March 14, 2008

Corvallis, OR (UWIRE) -- The Oregon State baseball team heads to the biggest little city in the world this weekend to face the Wolf Pack of the University of Nevada at Reno (6-7) in a three-game series starting on Friday.

The Beavers (6-5) have won two games in a row after losing the previous two at the San Diego State tournament and are coming off their most lopsided win of the season after a 22-3 dismantling of San Diego State at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Monday. Drew George had four hits and six RBI, including two home runs, one of which was a grand slam in the sixth inning that broke the game wide open for the Beavers. Oregon State pounded out 25 hits with 12 players getting at least one apiece.

The Beavers' bats have been coming alive after a slow start. OSU scored 34 runs during the last two wins, and they also had a 16-run breakout last week against Portland.

John Wallace leads the team with a .407 batting average, followed by Jason Ogata with a .381 average. Ogata leads the team with three home runs and 15 RBI.

The same can't be said for the pitching. OSU gave up 36 runs during its four-game run in San Diego and has allowed eight or more runs in six of its 11 games this season. OSU's top two starters, Mike Stutes and Jorge Reyes, have gotten off to slow starts so far this year.

Stutes has a 1-2 record with a 7.36 ERA, but has 17 strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Reyes is 1-1 with a 8.03 ERA, although much of his high ERA can be attributed to one bad outing against Georgia. If Oregon State is going to start winning more consistently, the Beavers are going to need their proven veterans to step up, and Nevada will be a good challenge for them to prove themselves against.

The Wolf Pack has played well in recent games. After starting the season with five consecutive losses, the team has won six of its last eight games.

Ciarlo has four doubles, two triples, two home runs and 11 RBI on the season and is one of three players on the team that bats over .400. Nevada-Reno already has 14 home runs as a team.

The Wolf Pack's pitching has shown some vulnerability this season, but has had mixed results much like Oregon State. Nevada-Reno has used six different starters this season allowing six and a half runs a game, but much of that is due to the 28 runs they have given up in the last two games. Chris Garcia has been the team's best starter so far. Garcia has started three games and has a 4.41 ERA with a team-high 16.1 innings pitched while allowing a meager .237 batting average to opponents.

Nevada-Reno has previously had a home game canceled due to snow this season, so the Beavers could be dealing with any number of weather scenarios during their visit.

This will be the last road series before Oregon State returns home. OSU has played its first 14 games on the road due to ongoing construction at Goss Stadium.

The Beavers host Pepperdine next week and will finally be able to show off their newly expanded stadium.

(C) 2008 OSU Daily Barometer via UWIRE