Fall practice a chance for players to work on their fundamentals, chemistry

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Gazette-Times Reporter

Individual training began last week and team workouts start Wednesday for the Oregon State baseball team.

The Beavers have come together on the field again for the first time since finding out they were left out of the postseason by the NCAA selection committee, after winning the previous two national titles.

Many players who experienced the College World Series are still on the team, and felt the disappointment of being a bubble team that popped on selection day.

It’s still a long way before the first game in February, but they are already thinking about the little things that will make them good enough for another possible postseason run.

“Everybody is excited to get going,” pitcher Mark Grbavac said. “It means we are that much closer to starting a new year. That’s what everybody wants to do after last year. We want to start new. We just need to get out and do it.”

Coach Pat Casey will use this time to mold his team, which is infused with 14 new players. There are 39 names on the fall roster, and a new NCAA rule says it has to be cut down to 35 by the first game.

All but two of the newcomers are position players. The Beavers focused on pitching last season and have several young arms back. This year, Casey brought in sluggers to spice up the offense.

“It’s good to get the guys back,” Casey said. “This is a great time of year to be on the field with no school and good weather. We are looking for that identity we’ll have as a club. We are creating that unity they will win with in the spring.”

The fall is used to teach the new players what the Beavers do fundamentally fielding, hitting and throwing. And for the veterans, each has their areas of improvement to focus on.

“We’re really excited for the guys to get going again,” middle infielder Joey Wong said. “We have a lot of new guys. The new guys seem to be great guys, and are helping to get things going. We’re trying to get to know each other. The new guys are pretty outgoing. We’re having fun so far.”

Fall practice goes until about Oct. 25. The team will practice twice a day until schools starts on Sept. 29. Then it goes to its regular afternoon slot.

There will be an intersquad scrimmage in Bend on Oct. 4 and in Roseburg on Oct. 18. There will be a few in Goss Stadium, including some at night, Casey said.

Several positions are open, so the next two months are important for player evaluation. Only left fielder John Wallace, catcher Ryan Ortiz and Wong are set as starters.

Several middle infielders will be looked at to see if someone can play second base or shortstop. The best of the group will play one position, and Wong can take the other, Casey said.

“The nice thing about this year is we do have so many spots that are wide open,” Casey said. “We lost a lot of guys. It’s good for the guys, especially the new guys, and the guys who didn’t play as much as they wanted last year to have this competition.”

Many of the newcomers are junior college infielders such as Adalberto Santos of New Mexico College, Max Shupe of San Jose College, Jared Norris of Arizona’s Yavapai College and Stefen Romero from Arizona’s Pima College.

It’s a different look than what was expected after signing the recruiting class. Some players opted to sign pro contracts.

“The issue was we lost a lot of infielders,” Casey said. “We had Joey and John Tommasini who played a lot. We needed to get guys who could play right away. We also signed (junior college) guys late due to what happened in the draft.”

Other changes to the lineup include the departure of infielder Garrett Nash. He should have been a sophomore and key member of the team, but he decided to go on his two-year Mormon mission. Casey didn’t expect him to do that after playing so much last year, but understands his conviction.

Relief pitcher Blake Keitzman transferred to Western Oregon to finish up school, and pursue his teaching and coaching career.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Tyler Waldron transferred from the University of the Pacific, and it’s not known if he has to sit out a year due to transfer rules between Division I colleges. His eligibility will be sorted out soon.

The team is mostly healthy for fall practice. Junior college transfer outfielder Logan Lotti broke his leg in the final week of the summer season with the Corvallis Knights. He is still on crutches and will be out this fall.

Closer Kevin Rhoderick will only throw on a limited basis. He took most of the summer off to rest and strengthen a sore throwing shoulder.

Beyond the training on and off the field, the players plan to use this time to create a bond that many felt was missing last season. Young veterans such as Ortiz and Wong admitted after the season that there was a lack of leadership to rally the team when down.

The Beavers had several young players in a position of leadership, and they weren’t ready at the time.

“We got some guys who have been around for a while now,” Wong said. “Juniors and seniors are taking on the leadership roles. We won’t have any problems in that area. It was hard last year. We had guys like Jorge (Reyes), Ryan and I who had to step up and be leaders. It was hard for the younger guys to see a bunch of sophomores as leaders. I think it will be easier this year.”