Oklahoma State's sweep of the Beavers in Corvallis had huge ramifications for Oregon State. First, a huge drop in the various national polls. The Coaches Poll drops them from #4 to #12, The D1 poll also at #12. Perfect game has them drop 11 spots from #2 to #13 and the Collegiate Poll puts them at #11,
More concerning is the huge drop in the NCAA's RPI ranking....falling all the way to the #23 spot. That potentially could be a large factor in post-season placement. 10 games to go for the Beavers in the regular season. Three in Eugene Friday, Saturday and Sunday. One final chance to end their Tuesday woes on the 14th of May hosting the Pilots. Then the showdown series with Stanford the following weekend in Palo Alto. Right now the Beavs are tied for first-place in the Pac-12 conference with the Cardinal....both at 17-4. After that a regular season finale...three games against USC at Goss.
On another front another honor for Adley Rutschman named National Player of the Month for April. Here is the official release from Oregon State Athletics:
Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman has been named the National Player of the Month for April, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) announced on Monday.
Rutschman helped guide the Beavers to a 12-6 mark in the month of April and did so by batting .455 with five doubles, seven home runs and 23 runs batted in over the 18 games.
The Sherwood, Ore., native reached base safely in 17 of the team's 18 games, and hit safely in 16. He racked up 19 walks to finish with a .563 on-base percentage, and coupled with his .848 slugging percentage, tallied a 1.411 OPS.
He opened the month by being named the Pac-12 Conference's Player of the Week on April 8 after the Beavers swept Utah. Later on, he hit his second career inside-the-park home run during Oregon State's sweep of Arizona. The following week, in the first game of the series versus Washington State, he drove in a season-best five runs, capped by his second grand slam of the year.
Defensively, Rutschman was stellar. He handled 171 chances without committing and error and just three runners attempted to steal against him. All three were thrown out.
Rutschman, a finance major, heads into the series with Oregon batting .429 with eight doubles, one triple, 16 home runs and 53 RBI to go along with an Oregon State single-season record 59 walks. His .576 on-base percentage leads the nation, while his .429 batting average is third and .805 slugging percentage is fourth.
Next Up
Oregon State takes on Oregon in the the Civil War Series presented by PacificSource Health Plans, Spirit Mountain Casino, Safeway-Albertsons, Your Local Toyota Dealers and First Interstate Bank. First pitch Friday is slated for 7:05 p.m. PT at PK Park in Eugene.