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With the Oregon State baseball team taking down TCU in the second game of the Corvallis Regional on Saturday, BeaversEdge.com lays out how the Beavers can still win the Corvallis Regional.
The Beavers are no stranger to big-time runs through the elimination bracket, less so in regional play, but both their 2006 and 2018 national championship games came through their paths in the losers' bracket. And head coach Mitch Canham was on one of those squads...
We dive into the necessary steps below...
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Step 1 - Defeat No. 2 Seed TCU (Saturday - Noon) - COMPLETE 7-2 W
Oregon State took the first step toward fulfilling this plan with a 7-2 win on Saturday... Dax Whitney was beyond impressive on the mound, and with Nelson Keljo using just over 60 pitches and still having some left in the tank per Mitch Canham, the Beavers didn't overuse their bullpen either, a must is coming back via the consolidation bracket... It's a journey and one game at a time, but they're off and running
Step 2 - Defeat No. 4 St. Mary's - Sunday, 3 p.m
Here's where things get interesting... Because it's a 1/4 matchup, it's not quite as daunting as you might think. Perhaps I'm underselling here, but I think St. Mary's arguably played the game of their season in their opening win over the Beavers, and I think it's going to work in the Beavers' favor..
St. Mary's pitcher, who was key on Friday, won't be available so you're likely to get a third guy on a team that was a 4 seed for a reason against an everyday Sunday starter for the Beavs.
On the mound, we're likely to see Ethan Kleinschmit, which gives the Beavers another really good chance to be in the driver's seat pitching-wise. The bullpen outside of Hutcheson should be available in this regard as well..
Step 3 - Win Game 1 vs 2-0 USC - Sunday 7 p.m.
Should the Beavers take down and eliminate yet another team in the Corvallis Regional, they'd be facing the 2-0 USC Trojans, the 3 seeds.
Having to run through the losers' bracket, this is where you start to have to dig deep for pitching. USC will have its No. 3 Sunday starter available, whereas the Beavers will have to look to the bullpen for options.
If you believe that he just had an off night and still has the confidence, Eric Segura would be more than capable of starting after throwing just 28 pitches, which is comparable to a bullpen session.
Wyatt Queen could be another option to consider in a starting spot here, but the Beavers don't have an abundance of starting arms with good amounts of innings, but at home, they do have the arms to deliver if they're on their game.
Step 4- Take The Corvallis Regional In A Winner Take All - Monday TBD
Should things break in your favor and you get to the regional final in a winner-take-all situation, all bets are off because even if you're on the winners bracket, by now you're onto your midweek pitcher or looking at pulling back in your Friday guy on relatively short rest. If your in Oregon State's position, the Beavers will be very deep into their bullpen, but not in an impossible situation, thanks to the depth. If the Beavers didn't go with Segura in the prior game, he's a solid option even with the off game considering his starts, along with Queen, Keljo, and even the possibility of Hutcheson, who only threw 53 pitches in the Friday game... By the time you get to this point should the Beavers do so, it's all hands on deck and the bullpen would be emptied, perhaps with guys who don't have quite ideal rest as there would be no tomorrow...
