Crack of the Bat
by Patrick Ebert

Beaver Believin'

Teams from the West Coast don’t seem to be getting much preseason love, and there is simply no way the College World Series will come and go without a team from either the Big West or the Pac-10 present.

This is a comment I made when I tried to predict the 10 teams to watch at the beginning of the college baseball season.  While this statement was particularly true since four teams from the West were among the final eight, with the Oregon State Beavers winning the College World Series, I only had one team from the West, Cal State Fullerton, among my top 10 teams, which is the team the comment from above pertained to.

For the record I picked the Miami Hurricanes to win it all.  That isn’t based on any bias, as a Midwesterner I also didn’t think Michigan had much of a chance to advance as far as they did, as I just felt Miami would be a very tough team to contend with (and I still think they will be next year).

It should be noted that no one picked UC Irvine, as Cinderella seasons such as the one the Anteaters enjoyed catch everyone by surprise.

So I wanted to give the West Coast some love, not just at the college level, but also at the high school level, since a few All-American teams at both levels have been released without the presence of many players from the West Coast outside of Southern California , which is always represented well.

Beavers Repeat

Congratulations are in order for the Oregon State Beavers for winning their second consecutive national championship, beating North Carolina both times.  This creates bragging rights for passionate baseball fans from the West Coast, who often feel slighted by the media and publications that often seem to have an East Coast bias.

You won’t find any first-team All-Americans on the Beavers roster, but if you watched the College World Series you will know that the entire team stepped up and contributed on the biggest of stages, aided by the fact that they had been on this stage the two previous seasons.

I wasn’t the only one that didn’t think Oregon State would be able to repeat after losing so many key contributors from the 2006 season, which included preseason All-American Dallas Buck and the 2006 Pac-10 Player of the Year, Cole Gillespie.  Eddie Kunz stepped up from his set-up role to fill in beautifully as the team’s closer, while Mike Stutes, Joe Patterson and Daniel Turpen recorded 10 wins a piece.

Mitch Canham, Jordan Lennerton and Mike Lissman powered the offense, driving in pesky table-setters such as Darwin Barney and Chris Hopkins.  The bench and the bullpen was solid, and Pat Casey once again did a wonderful job calling the shots from the dugout.

Heading into next year there is no way I’m going to overlook this squad, even if they are poised to lose a fair amount of their team to professional baseball.

But they are also poised to gain quite a few talented players, as their success has drawn more commitments from some of the best players in their region.  Beaver commit Tim Alderson isn’t likely to turn down first-round money after he was selected 22nd overall by the San Francisco Giants, but fellow commits Tanner Robles and Greg Peavey may be more inclined to head to college after falling to the 14^th and 24^th rounds respectively.

Second round pick Travis Mattair and fourth-rounder Garrett Nash are also unlikely to head to college, as few early round selections pass on the money and opportunity to begin their professional careers sooner rather than later.

Even if the biggest names from their heralded recruiting class don’t step on campus, Oregon State has done an excellent job grooming talent from their own backyard, with plenty of other commitments from some of the top players from Oregon , Washington , and Idaho , proving that baseball is alive and well in the Pacific Northwest .  Just ask any of the folks over at Baseball Northwest.

Area scouts may want to take notice and start following Oregon State ’s recruiting efforts.

2008 Season

Looking ahead to next year, as I noted just above, there is no way I’m counting Oregon State out.  I may not pencil them in as my number one team for 2007, but they’re definitely in the top 10, no matter who they lose.

Arizona State will again be loaded, with a lineup full of talented players heading into their junior year, led by All-American first baseman Brett Wallace.

UCLA is on the way up with their own blend of young talent.  Shortstop Brandon Crawford gets most of the attention from the scouting community.

Cal State Fullerton will always be among the top teams in the nation, just like Texas and Rice are.

San Diego is going to be a tough team to face next year.  Brian Matusz may very well be the top prospect available for the 2006 draft, and similar to the Oregon State squad, Head Coach Rich Hill has done a great job cultivating talent in recent years.

I also want to give some love for Long Beach State , who plays one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation (most teams from the West play a very difficult non-conference schedules).  Shortstop Danny Espinosa should be one of the most exciting college players next year, while Vance Worley could be one of the most productive Friday aces.

Any of the Pac-10 teams really are sleepers to make some noise, as are several of the Big West conference teams, but typical of any of the most stacked conferences in the nation they beat up on each other so much starting in March which follows their aforementioned tough non-conference slate, and of course only so many teams can make the final 64 next May.  Arizona , Cal and USC in particular are three teams that I feel could easily make some noise next spring if a few things go right for them.

Don’t forget about the smaller schools either.  Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) won their 15^th NAIA National Championship this past season, their second consecutive championship, this year powered by the incredibly impressive season of first round pick Beau Mills.

Aflac All-American Classic

Speaking of the West, don’t forget about the Aflac All-American Classic, which will be held once again in San Diego .  The West squad doesn’t boast any players from the Pacific Northwest, but once again is well represented by the state of California (eight players, the most represented from any one state on either of the two squads).

The Perfect Game National Showcase last month was a great opportunity for scouts to get a sneak peak at the majority of talent that will be on display at this prestigious event which will take place on Saturday, August 11^th and will be televised once again live on Fox Sports Net.

More bragging rights:  The West squad has won this game the past three years, after the East took the inaugural game in 2003.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA .  Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.