Bulletin E-Edition:
more photosOregon State players celebrate after beating North Carolina 9-3 in Game 2 of the best-ofthree College World Series baseball finals in Omaha, Neb., on Sunday.
The Associated Press
A Beaver repeat
OSU sweeps N.C. to win second straight College World Series
By Abe Winter / For The Bulletin
Published: June 25. 2007 4:00AM PSTOMAHA, Neb. —
It’s official. Oregon State has proven that you don’t have to be highly ranked to become the NCAA baseball champion.
The Beavers became the first team seeded as low as No. 3 in the regionals — that is, outside the top 32 — to win the College World Series.
They sealed their second consecutive national title Sunday night with a 9-3 victory over North Carolina, sweeping the best-of-three championship series. Oregon State won 11-4 in the series opener on Saturday.
North Carolina, by the way, was the national No. 3 seed and was second in the Collegiate Baseball national rankings. OSU wasn’t in the top 25 on any national poll but was elevated to No. 5 on June 11 by Collegiate Baseball.
Today, the Beavers are No. 1 — for the second straight year — and this time they did it even more impressively by going 5-0 in the College World Series and outscoring their opponents by 26 runs in Omaha.
“Nobody stopped us,” said OSU closer Eddie Kunz, who pitched only one-third of an inning, needing just nine pitches to close out the Game 1 victory over Cal State Fullerton.
“That doesn’t matter to me,” he added. “I’m here for the team, and it’s one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had in my life.
“We got on a roll, had a hot streak when we needed it.”
Coach Pat Casey said the Beavers’ roll to the championship started in the Regional in Virginia when the they rallied to beat the host Cavaliers twice.
“Something happened in our dugout and we got inspired,” Casey said of the Regional. “I don’t know why. This was a different feeling. It was magic. It never went away.
“But all the credit goes to the players and we’re proud of them. I really can’t explain it. There was never any fear.
“I’m a blessed man. I just felt we were going to win.”
Sue Casey, the coach’s wife, agreed.
“This is crazy,” she said. “This year is unbelievable, because nobody thought we could do this.”
Jorge Reyes, who allowed only three runs in 12 1/3 innings while going 2-0 in Omaha, was voted the most outstanding player of the 2007 CWS.
He was almost speechless after accepting the trophy for his individual award, voted by media covering the event.
“I really wasn’t expecting it, but I’m glad I won it,” the freshman right-hander said. “My stomach’s swirling 1,000 miles an hour.”
He then talked about his three goals in baseball: winning a CWS championship, getting drafted, and winning a World Series as a professional.
“One down, two to go,” he said.
OSU junior shortstop Darwin Barney figures to be gone soon, probably signing with the Chicago Cubs, who picked him in the fourth round of the draft earlier this month.
He’s made quite an impact on the Oregon State program, helping the Beavers get to the CWS in all three of his seasons.
The Beaverton product capped quite a career Sunday, starting with a two-run homer in the second inning. That blast made him Oregon State’s career hits leader with 237, and later he made it 238 with a double. The former record was set by Jacoby Ellsbury, of Madras, with 236 from 2003 to 2005.
Barney also received votes for the outstanding player award, but that wasn’t on his mind. He’ll soon announce whether he’s coming back to OSU, though he acknowledges that it might be time to go.
“But I promised the guys if we won this again, I’d think about it (returning to OSU for his senior year),” Barney said. “We’re pretty close, and I know they’ll respect my decision.”
Casey said, “Good, I like that promise. If he comes back, I’ll be tickled.”
Barney said winning the second straight CWS was “right up there, No. 1 or No. 2 in my life.”
“It all comes together with my family here,” he said of his parents, four siblings and other relatives. “In between pitches, you have to soak it all in. It’s Omaha, Nebraska, and it’s every child’s dream.”
Barney not only hit the key home run, he also cemented the victory with a great relay throw in the seventh inning to nail a North Carolina runner at the plate with the Beavers leading 7-3.
“This club really came together at the right time,” he said. “It’s a tribute to the Northwest, to the Pac-10, the style of baseball we play.”
Larry and Karen Nicholson of Medford regretted not coming to Omaha to watch Oregon State win its first College World Series. And they weren’t about to miss this one.
“We didn’t know we were going to come until Thursday,” said Larry Nicholson, an insurance agent and chairman of the Medford School Board. “We got caught up in the enthusiasm.
We were sorry we didn’t come last year.”
The Nicholsons were here only for the championship finals, but that was enough to ensure a memorable moment.
“It’s surreal,” Larry said. “Oregon State has a great program. Pat Casey has put together a great team.”
Roger Bulger, who owned property and lived for a time at Black Butte Ranch before moving to Phoenix in 2004, got to see all five Oregon State games in the CWS.
“I guess the Beavers have got momentum on their bench,” he said. “You have to have a combination of good playing and good luck. And they’ve had both.”
The Bulger family connection to the Beavers comes from sons Kevin and Patrick, who both graduated from OSU after attending high school in Tigard. The Bulgers all consider OSU’s back-to-back titles an “incredible accomplishment.”
“I attribute it to Pat Casey and his staff,” Roger Bulger said. “Pat gives the players confidence that they can beat anybody, and I think that’s showing.”
Kevin Bulger added: “I think it’s incredible, a little school like this in the Northwest putting together a team of players like this from the Northwest.”
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