On the Omaha Express

• OSU brings confidence to its second-straight College World Series appearance

By Kerry Eggers

The Portland Tribune, Jun 13, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

CORVALLIS Ñ This year is going to be different, Oregon State players claim.

“Last year, we were happy just to be there,” pitcher Jonah Nickerson says of the Beavers’ 2005 visit to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series. “This year, we expected to get back to Omaha. That’s the mentality we have right now. We’re going there to win games. It’s what we’ve wanted to do since the last game we lost there.”

That came June 20, a gut-wrenching, 4-3, 10-inning defeat to Baylor that knocked the Beavers out of the eight-team Big Daddy of the college baseball world. It followed a 3-1 loss to No. 1-ranked Tulane in the opening game of Oregon State’s first CWS appearance since 1952.

A year later, the Beavers are seasoned, toughened and aiming for the top prize after eliminating Stanford in two straight games in the Super Regionals.

“We’re going back there to win it all,” says left fielder Cole Gillespie, the Pac-10 player of the year who carries the Beavers’ hottest bat right now.

“We have a lot of confidence,” says center fielder Tyler Graham, who went 5-for-6 in the Beavers’ 15-0 whitewash of the Cardinal on Sunday at Goss Stadium. “As loose as we’re playing right now, we’re not just out there hoping to win. We have a pretty good feeling every time we take the field that we have a very good chance to win, whether it’s with our pitching staff, our hitting or our defense. It’s tough to beat us right now.”

Graham called key ingredient

Coach Pat Casey Ñ who has taken Oregon State to 90 victories and back-to-back Pac-10 titles the past two seasons Ñ considers a healthy Graham a critical ingredient in the Beavers’ bid to bring the school its second NCAA championship. The 1961 cross country title stands alone in the OSU trophy case Ñ for now.

“He’s one of the fastest players in the country, and he can hit and play defense,” says Casey of Graham, now 100 percent healthy after dealing with a hamstring injury through much of the season.

Graham turned down a chance to sign a pro contract after being taken in the 14th round of the 2005 draft by the Chicago Cubs, citing a desire to better his draft status and return to the College World Series. The first part didn’t happen Ñ he went in the 19th round to San Francisco last week. The second part has unfolded before his very eyes, and he wants to make the most of the Beavers’ second chance.

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