Congratulations are in order a day late for the Oregon State University baseball team for claiming back-to-back national championships. Read about it here, here and here. It truly is amazing that they were able to pull the feat off. They are the first northern team to win consecutive titles. They are the first team with a losing record in conference play to win a national title. They are the lowest seeded team to ever win a national title. They were the very last team put in the tournament bracket. There are likely many other firsts accomplished by this team but these are the ones I have run across.
The Beavers were a great team to watch and in my opinion played baseball the way it should be. The pitching was phenomenal, the hitting was timely and the defense was as close to perfect as I've seen. It seems hard to imagine that a team was able to win consecutive titles this day in age. Player turnover from year-to-year is significant and being the defending national champs puts a target on your back every day you take the field. As has been mentioned, it pains me to be this complimentary of an Oregon State team but I would be a fool not to be. They were a great team put together by Pat Casey that the entire state should be proud of. I know I am, so much in fact that I placed my order for a championship t-shirt today. Blasphemous I know, but something I had to do. Now if only they weren't the only Pac-10 team to represent the state.
(Photo from Dennis Hubbard/OSU Athletics.)
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