Oregon
With Oregon State in LSU baseball’s regional, a budding rivalry could be renewed
The memories started coming back to two longtime coaches. Unfortunate injuries. Sudden adjustments. Doubles into the gap. Clutch pitching. All the small decisions they made while trying to win.
Paul Mainieri and Pat Casey coached thousands of games during their respective careers at LSU and Oregon State. And in the midst of so many to sift through, they remembered the ones between their teams well.
“When I hear the name Oregon State,” said Mainieri, LSU’s former coach, “I think, ‘You better not take those guys lightly.’ ”
Before the Baton Rouge regional this weekend, LSU and Oregon State have played seven games against each other, all in the postseason. They could face again as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, with the chance to reach a super regional.
The matchup would add another chapter to this memorable and somewhat random recent history. The LSU and Oregon State campuses sit more than 2,500 miles apart. The schools don’t share many connections. But since their first meeting in 2012, LSU hasn’t faced another team in the NCAA tournament more often.
“Kinda creating a little bit of a rivalry,” Casey said.
The first games came during the 2012 Baton Rouge regional. LSU was a national seed hosting for the first time in three years, and Oregon State had to travel across the country. Casey, who had already won two national titles at Oregon State, remembered the electricity generated by the crowd.
LSU and Oregon State met on the regional’s pivotal second day. Kevin Gausman threw a season-high 127 pitches over eight innings in a 7-1 win, giving LSU control of the bracket.
Oregon State had to play twice the next day. It knocked out UL-Monroe. Then it faced LSU. The Tigers pulled ahead 3-0 in the first inning, and Casey inserted sophomore reliever Scott Schultz. He lasted a career-high 8 ⅔ innings while Oregon State took a one-run lead into the ninth.
There, pinch runner Jared Foster scored on a double past diving Oregon State center fielder Max Gordon, an image Casey can still see. Tie game, 5-5. Extra innings. And in the 10th, LSU shortstop Austin Nola scored the winning run on a wild pitch.
“We’d been on the field for four hours the game before in that heat and humidity,” Casey said. “Our guys laid it on the line.”
Five years later, LSU and Oregon State collided at the 2017 College World Series. They were two of the best teams in the country. Oregon State entered with a 55-4 record and 22-game winning streak. LSU had surged to win 17 straight games and the Southeastern Conference tournament.
In the top of the third, LSU starter Eric Walker felt his right forearm tighten. He had to leave and later underwent Tommy John surgery. Mainieri thought Walker, who had a 3.48 ERA that season, may have been LSU’s best pitcher down the stretch.
“It really knocked us for a loop,” Mainieri said, “and we ended up getting hammered by them.”
While LSU reeled, Oregon State pitcher Bryce Fehmel went eight innings in a 13-1 win. Fehmel kept the hitters off balance by throwing curveballs in unexpected counts and sneaking his fastball through when LSU anticipated off-speed pitches.
After LSU avoided elimination, it faced Oregon State again a few days later for a spot in the finals. The Tigers needed to win on back-to-back days against the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. Oregon State had to once with a lineup that featured four future Major Leaguers.
Despite the previous loss and the Beavers’ talent, former LSU pitcher Zack Hess said the team felt confident. It had gone through a difficult SEC schedule. It responded to a challenge from Mainieri to start playing better with a month left in the regular season. And ace Alex Lange was on the mound.
“He didn’t back down from that gauntlet of a lineup they had,” Hess said.
Though Lange walked a run home in the third inning, he rediscovered his command and pitched into the eighth. LSU freshman Josh Smith hit a solo homer to provide distance. Hess earned the save in a 3-1 win, snapping Oregon State’s streak.
The next day, Mainieri said LSU had been told Oregon State would start pitcher Drew Rasmussen, a first-round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays. The Tigers spent the time between games watching video of the right hander whose fastball touched 97 mph.
But 45 minutes before first pitch, Oregon State switched to Fehmel.
“Our guys weren’t going to let that kind of gamesmanship beat us,” Mainieri said. “We very quickly devised a new game plan, and we laid off some bad pitches.”
Fehmel wasn’t as sharp, allowing four runs in 2 ⅓ innings. LSU catcher Michael Papierski homered twice. Beau Jordan added another. And pitcher Caleb Gilbert nibbled around a generous strike zone.
“We couldn’t get base runners and we generally had great plate discipline,” Casey said. “And that didn’t help us that day.”
Gilbert allowed one run over 7 ⅓ innings, the first time he had pitched into the eighth inning in his life. Hess finished the game again — a moment he called “the highlight of my baseball career” — and LSU reached the championship round where it lost to Florida.
“It sticks in my side — and will stick in my side the rest of my life — that we didn’t pull it off,” Mainieri said. “But it shouldn’t diminish the quality and the impact of those wins against Oregon State because Oregon State has been one of the top teams in the country for a couple of decades now. You’ve got to have a lot of respect for them.”
A year later, the teams were in different places when they met again. Oregon State returned most of its players. LSU had turned over its roster.
When the postseason arrived, LSU had to travel to Oregon State for the regional. The Tigers were outscored 24-1 in their two games against the Beavers, the eventual national champions.
“We felt like we wanted to have that opportunity to play them again,” Casey said. “We did, and I don’t know that we could have played better baseball for two games than we played against them in the regional.”
Now five years later, the teams have been reunited. Mainieri and Casey both retired since the last matchup. This time, LSU is the national seed with a powerhouse lineup. Oregon State has to use a thin pitching staff without starters Jaren Hunter and Jacob Kmatz.
At some point over the weekend, they could add to their shared history.
“It’s a testament to how (good) both of those programs are, more than anything,” Hess said. “It lets you know the reason they’re playing so much is because they’re constantly in the postseason or getting deep into the postseason.”
Oregon
Foothills of the Northern Blue Mountains of Oregon under a high wind watch Monday and Tuesday
The National Weather Service issued a high wind watch at 9:29 p.m. on Sunday valid from Monday 4 p.m. until Tuesday 10 a.m. for Foothills of the Northern Blue Mountains of Oregon.
The weather service states, “Southeast winds 25 to 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 65 mph possible for the base of the northern Blue Mountains of Oregon.”
“Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are possible. Travel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles,” describes the weather service. “Monitor the latest forecasts and warnings for updates.”
Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.
No. 1 Oregon will face No. 8 Ohio State in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
With the rematch officially set, we’re taking a look back at the path the Ducks (13-0) took to reach the CFP as the top seed.
The season began with a clunky 24-14 win over Idaho. The right side of the offensive line was responsible for multiple penalties and three sacks to an FCS opponent that made for an unnecessarily difficult opener, even as Dillon Gabriel threw for 380 yards with two touchdowns to Tez Johnson.
Special teams rescued the Ducks in a 37-34 comeback over Boise State. Ashton Jeanty had 192 yards and three touchdowns to legitimize his Heisman candidacy. An 85-yard punt return touchdown by Johnson and a 100-yard kickoff return by Noah Whittington and recovery in the end zone by Jayden Limar erased a fourth quarter deficit. The offensive line made constant changes while allowing four sacks and committing five penalties in the unit’s most disjointed performance in years.
The early issues up front were gone as Iapani Laloulu took over at center in a 49-14 plastering of Oregon State. Gabriel threw for two touchdowns and ran for one as the offense gained 546 yards with 10 plays of 20-plus. The defense shutdown the Beavers ground game in the second half and UO secured its first win in Corvallis since 2018.
Following its first bye week of the season, Oregon officially opened Big Ten play at UCLA with a 34-13 rout at the Rose Bowl. A 28-3 lead was more than enough for the Ducks to coast and they held the Bruins to just 47 rushing yards.
Jordan James and Jordan Burch took center stage in a 31-10 Friday night drubbing of Michigan State at Autzen Stadium. James had 166 yards and a touchdown and Burch had 2.5 sacks and recovered a fumble. Two red zone interceptions by Gabriel made things briefly more competitive but the Ducks pulled away to setup a clash of undefeated titans.
The Oct. 12 game with Ohio State lived up to the billing as the top game of the season. There were seven lead changes in the 32-31 Ducks win over the Buckeyes, who were driving in the closing seconds and Will Howard slid at the UO 26 with time expiring. A deliberate 12 men on the field penalty by Oregon led to an in-season rules interpretation by the NCAA and provided further evidence of Dan Lanning’s preparation relative to Ryan Day. Even without Burch, who suffered a knee injury two days before the game, the Ducks were able to generate some pressure on Howard.
A Friday night trip to West Lafayette, Ind. will be remembered as Oregon’s first shutout since 2012. Purdue was hapless, throwing for less than 100 yards. Even with Traeshon Holden suspended and Terrance Ferguson out following an appendectomy, the Ducks were vastly better in every facet.
A 38-9 blowout of Illinois was filled with physicality in all phases. The defense had seven tackles for loss with three sacks, two interceptions and eight pass breakups to help build a 35-3 halftime lead.
Ferguson and Burch returned in a 38-17 beat down of Michigan at the Big House. The Ducks also suffered injuries to Johnson and Marcus Harper II but still managed to gain 470 yards and did not allow a sack against one of the best defensive lines in college football.
Gabriel broke the NCAA career touchdown record in a 39-18 win over Maryland. A season-high 12 penalties, particularly a couple of pass interference calls in the end zone, made the game more competitive than it truly was and Burch sprained his ankle.
Another fourth quarter comeback was required to escape Wisconsin with a 16-13 win. Gabriel found Ferguson on fourth and nine to open the fourth quarter and the defense closed it out with back-to-back three-and-outs, a fourth down stop and interception by Matayo Uiagalelei to cap an eighth straight conference win in as many weeks.
The second bye week allowed for Johnson to return for a 49-21 rout of Washington to cap a 12-0 regular season with Dan Lanning’s first win in the rivalry. Burch had 2.5 of Oregon’s 10 sacks and Uiagalelei had two. The Huskies ran for just 43 yards and could not stretch the field vertically.
A battle of top 10 defenses instead was a shootout in the Big Ten championship game, which Oregon won over Penn State 45-37 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Gabriel threw four touchdowns, with three going to tight ends, and the defense had two interceptions to help secure the conference title, No. 1 seed in the CFP and Rose Bowl berth.
CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl
- Who: No. 1 Oregon Ducks (13-0) vs. No. 8 Ohio State (11-2)
- When: Wednesday, Jan. 1
- Time: 2 p.m. PT
- Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
- TV channel: ESPN
- Stream: You can watch this game live for FREE with Fubo (free trial) or by signing up for Sling (cheapest streaming plans, $25 off your first month). If you already have cable, you can also watch this game live on Watch ESPN with your cable or satellite provider login information.
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— James Crepea covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.
The Oregon Ducks will face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. The Buckeyes handled business in the first round of the College Football Playoff and will now face the Ducks in the quarterfinals. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. PT on New Year’s Day.
What do the Vegas oddsmakers say about the upcoming matchup between Oregon and Ohio State?
The Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes will play in the Rose Bowl for a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Buckeyes are coming off a 42-17 dismantling of the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the CFP. That performance was enough for Ohio State to now be a slight favorite over the No. 1 ranked Oregon Ducks.
It’s nearly a pick ‘em, but Ohio State is a one-point favorite as of now. The over/under is set at 53.5 points.
The odds makers have loved the Buckeyes all season, and they still do. Not only is Ohio State a slight favorite over Oregon, they also have better odds to win the national championship.
Texas is the overall favorite to win the national championship with odds of +340. Ohio State has the second best odds of +380. Oregon is third with odds of +400.
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Oregon and Ohio State treated the country to one of the best games of the 2024 regular season when they played in October. The Ducks outlasted the Buckeyes in a 32-31 thriller at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
The Ducks were underdogs in that game too, but prevailed and won outright. Now, the two will play against each other in the “Granddaddy of Them All” in the Rose Bowl. The winner will play the winner of the Texas-Arizona State game in the semi-finals.
What are the other games in the quarterfinal slate?
The quarterfinals in the College Football Playoff will kick off when No. 3 Boise State plays No. 6 Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl at 4:30 p.m. PT on Dec. 31.
The New Year will start off with No. 5 Texas and No. 4 Arizona State in the Peach Bowl at 10 a.m. PT on Jan. 1.
Following the Rose Bowl between Oregon and Ohio State to finish off the quarterfinals is No. 2 Georgia and No. 7 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl at 5:45 p.m. PT on New Year’s Day.
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