Preview: Stanford BSB heads to Corvallis to battle No. 5 Oregon State
This weekend, Stanford baseball will head to Corvallis to battle No. 5 Oregon State in a three-game series. Stanford comes in at 13-17 overall and 6-6 in the Pac-12 while Oregon State comes in at 27-4 overall and 8-3 in the Pac-12. Game one will be on Friday at 6:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Oregon. Game two will be on Saturday at 5:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks. Game three will be on Sunday at 12:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks.
Last time out: Stanford fell to Arizona on Monday by a final score of 12-1 in eight innings.
RECAP: Stanford BSB suffers frustrating Monday loss to Arizona
Probable pitchers: On Friday, the probable starting pitching matchup is Stanford sophomore righty Matt Scott (2-5, 3.86 ERA, 65K) vs. Oregon State junior righty Aiden May (1-0, 4.35 ERA, 22K).
On Saturday, the probable starting pitching matchup is Stanford junior lefty Christian Lim (3-2, 2.89 ERA, 54K) vs. Oregon State junior righty Jacob Kmatz (4-1, 2.89 ERA, 38K).
On Sunday, the probable starting pitching matchup is Stanford sophomore righty Nick Dugan (3-3, 5.30 ERA, 38K) vs. Oregon State freshman righty Eric Segura (5-0, 4.38 ERA, 36K).
On Oregon State: Oregon State’s record and ranking speaks for itself. They have won six games in a row and are on quite a roll. During this winning streak, they swept Gonzaga in a two-game series at home, swept Arizona State in a three-game series at home, and followed that up with a home win over Portland State.
The top contact and power hitter for the Beavers is junior infielder Travis Bazzana, who is batting .466 for 18 home runs and 45 RBIs to go along with a 1.060 slugging percentage and a .608 on base percentage. Those are RIDICULOUS numbers.
Their number two contact hitter is senior outfielder Micah McDowell, who is batting .446 for three home runs and 18 RBIs to go along with a .769 slugging percentage and a .518 on base percentage.
Their number two power hitter is sophomore outfielder Gavin Turley, who is batting .303 for nine home runs and 39 RBIs to go along with a .588 slugging percentage and a .425 on base percentage.
As a team, the Beavers are batting .335 for 62 home runs, 301 runs, 287 RBIs, a .611 slugging percentage, and .452 on base percentage. Their opponents are batting .240 for 13 home runs, 138 runs, 123 RBIs, a .347 slugging percentage, and a .348 on base percentage. As for pitching, they have a 3.86 ERA while their opponents have a 10.24 ERA.
Keys to the series: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is they gotta contain Bazzana. Easier said than done, but they have to do it. If he goes wild, Oregon State will walk all over them. If they are able to pitch well to him, they’ll have a shot. Oregon State does have 13 players batting above .300, so they do have a lot of depth. But, Bazzana is in a class all by himself.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is their starting pitching in general needs to be fierce. The bullpen is shaky, but Matt Scott, Christian Lim, and Nick Dugan all have it in them to come up big. They just gotta deliver. Lim has been the best of the bunch by far and is the one who I think has the best odds of having a strong outing. Scott is the one who they really need to step up. It would be huge if he had a big Friday night to set the tone for the weekend.
Finally, Stanford needs to bring guys home when they get runners in scoring position. They oftentimes get a good amount of hits, but they end up leaving guys stranded on base. If Stanford is able to bring guys home when they get in scoring position, that would go a long ways towards winning the series.
Prediction: I got Oregon State taking two out of three. A sweep is very possible, but I think Stanford will find a way to steal one game. I think Saturday with Lim on the mound is the best chance for them to get a win, but if somehow Matt Scott comes up big, maybe Stanford will make this a series.
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