Oregon State Baseball: 5 Takeaways Ahead Of The Super Regionals
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With the Oregon State baseball team (45-14) set to face the Kentucky Wildcats (43-13) in a best-of-three series in Lexington this weekend with a bid to Omaha and the College World Series at stake, BeaversEdge.com gives five important takeaways...
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1. Aiden May & Jacob Kmatz Rolling On The Mound
Oregon State is one of 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Baseball Postseason and the performances of ace Aiden May and Saturday starter Jacob Kmatz have been a huge reason why.
It's often said that you need to have dynamite starting pitching to have a legit shot in Omaha and the duo is playing at a level that would certainly give the Beavers a great chance to make their eighth appearance and first since 2018.
Starting with May, he's really grown into the ace role for the Beavers and is easily playing his best baseball of the season when it matters most.
He's coming off a win over Tulane in the opening game where he struck out nine and allowed just four runs. The win made him a perfect 7-0 on the season and he'll have a ton of confidence and an extra day's rest when the Beavers take on UK on Saturday night...
Moving over to Kmatz, here's a guy who could be a Friday night starter for many college baseball teams. He's as good of a day-two starter as you could ask for and he was magnificent in the win over UC Irvine, allowing just three hits and a run while striking out seven.
While the pitching depth behind them (more on that in #3) is a bit shakier, having two guys at the top of your lineup who are capable of carrying the team to Omaha is a huge advantage for the Beavers.
The Beavers lead the Pac-12 with an ERA of 4.01 and they'll need to be at their best against a Kentucky squad that is very opportunistic on offense. Kentucky doesn't lead the SEC in offensive categories, but they're top five in nearly every offensive statistic.
2. Beaver Bats Hot At The Right Time
From an offensive standpoint, the Beavers' three games in the Corvallis Regional proved that the bats are hot at just the right time. Just as important as having key pitching late in the season, not going cold with the bats is crucial to late-season success.
The Beavers scored 26 runs over their three games in the Corvallis Regional, averaging roughly 8.5 runs per contest. That lines up with the Beavers' season average of nearly nine runs per game and that has to continue against a Kentucky team that is one of the best in the SEC.
Oregon State's lineup can burn you one through nine and when it comes to offensive head-to-head, they have the advantage over the Wildcats with a better average, more hits, runs, walks, RBIs, and several others.
For the Beavers to come out of Lexington with the win, it will have to be more than just the Beavers' big offensive guys doing the heavy lifting. We all know what Travis Bazzana, Micah McDowell, and Gavin Turley can do offensively, it's up to the next level of guys to maintain the strong offense we've seen as of late.
Guys like Wilson Weber, Brady Kasper, Elijah Hainline, and Jacob Krieg are guys who come to mind and could be the offensive difference in a gritty series.
Just as important as getting quality starting pitching, few teams have made Omaha with a stagnant offense and the Beavers will need to prove they can take their hot bats east and get it done in a new and rowdy postseason environment.
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