The Register-Guard

June 5, 2007

Beavers keep battling in regional
From Register-Guard

and news service reports

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Chris Hopkins homered to start a three-run eighth-inning rally that lifted defending national champion Oregon State to a 5-3 victory against Virginia on Monday, setting up a championship game today in the Charlottesville Regional.

The winner of today's 9 a.m. game will play host to a best-of-three Super Regional series against Michigan (42-17) that begins Saturday and runs through Monday.

The Wolverines advanced when pinch-hitter Alan Oaks homered off Vanderbilt ace David Price in the top of the 10th inning for a 4-3 victory that knocked out the overall No. 1 seed on Monday night.

Trailing 3-1 against Virginia, the Beavers (41-18) got a leadoff home run from Hopkins off Michael Schwimer (3-1). Joey Wong and Darwin Barney singled and advanced on a sacrifice before Jason Ogata's infield single tied it and John Wallace followed with a single, making it 4-3.

Jordan Lennerton closed the scoring with a home run in the ninth.

"The only thing we asked of our ball club today was to play," Oregon State coach Pat Casey said. "We had two games, and we wanted to play hard. It was going to come down to how much we wanted it and how hard we played. We have had kids who have been to (an NCAA Regional championship game) before and that didn't hurt us.''

Joe Paterson (9-6), the second of four Beavers pitchers, came on in the fifth and struck out five in 3 2/3 hitless innings for the victory.

Barney finished with three hits and Hopkins had two for Oregon State.

Mike Mitchell was 1-for-3 and had a two-run single as the Cavaliers (45-15) scored three times in the fifth. Tyler Cannon drove in the other run with a double.

"It's never as you draw it up. Sure, it was nice having the lead in the seventh, but in this game it never happens just as you expect it to,'' Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said.

Earlier Monday, Jorge Reyes allowed only two runs in six innings and Oregon State eliminated second-seeded Rutgers with a 5-2 victory.

Reyes (5-3) allowed six hits, struck out four and walked four for the Beavers. He left with a 4-2 lead and Daniel Turpen got the last nine outs for his second save of the season and the regional.

"I didn't feel like I had my best stuff,'' Reyes said. ``I just pitched with my heart instead of my arm and that got me through it.''

Hopkins scored on a double steal to give Oregon State a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and the Beavers stretched their advantage to 3-0 in the fourth on an error and Wong's single up the middle.

Wong led off the sixth inning with a single and scored on Mike Lissman's two-out single to make it 4-2.

Lonnie Lechelt homered for the Beavers in the seventh to account for the final score. Lechelt is 6-for-16 with a homer and a double after entering the postseason batting just .211.

Wong finished 3-for-4 and Lissman was 2-for-4.

Lennerton said Oregon State was up to the challenge of the doubleheader.

"Two games always takes a toll, but we knew this was a big game, and we were not going to let fatigue be a factor. We do what we need to do,'' he said. ``We always have it in the back of our heads that we can win the game.''

In Monday's other game involving a Pac-10 team, Arizona's season ended with a 3-0 loss to Wichita State in the Wichita Regional. The Wildcats finished the season 42-17.

Two other Pac-10 teams have already qualified for the Super Regionals.

Arizona State (46-13) will play host to Mississippi (40-23) beginning Saturday in Tempe, while UCLA (33-26) will play at Cal State-Fullerton (36-23) beginning Saturday.