Oregon State aims to cap redemption tour in CWS finals

OMAHA, Neb. — Oregon State has won 109 of 127 baseball games over two seasons with mostly the same players. The Beavers see winning a national title as the only way to validate their body of work.

“Ultimately,” Beavers coach

Pat Casey said Sunday, “nobody cares how many games you win unless you win the last one.”

Standing between Oregon State (53-11-1) and the title is Arkansas (47-19) in the best-ofthree College World Series finals starting Monday.

The Beavers lost their CWS opener and staved off elimination four times to reach the finals for the first time since 2007, when they won the second of two straight titles.

The Razorbacks swept through their bracket in three games, ousting defending champion and No. 1 seed Florida to make the finals for the first time in the best-ofthree era. Arkansas was runner-up in 1979.

Oregon State showed up in Omaha last year as the top seed and with a 54-4 record, the highest winning percentage (.931) of any team entering the CWS since 1982. The Beavers won their first two games and then lost two straight to Louisiana State to end their season.

Oregon State has been on a redemption tour in 2018 with an everyday lineup including all but one player from last year and a pitching staff that returned two weekend starters.