3 Things to Watch For As #10 Oregon State Baseball Heads To Long Beach State

The Beavers return to California for a shot at a historically strong program, experiencing a down year

Oregon State infielder Ethan Porter celebrates with teammates after scoring as the Oregon Ducks host the Oregon State Beavers on March 3, 2026, at PK Park in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The tenth-ranked Beavers will be looking to push their win total to 40 for the fifth consecutive season this weekend in what could be an important series for their regional hosting aspirations. Oregon State will play a three-game series at Long Beach State, starting this Friday evening.

Here are a few things to watch for in this weekend's series at historic Blair Field.

Ethan Porter's Bat

The freshman from Huntington Beach, CA has been on a tear the past week and a half, giving the Beavers an important spark in their offensive game.

After getting inconsistent playing time throughout much of the year, Porter has hit above .500 with two home runs over the past five games. Other guys who could be important tonight and this weekend include leadoff man Easton Talt, who went 2 for 4 on Sunday, and Paul Vazquez, who had a monster performance in the extra innings victory on Saturday.

Can The Bullpen Stay Locked In?

OSU's pitching staff is fairly deep, and this showed in the series win against CSUN over the weekend. Isaac Yeager was instrumental in Saturday's extra-innings win, throwing four innings of shutout baseball out of the pen. On Sunday, Oregon State relievers gave up only one earned run in four innings of work, with stud closer Albert Roblez shutting things down in the ninth. This is the type of production the Beavers are looking for as they head towards postseason baseball.

Will Ethan Kleinschmit Bounce Back?

With Dax Whitney's season over, junior left-hander Ethan Kleinschmit took the Friday start last weekend against CSUN. It did not go particularly well for the Mount Angel native, who surrendered eight hits and six earned runs over 4.2 innings in what ended up being an 8-6 loss for the Beavers.

During his time in college baseball, Kleinschmit has proven his ability to be one of the nation's best, earning Third-Team All-America honors in 2025. This season, he has been fairly dependable in his Saturday spot, with a 7-2 record. However, they'll simply need a better outing from him with his ERA at 4.11 this season. Kleinschmit's last road start came back on April 4 at Lamar, where he pitched 5.2 innings and allowed no earned runs, but struck-out a season low of two batters.

First pitch between Oregon State and Long Beach State is set for Friday evening at 6:05 p.m. PT on ESPN+ and on the radio via the Beaver Sports Network.