Anything may have significance, of course, but on Monday at Goss Stadium, when the center field scoreboard went dark in the middle of the ninth inning, it felt particularly meaningful.
Literally, they turned off the lights for another season of Corvallis-based Oregon State athletics.
Obviously not on Beavers baseball. OSU defeated UC Irvine 11–6 behind an offensive explosion that lasted almost 20 hours, advancing to the NCAA Tournament super regional round for the ninth time since 2005.
The team needs two more victories to qualify for its ninth College World Series and first since 2018.
Elijah Hainline, the shortstop, stated, “We all think that we can win it, so this is just one of the steppingstones that gets us to the next (point) that we need to be.”
However, it also felt like more because Oregon State was going through so much change. The Beavers will now travel to Lexington, Kentucky, for this weekend’s game, and possibly even Omaha after that.
The last home game of the Oregon State sports season was held on Monday.
Oregon State supporters gathered on campus to sing “O-S-U” in unison in celebration for the final time this year, just as they did after Bridger Holmes struck out UCI’s Caden Kendle in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs.
And to celebrate, which is exactly what happened when Holmes motioned to the crowd to become excited while the ball was still in the air and before it landed in Elijah Hainline’s glove at shortstop after Kendle popped up to shallow left field.
Afterwards, the concessionaires shut down. Ushers headed back home. At Oregon State, everyone is off duty until the fall, when the Beavers’ numerous teams play through alliances and with different conferences to start a new season. a fresh environment.
Undoubtedly, nobody can predict what will happen to Oregon State baseball following this season. The impacts of realignment have destroyed the remainder of the university. There have been significant defections from every other major program on campus, including softball, football, and both basketball teams. Now, players who traveled to play in the Pac-12 are investing in something very different.
The character of athletics at Oregon State and Corvallis, as well as the supporters’ identities, have undergone a profound transformation.
Baseball? With the greatest history of success, the most hardware, and the best atmosphere, it seems to be Oregon State’s most sheltered program.
Coach Mitch Canham has stated that he believes his program is designed to survive the forces that have caused so much destruction throughout campus, and players have made positive statements about returning.
However, at Oregon State, uncertainty reigns supreme, and the past ten months have produced a large number of doubters. You might get away with not believing in much these days.
The fact that the year’s last on-campus event took place across two days suggests that there may be some poetry in it. The game was halted in the bottom of the fourth inning on Sunday night due to torrential rain, which made the last positive aspect of OSU athletics endure a little bit longer.
It’s highly likely that the supporters who persevered through the rain on Sunday would have like to see it resolved immediately. Most likely, the Beavers would have as well. But all that was absent by the time Yakety-Sax was blasting from the speakers and the game was called amid the deluge. As if on a Slip n’ Slide, Dallas Macias slid past second base. The next pitch in the game almost cleared the safety netting.
It was the right and necessary decision to move the remainder of the game to Monday. The Beavers were also prepared. After scoring six runs on Sunday, they added five more on Monday, including home runs from Macias and Mason Guerra to complement Hainline’s spectacular performance the previous evening.
The first pitch of Travis Bazzana’s last at-bat at Goss Stadium was then sent toward the right field fence in the eighth inning. A wind blow snatches that ball and pushes it barely inside the foul pole in a rewritten past. The most decorated player in Oregon State history, lofty bar that is, grounded out to second base after it hooked just foul.
However, a Disney film wasn’t necessary for the day to have significance.
The next time Oregon State baseball takes the field at Goss Stadium, it will undoubtedly look different from what it has.
On Monday, Canham gave himself permission to wax poetic about his program.
“I enjoy seeing the trailers here and the people tailgating and getting ready to watch some Beaver baseball when I pull into the stadium in the morning,” he remarked. As they approach, you get to honk your horn at them.
He claimed that his players are superheroes to young fans.
“One of the coolest moments is getting to put your name on a baseball or a card for somebody and for these guys to experience,” Canham remarked when discussing signings.
Beavers supporters were left with one last victory by Canham’s team in a year where defeats have outnumbered victories.
With one out in the ninth inning, just before that final popup sent the Beavers sprinting onto the field in jubilation and on to Lexington, the scoreboard flickered back to life.
For the time being, the Beavers are keeping the lights on.
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