The Oregon State Beavers rebounded from a rough weekend with a winning stretch at the College Baseball Series.
But the success didn’t necessarily translate in the national polls, which can’t seem to agree on how good the team is.
Oregon State climbed, tumbled and held steady — depending on the poll — in the latest batch of national college baseball rankings, which were released on Monday.
The Beavers moved up one spot to No. 8 in the the D1Baseball Top 25, dropped two spots to No. 13 in the Baseball American Top 25 and held firm at No. 10 and No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and Perfect Game Top 25, respectively.
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll is not expected to be released until Monday afternoon.
The Oregonian/OregonLive.com uses the D1Baseball poll for its rankings.
The Beavers finished 2-1 last week at the College Baseball Series, falling one comeback short of a sweep in the marquee national event at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
During a competitive, mettle-testing four-team event, OSU played three games that were decided by a combined four runs, opening with a 4-3 win over the Baylor Bears and closing with a 12-10 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. In between, it lost 8-7 to the Auburn Tigers, dropping a nail-biter after scoring four runs over the final two innings.
The three-game series came at the end of a 10-game season-opening trip through Arizona and Texas that started Feb. 14 and left the Beavers with a 7-3 record.
Oregon State didn’t always play the prettiest baseball last week — the defense committed four errors and allowed three unearned runs, and the bullpen coughed up 13 runs on 11 hits (and 15 free passes) in 14 1/3 innings — but the Beavers fought through the uneven performances to produce a winning weekend.
And there were plenty of positives along the way.
Junior outfielder Gavin Turley hit two clutch late-game homers, including a go-ahead three-run shot in the eighth inning against Baylor, and drove in eight runs. Junior first baseman Jacob Krieg hit two homers and drove in three runs. And junior outfielder Canon Reeder had an impressive weekend after replacing a slumping Dallas Macias, going 5 for 7 with a homer, double and three RBIs against Auburn and Ohio State.
Sophomore right-hander Matthew Morrell may have snatched the closer job, earning saves against Baylor and Ohio State by tossing three hitless innings. He was especially dominant against the Bears, needing just 18 pitches to retire all six batters he faced.
Oh, and junior outfielder Easton Talt made perhaps the best defensive play of the young college baseball season, robbing a home run with a sprinting, breathtaking catch in right-center field against Baylor.
And now, after more than three weeks on the road, the Beavers (finally) come home with a nine-game homestand at Goss Stadium.
It starts with a three-game series against the San Diego Toreros, features a two-game midweek series against Washington State, and ends with meetings against Santa Clara, Grand Canyon (two) and Rutgers.
The home opener is Friday at 5:35 p.m. against San Diego.
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | @freemanjoe.bsky.social | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
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