USC Blazes Trail For Oregon State In NCAA Super Regional Action

The No. 21/18 USC baseball team (40-20) — winners of 12 NCAA championships, more than twice as many as any other school — will compete at the 2005 NCAA Super Regional this weekend (June 11-13) against No. 2 Oregon State (44-9) in Corvallis, Ore. The series begins on Saturday (June 11) at 7 p.m., continuing on Sunday (June 12) at 6 p.m. with a third game, if necessary, on Monday (June 13) at 4 p.m. All three games will be televised live on ESPN2 with Rich Cellini and Jerry Kindall calling the action. Live game stats will be available at ncaasports.com.

USC is making its 40th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its first in three years. The Trojans have a 207-75 record in the postseason. In the last six appearances (1998, 99, 2000, 01, 02, 05), the Trojans have made three trips to the College World Series and registered a 30-12 record in postseason play. Prior to last weekend’s regional championship, the Trojans’ last appearance came in 2002 as USC swept the NCAA First-Round Regional at Dedeaux Field against BYU (twice) and Cal State Northridge before falling to Stanford in the Super Regional. This is the 12th time in the last 16 regional appearances that USC has had to travel in the first round.

OREGON STATE NOTES — Oregon State is 44-9 on the season after winning the Corvallis regional last weekend, which featured St. John’s, Virginia and Ohio State. The Beavers won the Pac-10 Conference title for the first time since 1952. Head coach Pat Casey is 339-234-4 in his 11th season at Oregon State. The team is batting .321 while its pitching staff has a 2.92 ERA. Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, a 2005 first-round selection, is batting .416 with six home runs, 46 RBI and 22 stolen bases. Friday starter Dallas Buck is 11-1 with a 1.97 ERA (114 1/3 IP, 76 H, 25 ER, 43 BB, 114 SO,. 187 opponents’ batting average). USC leads the all-time series by a 33-10 margin. Oregon State took two of three from USC on May 20-22 in Corvallis (5-4, 10-7, 2-12). The Trojans took two of three games from the Beavers in the only postseason meeting between the two schools during the 1963 District 8 Playoffs in Corvallis (6-5, 6-8, 7-5).

The College World Series Tournament bracket is posted at the 2005 College World Series website.

Stay Tuned.

Fight On!