How in the hell did they pull that off? Two out, a man on second, and a playable pop fly hit in foul territory by Orioles first-round pick, Cadyn Grenier, which was the presumable third out to eliminate the Oregon State Beavers from the College World Series was DROPPED!
The Beavers’ starting pitching struggled again with Bryce Fehmel only lasted two innings, but Brandon Eisert came in to stabilize things. He went five innings striking out seven and only allowing two runs to an offense that was glowing with confidence. In the same vain, Oregon State’s offense sputtered throughout the game spoiling meaningful opportunities to break through. In the 6th, the team looked to try a suicide squeeze similar to what it did in the 5th inning, which resulted in a pop-out bunt to the pitcher and double play at third base. In the 8th red hot Adley Rutschman was on third after a single and was left stranded after a strikeout and fly out.
This all came full circle in the 9th inning. Trailing 3-2 and looking to be dead to rights, an error by Arkansas second basemen Carson Shaddy gave Grenier another pitch, which he singled to score the game’s tying run. The power hitting junior, Trevor Larnach came to the plate and lived up to his first-round pick billing. Linarch scorched a line drive shot to the bullpen to take a 5-3 and essentially sealed the fate of a decisive game three.
The final completely belonged to Adley Rutschman. The sophomore posted two RBIs in the first and third inning, scoring in the fifth and going 4-5 in the game. In the process he raised his average to .408 to lead the Pac-12 and his 83 RBI’s are the most in the past 5 years by a Pac-12 player. Kevin Abel was locked in retiring 20 straight batters and pitched a complete game. He had a dominant performance and gave a great glimpse into the future for the freshmen. You’d think that performance, accompanied with his 4-0 College World Series record, would be enough for him to win most outstanding player.However, Rutschman was given with award. His .500+ batting average won’t draw much of an argument.
This is Pat Casey’s third national championship, putting him in elite company with Cliff Gustafson, Augie Garrido, Skip Bertman and Rod Dedeaux as the only coaches to win more than two. More importantly, it gives the Oregon State faithful another chance to rub a Championship in the face or their neighboring Oregon Ducks.
