Oregon State wins their first College World Series title

Two tough losses in a row for UNC--but kudos to the Beavers for their comeback wins. How strange is it for these two teams to have met for the championship? I'm admittedly not a regular follower of college baseball; but I'm used to reading/hearing about Southern Cal, Texas, CSF, Ariz. St. , LSU, Miami, Wich. St. , Stanford, and Fla. St. playing for/winning titles.

posted by curtangle at 01:10 AM - reply - flag:

And so it begins... Maybe more baseball teams from the North will be able to field good teams now and give the Southern teams a run for their money in the good old American pasttime..

posted by NightingalesGone at 06:25 AM - reply - flag:

I was really wishing for a South Carolina (Cocks)* vs. Oregon State (Beavers) matchup, but this was a good series. Congrats to Oregon State's players. They played very well. * my mother-in-law works at the University of South Carolina. I find it funny when I pick up the phone and hear her yell "Go Cocks!" when they have won. She and my father-in-law attended every home baseball game this year. They also see nearly every men's football game and both the women and men's basketball games.

posted by terrapin at 06:52 AM - reply - flag:

One reason I'm a fan of the College World Series is because it's not a "one and done" format. A team can bounce back from a few losses and still win it all. It shows the true character of an entire team, and Oregon State should be proud of this accomplishment.

posted by dyams at 08:20 AM - reply - flag:

Well, they can bounce back from a single loss. Watching the two games I'd have to say it was mainly Oregon State quickly capitalizing on some really costly North Carolina fielding errors. The Beavers didn't take that championship in a convincing manner. Not that I'm downplaying Oregon's victory, but I wonder what happened to the gloves and common baseball sense of the Tar Heels?

posted by ?! at 08:59 AM - reply - flag:

Stanford had a pretty off year, by their standards, and lost to the Beavers in the Super Regional final. Only one of the eight finalist teams from 2005 (Oregon State) made it back to Omaha this year. I don't know if this is a new parity or just a temporary thing.

posted by Amateur at 09:33 AM - reply - flag:

I unfortunately didn't get to catch any games this year, but I saw the highlights on S.C. last night. I was very impressed with UNC's second baseman, Steed, who, after making what appeared to have been the most costly error for his team (and on a pretty easy play), handled the postgame presser with poise and great composure. Says something about his character, and probably also the character of his teammates and coaches.

posted by BullpenPro at 11:48 AM - reply - flag:

What a great game! That attempted steal of home was something so brilliant I couldn't believe it. If only the guy doesn't swing or the catcher doesn't quite hold on! I was glad to see the Beaver's win.

posted by vito90 at 12:20 PM - reply - flag:

BullPenPro: I don't know if your highlights explained this but Steed was throwing to a right-handed 5-9 freshman catcher who was put in at 1B. From the play you can see the guy is right on the base and didn't give much of a stretch. Steed led the runner with a throw to the outfield side of the base. I'm not saying Steed didn't making a bit of an error, but the 6-4 left-handed 1B (who is used to the position) probably would have snagged that throw. North Carolina simply made too many errors at the wrong time.

posted by ?! at 02:35 PM - reply - flag:

?!: Judging from the box score, it looks like Federowicz played the whole game at first. And looking at the Tar Heels' stats, it would appear that Flack was the regular 1B during the season. It seems awfully strange that, minus an injury (which doesn't appear to be the issue), they would have players starting out of position. Weird. Their Sunday lineup made a lot more sense, but I'm not that familiar with the team. The highlights made no mention of the 1B. It did appear that he was slow getting to the bag and had trouble adjusting back to get to the ball up the line. He did not appear to be the most nimble player, but the throw did look to be off line by plenty. Tough break for UNC, but considering they're only losing one senior, I'm guessing they'll show up on the other side of this thing, and soon.

posted by BullpenPro at 03:35 PM - reply - flag:

BullPenPro: Yes, he did, but started at C the day before. For Monday's game they moved 1B to 3B, 3B to DH, and C to 1B for that last game. They also brought Steed in as a defensive replacement in the 4th or 5th. The team responded with all the changes by having a four error night. Not that they played pristine ball on Sunday -- though they weren't charged with any errors that night. The quick interview after the game with the Tar Heels coach had a telling moment. One of his first comments was that if the batter hadn't swung on the attempt to steal home the game could have turned. (I'm paraphasing.) I got the impression the batter missed a sign or made an unfortunate attempt to smack the ball at the wrong time. But, as you say, they have next year to come back.

posted by ?! at 09:02 PM - reply - flag:

terrapin, You've got a great mother-in-law...Wonder if there are any in Oregon that yell,"Go Beavers Go?"

posted by billythekid at 02:07 PM - reply - flag:

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

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