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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The popular narrative was that Oregon's state race at the National Championship was fueled by Beavers' desire to redeem themselves for the College World Series last year. .
Coach Pat Casey does not dispute this. But he says that there is more to it.
"I think the fuel started the first year of these guys in '16 when we were not in the tournament," Casey said. "I sat there and I looked at these guys and I said," There's only one way to answer that, man, we make a decision. "We came back here last year and we had the best season of our history, we came here, we played a very good LSU club and we did not manage to do that, that did not stop us from starting again.
The 2016 team had a record of 35-19 and was one of the first teams not to participate in the NCAA tournament. the first-round picks of 2018 Nick Madrigal, Trevor Larnach and Cadyn Grenier, and three other players who were caught in the first 10 rounds.
The 2017 team has experienced one of the best seasons The beavers came to Omaha 54-4 and as the No. 1 national seed. "They won two games here and then, with his offense having become dormant, lost twice to LSU.
This year's club was more resilient than dominant.
Madrigal, choice number 4 by the Chicago White Sox, missed 26 games with a wrist injury. The Beavers lost two consecutive mid-season streaks to Utah, who finished last in the Pac-12, and to sixth-place Arizona
As the post-season approached, national attention was focused on Luke Heimlich, the starter launcher The call to molest a young parent at the age of 15 was picked up in profiles by Sports Illustrated and the New York Times. Heimlich, who has mostly struggled in three SCF appearances, denied mischief in interviews with both publications, claiming that he had pled guilty to sparing his family the ordeal of a trial
. opens them CWS. They then won four consecutive elimination matches to reach the finals of the best of three against Arkansas.
In the second game, they were the beneficiaries of a colossal breakaway for Arkansas while a foul ball fell between three players. ninth inning. If the Razorbacks had caught that ball, they would have won their first national championship.
"Once the ball fell, I thought," We have not finished, "said Larnach
. At the last minute, Grenier delivered the simple equalizer and Larnach managed the two-run homerun of the series. Rookie Kevin Abel took first place on Thursday night and won a record fourth SC win by lining up a 1-2 and taking out the last 20 batters he faced in a 5-0 win that blocked the championship national and the season 55-12-1.
"It all starts with coach Casey and his team," said Larnach. "As soon as we arrive on campus, they really reinforce the mentality you need to win a national championship, they apply it every day, when we go through adversity, injury, loss, we continue to say the same thing. We continued to win, we finally finished the job. "
Another playoff race is possible in 2019.
" There are very good players who have not played a lot this year because the state of Oregon is waiting to make the daily beginners to the CWS 'most outstanding player Adley Rutschman at the catcher, the designated hitter Tyler Malone, first baseman Zak Taylor and outfielder Preston Jones. Among the expected pitchers are starters Abel and Bryce Fehmel and levers Christian Chamberlain and Brandon Eisert and closer Jake Mulholland
"Christian Chamberlain showed you that he had 92, 95 the other night in the World Series, I know what he's doing … this guy's going to be electric someday, "says Casey. "Fehmel has not seen a good world series, but he has won a lot of games at Oregon State in three years, Preston Jones is going to be a good player, Kevin Abel is a Friday night guy, there's no question the chance of being a first-round guy. "
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For more CWS AP coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/CollegeWorldSeries
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