OMAHA, Neb. — Gavin Turley did not realize the magnitude of his first career walk-off hit until late Friday night, when, after a whirlwind of interviews and television appearances, the Oregon State Beavers outfielder finally had a moment of peace.
He scooped up his phone, clicked on a social media app and searched for a highlight of his final swing that night, the one that rocketed a ball to left field and scored Aiva Arquette with a head-first slide, delivering the Beavers’ a memorable walk-off win over the Louisville Cardinals in the opening round of the Men’s College World Series.
Turley relieved the moment with a smile … and then a dropped jaw.
“It had 700,000 views,” he said Saturday. “I was like, ‘Whoa, this is big.’”
So big, in fact, he called it the biggest hit of his life. But the MCWS is not won on opening night and the Beavers’ championship chase is far from over. So as he and his teammates awoke Saturday in the winners’ bracket of the eight-team tournament, they figuratively forgot about Friday’s heroics and literally moved on to Sunday’s next game.
There was a two-hour practice at a local high school. There was treatment and film study and scouting. There was a new juggernaut to prepare for.
“Our schedules are back-to-back-to-back-to-back,” Turley said. “So we really aren’t allowed to think too much of anything in the past. Right now we’re taking (batting practice), and after this, it’s off to a (team) dinner.”
And make no mistake, the Beavers’ next challenge is a doozy. Oregon State will face the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (54-11), who have won a staggering 24 games in a row, and starting pitcher Jacob Morrison, who is a perfect 11-0 this season.
The Chanticleers have not tasted defeated since April 22, when they dropped a midweek matchup at the College of Charleston, and their season-long body of work includes wins over NC State, Clemson, East Carolina, Southern Mississippi, Auburn and Arizona. They are a gritty team that plays fundamentally sound, Turley said, and if that sounds familiar, well, that’s because the Chanticleers carry many of the same traits as the Beavers.
“I’ve always been somewhat of a fan of Coastal,” Turley said. “I think they play great baseball.”
Especially on the mound. Coastal Carolina features the stingiest pitching staff in college baseball, as its staff ranks among the national leaders in a host of statistical categories, including second in ERA (3.21), third in WHIP (1.19) and eighth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.03). Morrison has been a catalyst to the success, bringing the fourth-most wins in college baseball, a minuscule 2.15 ERA and 95 strikeouts into Sunday’s game.
They’re imposing statistics and Morrison, who missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, is an imposing figure — he stands 6-foot-8. Behind him, Coastal Carolina’s bullpen is one of the deepest and perhaps most talented in the nation, featuring lockdown right-handers Ryan Lynch (2-1, 0.59 ERA, eight saves) and Matthew Potok (4-1, 2.55 ERA) and left-hander Dominick Carbone (6-0, 2.54 with five saves).
And they throw to the team’s best player, catcher Caden Bodine, a finalist for the Buster Posey Award.
“We’ve got a dugout full of a bunch of hungry and humble dogs,” Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Schnall said Friday, after his team defeated Arizona 7-4 to open the MCWS.
That matches OSU coach Mitch Canham’s scouting report on the Chanticleers, which was heavy on bunts and steals and even hit by pitches.
“They do a lot of the little things right,” he said. “Offensively, they push, drag, steal bases, (have) tons of attempts throughout the entirety of the lineup. A couple of the guys can really run. They put balls in play and (draw) a lot of hit by pitches. One guy’s got 31, three other guys (have) 17 hit by pitches. That is a skillset.”
As for the Beavers, well, they will counter with their own intimidating starting pitcher, a player who opened the season as the team’s “little secret” before emerging as their most consistent arm.
“He’s 6-8, has some good stuff, has a steep curveball,” Turley said of Morrison. “But we’ve got (Ethan) Kleinschmit. And Kleinschmit has been great.”
Great, yes. But, also, unflappable. The sophomore left-hander, who this time last year was pitching at Linn-Benton Community College, is as chill and unfazed as they come, a demeanor that has fueled an impressive debut season at OSU that has seen him go 8-4, with a 3.54 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 86 1/3 innings.
As Kleinschmit chatted Saturday following the Beavers’ practice, he seemed more worried about his pregame breakfast than the Chanticleers’ lineup.
“The hotel breakfast isn’t the best,” he said, smirking. “So I might have to go buy a breakfast tomorrow. Probably some eggs, potatoes, a meat. Maybe some toast or something.”
Uh, OK. But what about the 25,000 fans in the stands? And that red-hot team that owns the longest winning streak in college baseball?
Aren’t you a little nervous kid?
“No, not really,” he said. “I’ve never really been a nervous kind of guy. I don’t know (why). I feel like I just kind of just go there and play, you know, don’t think of it too big, and just go have fun.”
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | @freemanjoe.bsky.social
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