Brooks Hatch

The Oregon State baseball team has been on the road two weekends thus far this season. So of course the weather in Corvallis was fantastic both times.

The Beavers have played (or tried to play) at home two weekends this season. So of course it was terrible on the Friday of the first weekend for the opener against Tennessee, and again on the Friday of the second weekend series, for today’s game against Utah, which was canceled.

Gotta love an Oregon spring (yes, I know it’s still winter technically).

Here are some updates:

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The Oregon State baseball team’s Friday night game with Utah at the OSU Spring Tournament was canceled by inclement weather and will not be rescheduled.

The Friday afternoon game between Utah and Portland was rescheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
The rest of the tournament will be played as scheduled, weather permitting. OSU plays Utah at 2 p.m. and plays Portland at 6 p.m. Saturday. Sunday’s games match Utah and Portland at 11 a.m. and OSU and Portland at 3 p.m.

Tickets from Friday night’s canceled game will be good should OSU schedules another game at Goss Stadium this season. For any further questions, contact the OSU ticket office at 1-800-GOBEAVS from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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Speaking of Utah/MWC baseball, here’s a good blog on that subject by reporter John Coon of the Deseret News in Salt Lake City.

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OSU baseball coach Pat Casey and shortstop Darwin Barney (2005-07) have been nominated for the College World Series Legends Team, which will commemorate the event’s final season at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omama.

Casey is one of eight coaches nominated. He coached OSU to two CWS championships, and his .733 winning percentage in his 15 games (111-4) in Omaha is the third-highest amongst coaches who have appeared in 10 or more games.

Barney is one of 10 shortstops to be nominated. His 52 assists ranks second. He was selected to the 2007 All-CWS team after batting .350 with a double, home run and five RBI while posting a 1.000 fielding percentage.
Barney started all 15 games and hit .298 (17-for-57) with two doubles, a home run and eight RBIs in his three CWS appearances, and has a .963 fielding percentage.

Each person selected to the team will be invited to the 2010 College World Series and will be honored during the June 18 opening ceremonies.  Fans can vote for the all-time players at each position; results will be combined with votes from representatives from the National Baseball Writers Association and all NCAA Division I head baseball coaches.

To vote, go here.  Voting ends April 16.

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The Oregon State men’s soccer team has signed seven players to letters of intent for the 2010 season.

They are Jonathan Chavez-Salceda of Leland High in San Jose; midfielder/defender Austin Crook of Bend High in Bend; forward/midfielder Brandon Hansen of Mountain Point High in Phoenix, Ariz.; goalkeeper Clint Long of Arcata High in Vancouver, Wash.; midfielder/defender Miguel Murillo of St. Mary’s High in Stockton, Calif.;  midfielder/defender Chase Raskowsky of Marin Catholic in Kentfield, Calif., and defender Josh von Allworden of Corona Del Sol High in Mesa, Ariz..

For complete bios and coach Steve Simmons’ comments on the class, go here.

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Tough day for some college basketball coaches with area ties.

Boise State fired head coach Greg Graham; ex-Beavers player/coach Andy McClouskey, a true Friend O’ the Blog from way back, was on his staff.

And ex-Beavers assistant coach Brian Loyd was coaching at Toledo, where coach Gene Cross resigned.

There is some good news, though. Ex-Beavers player Joe Harge and his New Mexico Highlands team is in the NCAA Division II tournament. The Cowboys are playing at a regional in beautiful Mankato, Minn., this weekend and face Augustana College of South Dakota at 10 on Saturday morning.

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Ex-Beavers baseball star/2006 Pac-10 Player of the Year Cole Gillespie signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.

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Former OSU women’s basketball player Judie Lomax (2007), now at Columbia, was named the Ivy League Player of the Year on Thursday.

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Two days and counting until the OSU Spring Tournament, and the start of a 12-game homestand for the Beavers baseball team. We probably can’t be there every single day – those nasty production duties interfere sometimes  – but we’ll try.

In the meantime, here’s a preview of a feature on new shortstop Keith Jennette that appears online tonight and in Thursday’s paper.

As long as there are more ‘E’s’ in Keith Jennette’s name than there are in his glove, he’ll continue to play a key role on the Oregon State baseball team.

The junior transfer from Sierra (Calif.) Junior College has been a surprise revelation at shortstop for the No. 21 Beavers (7-3), who begin a 12-game homestand at 6 p.m. Friday against Utah at the OSU Spring Tournament at Goss Stadium.

The Beavers play Utah (6-5) at 6 p.m. Friday and at 2 p.m. Saturday and face Portland (9-2) at 6 p.m. Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sunday on a busy weekend at Goss. The Utes and Pilots meet at 2 p.m. Friday and at 11 a.m. Sunday.

The 5-foot-7, 170-pounder from Del Campo High in Fair Oaks, Calif., hasn’t hit much yet — .182 with no homers and five RBIs in 22 at-bats.

But his defense has been absolutely sterling since he cracked the starting lineup seven games ago and his glovework was instrumental in shutout victories over Hawaii on Feb. 22 and over Tennessee on Feb. 28.

“He’s done everything that anyone has asked of him,” said assistant coach Marty Lees, who coaches the infielders. “He makes the routine plays, and plays that aren’t so routine,” and impact games.

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Speaking of OSU baseball, 2010-11 signees Drew Vettleson, Adam Duke and Tom Zarosinski were named to the 2010 Louisville Slugger Pre-Season High School All-American team. Vettleson, who pitches and plays outfield, was named as a multi-position player; Duke and Zarosinski are pitchers.

Vettleson was selected to Baseball America’s preseason All-America second team. Vettleson is ranked as the 19th-best high school player in the country by Baseball America; Duke is rated 87th.

Vettleson plays for Central Kitsap High in Silverdale, Wash. Duke plays at Spanish Fork High in Spanish Fork, Utah, and Zarosinski plays for Lake Oswego High.

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Crescent Valley graduate/former Oregon State golfer Brandon Taylor is making waves at Cal State Stanislaus. He won the Cal State East Bay Pioneer Shoot out on Tuesday; here are the details.

His father, Dana Taylor, is the men’s soccer coach at CSUS. He formerly coached at OSU.

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And finally, Eric Marchildon will be the OSU volleyball team’s volunteer assistant coach this season, coach Terry Liskevych announced Wednesday.

Marchildon has coached club volleyball in Canada since 1999. He was an assistant coach at the 2009 Saskatchewan Volleyball Association 20U Women Canada Games and worked with many athletes who have been identified by the Canadian National Youth team, or gone on to play college volleyball.

Current volunteer assistant Nestor Iparraguirre will stay on staff as a special consultant.

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Back in the saddle after a few days off, a soccer trip for the PNG Jr.’s games in  Hood River and Canby, and a production shift. Some notes and stuff:

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First, heartfelt best wishes to the quick recovery of Friend O’ the Blog and former OSU standout offensive lineman (1962-64) and assistant football coach  Rich Koeper. He suffered a heart attack at his Corvallis home on Monday and is at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center.

Get better, big guy.

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Was over at a windy and cold Goss Stadium before today’s practice,  conducting some interviews for an upcoming Thursday story on new shortstop Keith Jennette. Hopefully it won’t be that cold or that breezy for this weekend’s OSU Spring Tournament with Portland and Utah, which starts Friday.

Here’s an early forecast; take it for what it’s worth, which is generally nothing. Oregon weathermen make Pac-10 football officials look good by comparison.

Anyhow, Jennette – a transfer from Sierra, Calif.,  College and one of 14 new faces on the club this season – said it took some time for the Beavers to gel, but they have and have transformed themselves into a fairly close team.

“In the fall it kind of felt like (the team) was separated a little bit, but that’s normal because you have new guys coming in,” he said. “Since we started spring practices, it’s been great.

“Everyone has accepted everybody, everyone gets along and hangs out and we have fun together on the road.”

And he acknowledged that new players get accepted faster when they make plays, as Jennette has.

“Coming into the dugout you get a lot more high-fives,” he confirmed.

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The Beavers are ranked 12th in this week’s Collegiate Baseball poll, down one spot from last week, and are 21st in Baseball America’s rankings, up one spot from last week.

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The Beavers announced Tuesday that their Sunday baseball game with Portland at Goss Stadium in the OSU Spring Tournament has been moved to 3 p.m.

Sunday’s first game, between Utah and Portland, has been moved to 11 a.m. to help the Utes maintain their travel schedule. Should that game last longer than three hours, the OSU-Portland game will start approximately 45 minutes after the completion of the Utah-Portland game.

Friday and Saturday’s schedules are unchanged. On Friday, Utah and Portland play at 2 p.m. and OSU and Utah play at 6 p.m. On Saturday, the Beavers play Utah at 2 p.m. and Portland at 6 p.m.

Admission for the Utah-Portland games is free. Fans must have tickets for any OSU games. Those who attend the Portland-Utah games may stay in the stadium after that game’s completion, but should have their tickets ready to be checked between games.

Also, separate tickets will be needed for Saturday’s doubleheader. For fans who have tickets to both, a wristband will be issued at the gate at Goss Stadium. Only wristbands need to be presented when tickets are checked in between games.

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There’s also been one late baseball roster move that wasn’t officially announced until this past weekend.

Freshman pitcher Stuart Fewel of Wilson has replaced junior outfielder Chris Viegas, who apparently was injured just before the start of the season.

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Speaking of OSU baseball, former Beavers’ CF Jacoby Ellsbury signed a one-year deal with Boston on Monday for $447,000.

Now that’s a nice chunk of change, but he’ll really hit the jackpot next year, when he becomes eligible for arbitration, and probably sign for somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 times that amount.

Nice work if you can find it.

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Righthanded pitcher Nick Hoover of UC Irvine will return for his second season with the Corvallis Knights of the West Coast League, coach Brooke Knight announced. Hoover was 0-1, 4.00 in 18 innings over eight appearances for the Knights in 2009.

Hoover is 0-0, 3.38 in 2 2/3 innings spread over four apearances with the Anteaters this spring. He is a 6-foot-1, 204-pound redshirt sophomore from Alta Loma, Calif., who transfered from UCI from Riverside Community College.

The Knights open their fourth season in Corvallis on June 4 at Kitsap. Their home opener is June 15 against Bend.

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Former OSU athletic department administrator Kevin Anderson, now the AD at Army, gets a mention in this Arizona Daily Star story about the AD search at Arizona.

And speaking of West Point, we just finished re-reading noted author Rick Atkinson’s outstanding book about the USMA’s Class of 1966, The Long Gray Line. It’s a great read, and one we highly recommend.

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And here’s a story from the North County (Calif.) Times on former OSU softball standout Mia Longfellow, who is now coaching at San Diego State.

The current Beavers, BTW, open their home season at 1 p.m. Friday against Boise State and at 3 p.m. Friday against North Dakota at the OSU Softball complex.

They also play the Fighting Sioux – how much longer will we be able to say that nickname? – at 10 a.m. Saturday. There are actually more Oregonians  (Cami Bennett and Lindy Sippola from Grants Pass and Emma Gronseth from Forest Grove) on the UND team than there are North Dakotans (0).

UND coach Sammi Strinz is also an Oregonian, from Keizer.

Hopefully they’ll each bring grinders for all to share from the Red Pepper in Grand Forks. That’s good eatin.’

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