2017 College World Series: Oregon State Continues Streak With Rout

This is Omaha. This is @BeaverBaseball. We continue to make history. #GoBeavs #CWS pic.twitter.com/6d2j4CAMVp

— Go Beavs (@BeaverAthletics) June 20, 2017

OMAHA—Oregon State and Louisiana State went into Monday night’s winners’ bracket showdown at the College World Series riding the two longest active winning streaks in the country. The Beavers had won 22 straight games and the Tigers had won 17.

With the two hottest teams in the country on a collision course, something had to give. And with the freight train that is Oregon State barreling through TD Ameritrade Park, that something was LSU.

Righthander Bryce Fehmel dealt for the second straight game in the NCAA Tournament, and the Beavers’ offense pounded out 13 runs on 11 hits and 12 walks as they rolled to a 13-1 victory. Oregon State (56-4) extended its winning streak to 23 games, matching its own mark for the longest winning streak in the country this season.

Oregon State, the No. 1 national seed, advances to Friday’s bracket final. It will play either LSU, the No. 4 national seed, or Florida State, who will meet Wednesday night in an elimination game.

Monday’s game was the biggest so far this season for the Beavers. They embraced the moment and delivered their best game of the year.

“We played pretty good tonight,” coach Pat Casey said. “The situation was big. So it even made it bigger. There’s something about them. So they make you look good when you win games. And they put in a lot of work, and now they’re enjoying what they’ve done.”

Oregon State was in control from the start. Steven Kwan led off the game with a bunt single on the first pitch, advanced to second on a hit-and-run grounder to short and scored when Trevor Larnach ripped a single up the middle. Casey said because the Beavers were the visiting team, he wanted them to be the aggressors.

“Take the first shot,” he said. “Kwanie did a great job. He made a great jump and I thought, ‘What the heck, let’s go again.’ I wanted to be aggressive. It takes the edge off.”

After the Beavers’ early attack, LSU righthander Eric Walker settled into the game, retiring four straight batters. But the freshman left the game at the start of the third inning with tightness in his right forearm. Coach Paul Mainieri said he didn’t think there was anything structurally wrong with Walker’s arm, rather he was suffering from fatigue after throwing more than 90 innings this season.

Righthander Caleb Gilbert replaced Walker and was solid the first time through Oregon State’s order, striking out four batters. But eventually, the Beavers got to the sophomore, forcing the Tigers to go deeper into their bullpen, pressing some more seldom-used pitchers into service against a patient, potent offense.

Oregon State took advantage in the sixth inning. Already leading 3-0, four of the first six batters drew walks, setting the stage for K.J. Harrison. With the bases loaded and two outs, the junior slugger drove the first pitch he saw from LSU closer Hunter Newman into the left-field seats. It was the first grand slam in the CWS since the tournament moved to TD Ameritrade Park in 2011.

“That’s the kind of stuff you dream of growing up as a little kid,” Harrison said. “For it to come true and at such a big stage, it was an amazing feeling.”

After Harrison’s blast and Fehmel still dealing, the rout was on. The righthander held LSU to one run—a seventh-inning solo home run by Zach Watson—scattering two hits and three walks in eight innings. In two starts in the NCAA Tournament, he is 2-0, 1.06 with a 0.59 WHIP.

Fehmel’s strong showing in the NCAA Tournament comes after being sidelined for the final few weeks of the season. Before facing Vanderbilt in super regionals, he had last pitched May 6 against California. The righthander was going through a dead arm period at the time, but both he and Casey said Monday that he also needed the break mentally.

“It helped me get my mind straight and give my arm a break,” Fehmel said. “The main thing was getting my mind straight and realizing what I had to do.”

Monday he did exactly what Oregon State needed him to do. The offense took care of the rest, with 11 hits, 12 walks and 13 runs, putting the Beavers one win away from returning to the CWS finals for the first time since 2007.

Oregon State won its way, like it has all season. From start to finish, from Kwan’s drag bunt to shortstop Cadyn Grenier looking to turn a double play to end the game, the Beavers played hard. It was the kind of business-like game they have come to expect, no matter the stage.

“I tell them all the time . . . you make it,” Casey said. “You make it. You create the environment you want to excel in.”