Oregon State Baseball: 3 Players to Watch in the Civil War

With a three-game Civil War series between the Oregon State Beavers and the Oregon Ducks on deck at PK Park this weekend, BeaversEdge.com gives you three Beavers to watch. With the Beavers needing to turn things around in a big way this weekend, here's three players who are primed to have a great weekend.

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If there's a player who's primed to have a breakout performance in the opener against the Ducks, it's Friday night ace Brandon Eisert. The Beaverton, Oregon native should thrive off the in-state matchup between the Beavers and Ducks and his play will be big determining factor in the Beavers' success.

The 6-foot-2, 209 pound southpaw was thrust into the starting lineup earlier this season once Kevin Abel went down with season ending Tommy John Surgery, and despite having an increased workload and higher expectations, Eisert has been all but dynamite for the Beavers.

In his last two starts, against Washington State and Oklahoma State, Eisert has gone 1-1, surrendering 19 hits, five runs, and zero walks while tallying 11 strikeouts. While the Oklahoma State loss last Friday really isn't on Eisert as he gave up just one run, the OSU offense didn't do much to help, scoring just one run.

Eisert is known for being a pitcher who specializes in being able to get hitters to swing and miss at his movement in his pitches rather than pitching to contact and I'd like to see him get back to that this weekend against the Ducks.

With the Beavers heading into hostile territory in Eugene this weekend, Eisert will be among the experience playmakers who can make an early impact and set the tone for the series, and after taking the loss last week, he'll be motivated to face his arch-rival.

After missing last weekend with what the Oregon State coaching staff deemed as load management, Grant Gambrell is slated to return to starting duties on Sunday. Given that the Beavers elected to sit the righty in the finale against the Cowboys, he's definitely a player to keep an eye on this series.

Perhaps it was simply rest, perhaps it was that the Beavers were already down 0-2 in the series and didn't want to use one of the better arms on the team, but regardless, I love the move from pitching coach Nate Yeskie and interim head coach Pat Bailey. Gambrell has quietly become the reliable Sunday pitcher that the Beavers had been hoping he'd become and is suddenly a crucial backbone to the postseason success of the team.

With Gambrell boasting a 4-1 record and 2.96 ERA, the Beavers need him at his best to further solidify the starting unit behind Eisert and Bryce Fehmel.

Despite the injuries the Beavers have sustained this season, a starting rotation of Eisert, Fehmel, and Gambrell is good enough to get you deep into the postseason, now it's all about getting back into a flow an a rhythm this weekend against the Ducks.

Gambrell will take the bump on Sunday to close out the series, and if the Beavers have had their way, he'll be looking to complete the sweep. Gambrell's powerful arm should be good to go now that he's had an extra weeks' rest to get ready for this all-important Civil War series, and if I were a betting man, I'd say he's going to look as fresh and poised as we've seen him all season.

After having to head to the pine with a hamstring injury back in mid-April, junior shortstop Beau Phillip made his return against Oklahoma State in the Saturday and Sunday games, albeit in a DH role.

Phillip is one of Oregon State's most consistent and reliable hitters and not having him in the lineup on a consistent basis has hurt the Beavers. Phillip, who's played in 33 of the 46 games this season, has the second highest average on the team behind Adley Rutschman (.316), while also leading the team in doubles (10).

Oregon State's offense has been inconsistent at best over the past few weeks, and having a healthy Phillip moving forward will do wonders for the Beaver offense. It'll be an even bigger bonus when he's able to return to shortstop and free up the DH role to another big time bat.

Time will tell whether or not Phillip remains in the DH role in Eugene or returns to full time duty, but either way, having his offense back in the lineup makes the Beavers go and that'll be on full display this weekend in Eugene.

The Beavers have had to sit with the sting of four straight losses all week long and I wouldn't be surprised to see Phillip, and the rest of the OSU offense, which was largely stymied by suspect Cowboy pitchers, bounce back in a big way.