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COLLEGE BASEBALL Beavers overcome youth to reach regional Comment By Steve Gress Corvallis Gazette-Times MailTribune.com By Steve Gress Corvallis Gazette-Times Posted May. 28, 2015 at 8:20 PM By Steve Gress Corvallis Gazette-Times Posted May. 28, 2015 at 8:20 PM » Social News CORVALLIS — Think just for a moment about the players drafted last June off the Oregon State roster. Michael Conforto, Dylan Davis, Jace Fry, Ben Wetzler … that’s just to name a few. It left the Beavers with big holes to fill heading into the 2015 season. Then think about this: The Beavers this season typically have started a lineup that consists of junior center fielder Jeff Hendrix as the lone upperclassmen. Yep, one junior and the rest sophomores and freshmen. Talk about a rebuilding project, right? Most would think this season was one with low expectations. That was pretty much the thinking everywhere outside the Beavers’ clubhouse. Sure, OSU had plenty of ups and downs throughout the season. And, sure, they let some games slip away. But a 13-3-1 closing stretch put the Beavers in contention to possibly host a regional. While the regional bid didn’t materialize, the Beavers still finished second in the Pac-12, a conference that had six of its 11 members selected to the NCAA tournament, and earned a No. 2 seed. OSU is in Dallas this weekend and will take on Texas in the regional opener at 11:30 a.m. today. Dallas Baptist is the host and No. 1 seed. Virginia Commonwealth wraps up the regional field. It’s been a special season for coach Pat Casey, who now has guided the Beavers to the postseason 10 of the last 11 seasons. “As many kids as we lost and bringing in the new guys, there was certainly a lot of uncertainty in how the things would turn out,” Casey said Monday. “They have just been fantastic. “They have been a fun group to coach. They show up to play and they’ve won some big games. And boy they had a heck of a run down the stretch. Very happy and proud of them.” Freshman KJ Harrison, who has had a sensational rookie campaign with 10 homers and a Pac-12 leading 58 RBIs, said it just took some time to mesh. “As a team we just matured at the right time, that’s for sure,” he said. “It took us a while to get going but as a young team we all started to fill our roles and I feel like just as we got on that win streak we built up our confidence. We are playing loose and having fun.” This young team is going into uncharted waters in the postseason, but that’s been the case since the team's first game back in February. So Casey doesn’t plan to make any changes to the Beavers’ approach. He points to the big games they have won on the road — at UCLA and at Arizona State, for example — as experiences that should give them confidence. “It’s the game of baseball and we’ve got to play the game of baseball and we’ve got to do it at a high level,” he said. “Now it’s just a little more exciting, hopefully.” Junior Andrew Moore has been through it before as a starting pitcher his first two years when the Beavers hosted regionals. He has a simple message for the newcomers. “The freshmen need to realize it’s the same, it’s baseball,” Moore said. “You don’t need to outperform anyone. It’s the same thing we’ve been doing all season. I’m excited for them to finally get their first taste of it.” By Steve Gress Corvallis Gazette-Times MailTribune.com By Steve Gress Corvallis Gazette-Times Posted May. 28, 2015 at 8:20 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Fantasy Football Outlook for Cowboys Stars May. 29, 2015 at 2:26 am Fantasy Breakdown of Top Quarterbacks May. 24, 2015 at 2:51 am Fantasy Football Outlook for Patriots' Stars May. 22, 2015 at 6:05 am Fantasy Football Outlook for Eagles Stars May. 18, 2015 at 12:35 am Early Fantasy Football Rankings May. 17, 2015 at 4:22 am Fantasy Football Stars Likely to Disappoint May. 15, 2015 at 2:02 am Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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