NCAA Baseball Tournament – Corvallis Regional
NCAA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT – CORVALLIS REGIONAL — Bring on the bats. If you love to watch offense, this is the regional for you, as some of the nation’s best offenses descend on Corvallis. Oregon State, UC Irvine and Nicholls are all in the top 25 nationally for runs scored, while Tulane averaged double digit runs per game in winning the American Conference tournament.
But will the Beavers’ hitting return to normal after a quick exit in the final Pac-12 tournament? Oregon State has been feast-or-famine all season, scoring just seven runs in its past three games. In the game before, the Beavers dropped 16 runs on Arizona. The opposition should have a hard time containing the Oregon State lineup, but the same holds going the other way.
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Irvine brings a .400 hitter to the northwest, and Nicholls believes it’s ready to take another step forward after scaring Alabama last season. The Colonels blasted the Southland Conference tournament last weekend, run-ruling both Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and McNeese State. If the bats stay hot, they have a chance to pull a surprise.
Players to Watch
Getting a .400 hitter in one spot is rare. Getting two of them is even harder, and three is almost unheard of. But that’s what we’ve got in Corvallis. Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana, Nicholls first baseman Edgar Alvarez and Irvine outfielder Myles Smith all topped the magic number this season, and Bazzana and Alvarez both have reasonable pop in their bats.
Bazzana is about as reliable as it gets, ranking second in the nation with a .581 OBP. Smith and Alvarez aren’t far behind, posting a .529 and .518 OBP respectively to rank ninth and 13th nationally. Bazzana also whacked 26 home runs to pace Oregon State, and he’s backed up by Gavin Turley and his 18 bombs. Tulane doesn’t have anyone of that caliber, but Jackson Linn did hit 16 home runs.
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Jacob Mayers can go one of two ways for Nicholls. He consistently misses bats, but the problem is that sometimes hitters swing and sometimes they don’t. Mayers ranked 25th nationally in strikeouts, but he also walked 74 batters. If he’s hitting the zone, the Colonels can pull a surprise. If he’s all over the place, good luck.
Nick Pinto’s his likely opponent, and Pinto’s much more reliable with his command. The Irvine pitcher fanned 90 hitters but walked just 21 for the year. Their duel will likely decide who gets to challenge the Beavers.
The Favorite
Oregon State’s big edge is that the Beavers almost never lose at home. They went 24-2 in Corvallis this season, and their rotation should all be very comfortable pitching these games. Unlike most teams, Oregon State has three reliable starters and a decent bullpen, which should make a big difference.
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The Beavers’ big worry is if the bats go to sleep. After Bazzana and Turley, there aren’t many reliable RBI producers in the lineup. This is a team built on pitching and manufacturing runs, not on power. As long as the Beavers are keeping opponents from scoring, they’ll have an edge.
Potential Surprise
After Smith and Caden Kendle, the Anteaters’ lineup drops off a fair amount. Nicholls saw a power surge over the weekend, as both Basiel Williams and Garrett Felix joined the Southland home run parade on their path to the title. Whichever team can hit better is going to have the edge.
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However, Oregon State appears to have too much depth. For a No. 15 seed, the Beavers really got a reasonable draw. Nicholls and Irvine are good opponents, but they’re not as strong as some of the No. 2 seeds from the power conferences would have been. The Colonels look like they’re ready to take a step forward and get to a regional final, but they’re not quite at the level of a blue blood like Oregon State. The Beavers should be on track for supers.
