The Oregon State Beavers’ surprising weekend sweep against the rival Ducks has led to an unsurprising slide in the national rankings.
The Beavers on Monday plummeted outside the top 10 in more than one of the five major college baseball polls, falling all the way to No. 16 on one ballot, in the aftermath of their weekend no-show in Eugene.
Oregon State dropped to No. 7 in the D1Baseball Top 25, No. 10 in the Perfect Game Top 25, No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 16 in the Baseball America Top 25. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll will be released Monday afternoon.
The Ducks, meanwhile, surged into the top 10 in the majority of the polls, including No. 6 in the D1 Baseball Top 25, which The Oregonian/OregonLive uses for its rankings.
The Beavers’ tumble was widely expected after a disastrous weekend, during which they trailed for all but 4 2/3 innings and were outscored 20-5 over three games.
It was a stunning development for a team that entered the series riding the nation’s longest-active winning streak (12 games) and chasing a top eight national seed in the NCAA baseball tournament. And it sent Oregon State back to Corvallis searching for ways to rediscover its mojo — and its fun.
The Beavers (32-10) arrived in Eugene swinging a hot bat, hitting .317 with 28 home runs, 32 doubles and 117 runs scored in 13 April games. But the Ducks’ Achilles heel — its pitching staff — silenced the OSU offense all weekend, holding the Beavers to just five runs and 16 hits.
It was the worst three-game output of the season for Oregon State, which has scored more than five runs in 26 games this season, including 10 this month.
“These last five games, we’ve just been a little off some of our pitches … missing some of those opportunities to drive the baseball,” OSU coach Mitch Canham said. “We’re looking to get back on that climb, where we were heading. Even though we won those (midweek) games against Gonzaga, it didn’t feel like we were still elevating. It kind of felt like plaining out a little bit. And we’ve got to jump-start that.”
As a result of the rough weekend, the Beavers — who suffered their first three-game losing streak of the season — tumbled from No. 9 to No. 11 in the RPI, which factors heavily into a team’s postseason credentials.
Oregon State will host the Ducks Tuesday night in a midweek matchup at Goss Stadium and still has resume-building road series at Hawaii (28-14) and Big Ten Conference leader Iowa (21-12) on its schedule, so a top eight seed perhaps still remains within reach. But it won’t be easy after last weekend’s flop.
“Obviously it really sucks to get swept by the Ducks,” OSU outfielder Gavin Turley said. “So (we have to) take tomorrow, reset, and we’ve got them again on Tuesday. Every single game is a Super Bowl. Every single game is a National Championship. This is in the past. Who cares now? So let’s go get them on Tuesday.”
— 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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