Oregon State Moves Up in Baseball Polls
At the risk of injecting my personal fandom into my coverage, I take great joy in pointing out that Mitch Canham's Oregon State Beavers baseball team is living up to a maxim coined by the late Al Davis:
This month, the three-time national champions are stacking up wins. The Beavers have won 10 games in a row, and 9 straight within the friendly confines of Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. As such, they've been rewarded with boosts in several of the nation's baseball polls.
D1 Baseball: 6th (last week: 8th)
In D1Baseball.com's latest poll, the Beavers trail 4 SEC schools (Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia) and ACC powers Florida State. They are 3 spots ahead of arch-rivals Oregon (9th), and 8 spots ahead of former Pac-12 foes Stanford (14th).
NCBWA: 10th (last week: 9th)
At the risk of inciting a mob, this poll has me wondering about the dreaded east coast bias: all 9 of the teams ahead of the Beavers are SEC and ACC members. It is at least a saving grace that Oregon State (10th) slips past the hated Oregon Ducks (11th).
USA Today Coaches Poll: 8th (last week: 11th)
Unlike the writers, the coaches seem to have more respect for the Beavers, slotting them 8th. Once again, the SEC dominated the top 10: 7 of the top 10 schools hail from that conference. Notably, this is Oregon's highest rank in the major polls (9th), still behind old O-S-U.
Baseball America: 11th (last week: 11th)
In a piece explaining their rationale, Baseball America cited the Beavers weak schedule. Fair point, but Dax Whitney and Ethan Kleinschmidt still performed admirably. If the Beavers are up for the task against Cal Poly - a school currently unbeaten in the underrated Big West Conference - I look forward to an orange & black rocketship soaring up in the polls.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.