I thought it was screwy when the pairings for this year’s NCAA baseball playoffs were announced, and the Eugene regional had Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State, and Yale. Huh?
How could it be that the surviving original members of the PAC-12 conference, Oregon State and Washington State, were in the same regional double elimination tournament hosted by Oregon, along with Yale? But baseball works in mysterious ways, so I tried to look on the bright side — even though I had been hoping that both Oregon and Oregon State would advance past the regional stage.
Pleasingly, Oregon and Oregon State made it into the regional final yesterday, with the winner moving on to a best of three super regional against Texas, which is the final step before the College World Series. So I was going to be happy that one of my favorite teams won, no matter who the winner was.
Turned out to be Oregon, by a 4-1 score. I was rooting more for Oregon State, mainly because I’ve enjoyed watching the OSU baseball team in the postseason for more years than I’ve followed Oregon.
The way Oregon State lost was disturbing to me. And I’m sure to the OSU pitching staff.
They kept walking Oregon batters in the seventh inning. With the bases loaded, two walks turned a 1-1 tie into 3-1 Oregon lead, and a ground-out in that inning gave Oregon another run for the 4-1 final score. I feel better when the team I’m rooting for loses because the other team played better, rather than, in this case, losing because of self-inflicted mistakes.
Regardless, baseball is a fickle sport. As the saying goes, on any given day a decent baseball team can beat a really good team if things break their way. Witness UCLA, the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and a powerhouse all season long, losing twice to Saint Mary’s in the Los Angeles regional and getting knocked out of the tournament.
My granddaughter is finishing up her first year at the University of Oregon, so I felt a bit guilty favoring Oregon State in the Eugene regional. Now I can wholeheartedly cheer for Oregon in the Texas super regional.
Oregon played with a lot of energy and exuberance. Of course, that’s easier when playing at home. Yesterday’s game was a sellout with mostly Oregon fans and a smattering of Oregon State fans. They were so loud, likely the Oregon State pitchers felt the crowd’s negativity toward them washing over the pitching mound as they unsuccessfully tried to find the strike zone in that pivotal seventh inning.
Next season the Oregon State baseball team will be in a revitalized PAC-12 conference, rather than having to piece together an independent schedule as was the case this year. They’ll be a strong contender for postseason play once again, as will Oregon.
Both Oregon and Oregon State had great seasons this year. They did themselves, and this state, proud. So even though only Oregon is moving on in the NCAA tournament, both baseball teams are winners to me.
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