, Cadyn Grenier seems to me a big upgrade at 3d base — a position where OSU was sometimes shaky last year. What was a weakness last season has been turned into a strength this season.

    • So Hamilton moves from 3b to CF and on the fly ball starts running back twists and turns, doing a complete circle before catching the ball. Hilarious because he made the catch.

  14. Not even the best pitching staff in the country is good enough to survive 0 runs.
    [edit: supposed to be a reply to NiceBeaver ^^^^]

  15. Grenier another great play to get out #2 in the t7. Don’t think Morrison would have had time to get the out if Grenier hadn’t been able to get to it.
    5-1.

    • What is it with the media “wanting” them to win? Canzano is the same way, particularly with Ducks football, writing nonsense like “We all want them to keep winning.” Really. Do “we?” I don’t. But then he pees himself over Chip Kelly/Mariota still, wanting them to reunite.

      (In the case of Canzano, I find it mildly interesting he didn’t write anything about OSU WBB after their PAC-12 tourney, the individual and team accomplishments, and the story of Rueck and the team becoming nationally relevant after near death not long ago. And winning with integrity and character. )

      Anyhoo, the whole “wanting” the Ducks to win is annoying, not because of jealousy, but because of the lack of critical thinking on their part. To me, its more interesting if someone wins because of vision and integrity than primarily $$$. Its more interesting if leagues are genuinely competitive than predictable

  16. Fehmel has performed well this year, we’ll see if he can close it out, coming on after Heimlich walks the two he faced.
    Disappointing job by Heimlich, he is gonna be needed as time goes on.

  17. Shades of last year, pen performs poorly.
    C’boy trying to imitate Conforto with that attempt at the plate? Not the time to try to cut down the runner…..and not a demonstration of the kind of accuracy we got used to with Conforto.
    One down t9, 7-3

  18. Awesome sweep of ASU!!! Nice to see the Beavs take control in every single one of those games, timely hitting, and I believe good defense (I saw only one error).

  19. Marie with 2pts off an offensive rebound to close out the first quarter with a 5 pt lead.
    Mandy looking especially good today.

  20. Beavs up 10 at the half; Deven and Marie with 7 and 5 pts, and 7 rebounds together.
    Who was bad mouthing Deven a week or so ago?

    Worth noting: Beavs ahead 5-3 in turnovers, much better than their average for the season.

      • Had a quick conversation with Mandy Friday as she entered Gill about 1.5 hrs before tip off. Carrying her game shoes (high heels) and very pleasant.

        Deven and Marie have stepped back now that others are contributing.

  21. 6 seed DePaul knocked off 3 seed Louisville so that would be the BWB next opponent in the sweet 16 in Dallas. Top seed Baylor won earlier today so they’ve already advanced

  22. BWB outscore the Bonnies 21-4 in that 3rd quarter. They’re just firing on all cylinders now cruising 52-25 after 3. Think they can safely start making plans for a trip to Dallas.

  23. Although it may be purely coincidental, a blop of mint chocolate ice cream on my shirt at halftime prompted a shirt change to a retro Benny one. Hmmmmm?

  24. on the topic of baseball, 2nd ranked Vanderbilt dropped their series with Mississippi St. I would expect the Beavs to move up to 2nd or 3rd in the polls tomorrow

    • the only thing concerning is your lack of knowledge of the English language. How’d it feel dropping a series to lowly Utah at home this weekend?

    • Yes good point “Houston Beavs”, I would be concerned if I were you that your Quackers don’t recruit as well as the Beavs in baseball. The “best pitching staff in college baseball” can’t seem to get anyone out! Phil Knight is going to be pissed that his money is going to waste.

  25. 69-40 final. Congrats ladies, 2nd ever trip to the sweet sixteen and 30 wins in a season for the first time in program history. Now go beat DePaul!

  26. Alford throws a bone to the wolves.
    UCLA Bruins coach Steve Alford says he has given back his one-year extension
    ESPN.com – 10 hours ago

  27. Great way to start off conference play with a sweep. Sat and Sun showed if teams don’t have depth in their rotation, the Beavs hitters will knock them around a bit.

    The Cal series will be a good test. Cal has a couple good starters and they’ll be at home.

    Also, it looks like the PAC12 is in a down year. Outside the Beavs, no other team looks like a CWS team.

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