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Reliever Mark Grbavac and the No. 8 Beavers will try to return to the win column this weekend with Southern California coming to town.

No. 8 Oregon State regroups to face So. Cal

Beavers return home after being swept by No. 25 Arizona in Tuscon for first of three-week homestand

By: Casey Grogan

Posted: 4/5/07

After winning 12 straight ball games, the Oregon State baseball team was knocked off three straight games by the No. 25 Arizona Wildcats. This weekend a re-focused Beaver club plays host to rivals USC.

The No. 25 Trojans (18-12 overall, 1-2 Pac-10) head to Corvallis for the first time since the 2005 Super Regional's. The Trojans have been off since March 27 where they defeated UC-Riverside, 8-3. No. 8 Oregon State (23-6, 0-3) is coming off of 10 days on the road in which they went 3-3.

"We've got more of a burning feeling to get a sweep," first baseman Jordan Lennerton said. "We have to get back up in the standings. USC is one of our rivals and it would be great to take three from them. We are pretty upset about our losses but coach Casey reminds us 'you can't win them all.'"

The Trojans were knocked off 10-0 by Arizona State in their Pac-10 opener before getting a 14-13 win in game three, finishing the weekend 1-2.

USC is known for its starting pitching, producing professional pitchers Barry Zito and Ian Kennedy, and this season is no exception. Right-handed pitchers Ryan Cook (4-1) and Brad Boxberger (2.27 ERA) lead Southern Cal's starting rotation.

"They have outstanding starting pitching," head coach Pat Casey said. "We are going to have to get on the board. The fundamentals of the game, they are either going to help you or going to hurt you."

The most dangerous aspect for the Trojan pitching staff is closer Paul Koss. He enters this weekend with 11 saves and a 1.65 ERA.

"We saw him last year, so we know he is one of the best in the country," Casey said. "Hopefully, we can get on the board early and stay out of their pen."

Offensively, USC is led by infielders Matt Cusick and Lucas Duda as well as outfielder Roberto Lopez. Cusick leads Southern Cal with a .340 average and 8 stolen bases. Duda leads the Trojans with 5 home runs while Lopez is hitting .325.

The most interesting story on the USC roster is freshman catcher Robert Stock. He is hitting .312 in his first season of college baseball, and at the age of 17. Stock was able to bypass his senior year of high school and join the Trojan roster, already becoming a top catching prospect for his draft class.

"He definitely has to be an athlete," starting pitcher Joe Paterson said. "I don't know how physically built he is. But if he is that young, I am sure we are going to attack him, coming hard in. Welcome to the real Pac-10 here."

Oregon State is once again happy to be home after being swept in its last series on the road. OSU looks to improve on its all-around game this weekend.

The strong OSU pitching staff struggled against UA, hitting 10 batters in three games and surrendering Daniel Turpen's first loss of the season in game three. With a few practices, the Beaver staff is ready to take on the Trojan bats.

"We've been working hard all week," Paterson said. "Everyone is throwing pens and working on stuff we didn't do last week. We just need to be concentrating on hitting our spots and those things."

On offense, the Beavers are looking to get the bats going again throughout the lineup. The Beavers are led offensively by catcher Mitch Canham, who is hitting .386 with five home runs. Joining Canham are five other Beavers hitting over .300 in Lennerton, outfielders Mike Lissman, Chris Hopkins, Braden Wells and third baseman Drew George.

"Against Arizona we had trouble hitting the ball early in the game," Lissman said. "We did a lot of execution in practice and that is one thing we need to do this weekend. We just have to prepare ourselves because we are the only team that can beat us."

The Trojans lead the all-time series against OSU, 37-15, and took the series last year. The Beavers, however, beat 'SC four of six games in 2005.

The Beavers and Trojans meet at Goss Stadium beginning today at 5 p.m., when Mike Stutes takes the mound against Cook. The series continues Friday at 5 p.m. as Paterson takes on Boxberger and concludes with Daniel Turpen throwing against Anthony Vasquez on Saturday at noon.