Oregon State baseball’s impressive March run faces a tough challenge this weekend as the Beavers travel to San Luis Obispo, California, for a three-game series against the Cal Poly Mustangs.
Cal Poly has been nearly as dominant as sixth-ranked Oregon State (details below), especially at Baggett Stadium, where the Mustangs have won six of their first seven home games.
After spending most of the past two weeks at Goss Stadium—playing nine games against five different teams—Oregon State (16-3) will test its ability to maintain success away from Corvallis.
The Beavers opened the season with 10 neutral-site matchups in Arizona and Texas before returning home for a nine-game stretch. This weekend marks their first true road test of the season.
Road struggles were a major issue for Oregon State last season. The Beavers posted a 9-12 record in away games, including costly series sweeps against USC and Cal during the regular season, as well as back-to-back losses at Kentucky in the super regionals.
This series will be a good measure of progress.
“Last year, we struggled to win on the road,” senior catcher Wilson Weber said in February. “We need to get better at going into other teams’ ballparks and coming out on top. Winning at Goss is easy—great fans, great atmosphere. But if we want to take that next step and compete in Omaha, we have to figure out how to win on the road.”
Series Preview
The three-game series begins Friday at 6 p.m.
Weekly Trivia:
A 10-game winning streak is impressive, but it doesn’t come close to the longest in Oregon State history. What’s the record? (Answer at the bottom.)
Recent Performance
The Beavers have been on fire, winning 10 straight games after sweeping Grand Canyon and Santa Clara in a weekend series and defeating Rutgers in a midweek matchup. This marks their longest winning streak since last season when they won 12 in a row from Feb. 24 to March 17.
Poll Rankings
Oregon State’s dominance in March propelled them up multiple national polls. Entering the weekend, the Beavers are ranked between No. 6 and No. 11 across five major college baseball rankings, including a No. 6 spot in the D1Baseball Top 25, which The Oregonian/OregonLive uses as its official ranking.
Scouting Cal Poly
After a slow start to the season, the Mustangs have been one of the hottest teams in college baseball. They’ve won eight consecutive games and 12 of their last 13.
Cal Poly opened Big West Conference play with two dominant sweeps, including a three-game rout of Long Beach State last weekend, outscoring them 21-2. At 6-0 in conference play, this is the Mustangs’ best Big West start in 29 seasons.
Their resume also includes a three-game sweep of Cal State Fullerton and an early-season win over then-No. 1 Texas A&M.
Offensively, Cal Poly has been explosive, scoring nine or more runs in eight of the last 12 games while recording double-digit hits in 10 of those contests. The Mustangs are hitting .336 over their last 13 games, including a .335 mark in six conference matchups.
Leading the charge is cleanup hitter Jack Collins, a transfer catcher who tops the team in batting average (.377), slugging percentage (.727), hits (29), homers (five), doubles (12), and RBIs (27). Three other regulars are batting over .300, including:
- 1B Zach Daudet (.345, five doubles, 18 runs scored)
- Leadoff hitter Dante Vachini (.333, seven doubles, 15 RBIs)
- SS Nate Castellon (.323, 11 RBIs)
On the mound, Friday night starter Griffin Naess (2-1, 3.08 ERA) leads the rotation. The 6-foot-6 sophomore right-hander went 7-0 with a 3.58 ERA last season en route to Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors. This season, he’s struck out 24 batters in 26 1/3 innings and has pitched at least six innings in three of five starts.
Rounding out the weekend rotation are sophomores Josh Volmerding (2-1, 7.40 ERA) and Ethan Marmie (3-1, 3.67 ERA).
In the bullpen, junior closer Tanner Sagouspe has been dominant. He posted nine saves last season and already has three in nine appearances this year, allowing just one earned run and striking out 18 in 13 1/3 innings.
A Shift in Oregon State’s Lineup
A notable change came in Tuesday’s game, as sophomore third baseman Trent Caraway moved from the leadoff spot to third in the order, while junior outfielder Easton Talt took over at the top of the lineup.
Coach Mitch Canham had hinted at the possibility but was initially hesitant since both players were hitting well. Ultimately, the move paid off.
Talt went 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored, and an RBI double, seeing 18 pitches in four at-bats. Meanwhile, Caraway went 2-for-4 with a double, three RBIs, and a run scored.
“He’s going to be one of the best hitters in the country no matter where he bats,” Canham said of Caraway. “Talt has been playing with confidence, and we wanted to give him the chance to shake things up at leadoff.”
The Beavers’ offense has been solid but not overwhelming during their homestand, and Canham hopes the lineup tweak will generate more production.
Injury Update: Jabin Trosky
Redshirt-junior infielder Jabin Trosky is dealing with an undisclosed injury, and it appears to be serious.
Coach Canham hasn’t provided details or a timeline for Trosky’s return, but Trosky recently posted a hospital photo showing himself in a recovery bed with a sling around his left shoulder. The caption read: “Let the road to recovery begin.”
Trosky had been competing for the starting second base job after finishing last season strong. He emerged as the Beavers’ third baseman in the postseason despite never playing the position before, batting .287 with 20 RBIs and 22 runs in 40 games.
Probable Pitching Matchups
- Friday: OSU LHP Nelson Keljo (2-0, 1.57 ERA) vs. RHP Griffin Naess (2-1, 3.08 ERA)
- Saturday: OSU RHP Dax Whitney (2-2, 3.13 ERA) vs. LHP Josh Volmerding (2-1, 7.40 ERA)
- Sunday: OSU LHP Ethan Kleinschmit (3-1, 1.35 ERA) vs. RHP Ethan Marmie (3-1, 3.67 ERA)
Series History
Oregon State holds a 10-3 all-time record against Cal Poly. The teams last met in 2023 in San Luis Obispo, where the Beavers won three of four games. OSU has a 6-1 record at Baggett Stadium.
Trivia Answer
Oregon State’s longest winning streak in program history? Scroll no further: Oregon State won 23 consecutive games during the 2017 season.
Trivia answer
Twenty-three. In 2017, the Beavers achieved a program-best streak of 23 consecutive wins, concluding the season with a 56-6 record and making it to the College World Series. This impressive run began on February 25 with a 5-2 victory against Nebraska in Surprise, Arizona, and came to an end with a 3-2 loss to Washington on April 13.
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