June 12 , 2007

COLLEGE BASEBALL ROUNDUP
Oregon State keeps title defense alive

Associated Press

CORVALLIS, Ore. --
The Beavers are headed back to Omaha.

Mike Stutes allowed two runs on three hits over eight innings, and defending national champion Oregon State advanced to the College World Series with an 8-2 victory against Michigan on Monday night.

Darwin Barney went 3-for-5 with three RBIs for the Beavers (44-18), who will face Cal State Fullerton in their opening game Saturday.

It's Oregon State's third straight trip to Omaha, where it won six elimination games before beating North Carolina for the title last year.

Stutes (10-4) struck out nine, walked one and allowed two solo homers by Eric Rose.

Mike Wilson (7-1) lasted 11/3 innings for the Wolverines (42-19). He gave up four runs in the second inning without giving up a hit. He hit a batter and walked three in the inning to force in Oregon State's first run. Reliever Michael Powers walked in another run before allowing Barney's two-run single to make it 4-0.

The Beavers received an at-large bid despite finishing sixth in the Pac-10. They won the Charlottesville Regional as the No. 3 seed, beating Rutgers in the opener before losing to top-seeded Virginia in 13 innings. The Beavers eliminated Rutgers before beating Virginia twice to advance to the super regionals.

Late Sunday

CAL STATE-FULLERTON 2, UCLA 1: Matt Wallach, son of former major-leaguer Tim Wallach, hit a go-ahead single in the seventh to help lead Cal State Fullerton (38-23) past visiting UCLA (37-24) and into the CWS for the second straight year.

Clark Hardman had three hits, including a homer for the Titans, who are 13-4 in the super regionals and advanced to Omaha for the 15th time.