OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Oregon State already can make a case for ranking among the greatest college baseball teams of all time. If the Beavers win the national championship at the College World Series, there will be no argument.
At 54-4, the Beavers have the fewest losses of any team entering the CWS since Texas came in 57-4 in 1982. They take a 21-game winning streak into their game against Cal State Fullerton (39-22) on Saturday afternoon. Florida State (45-21) plays LSU (48-17) at night.
Oregon State won the Pac-12 by six games, the largest margin since the conference ended divisional play in 1999, and outscored three regional opponents 27-3 as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Beavers then cruised to a two-game sweep of Vanderbilt in super regionals.
Now comes the hard part – finishing the job on the college game’s grandest stage at TD Ameritrade Park.
“It is absolutely a lot of pressure, and it’s a different kind of pressure than any other experience along the way,” said retired Hall of Fame coach Augie Garrido, who won three national championships at Fullerton and two at Texas. “They’re going to have to adapt to the environment, and that is a huge challenge for all teams.”