This time last year Goss Stadium was only half full, the softball team couldn’t lose, Mike Riley was on the hot seat and my radio show, The NickelBlock, was nationally syndicated.
What a difference a year makes.
Goss Stadium is now bursting at the seams, the softball team is going through its woes, Jay John is on the hot seat and my show is … how should I put it … less popular.
Goss Stadium is now crowded. At the home opener, 1,907 Beaver Believers came out to watch America’s favorite pastime. And they got a show. That Evansville team definitely had purple “aces” after they got slapped by the Beaver lineup.
Quick props to Evansville pitcher Ben Norton for throwing the fat pitch that allowed Jordan Linnerton to lose his Coleman Field home run virginity. I was sitting in the press box, and I could still see Linnerton’s “O” face as he trotted along the bases. (Insert your own set of Office Space Lumberg/Linnerton jokes here.)
The Beavers went on to sweep the series and improved to 17-3 on the season. Dallas Buck who? He hasn’t been missed on the mound thanks to Daniel Turpen and Mike Stutes. They are a combined 9-0 on the mound with a 2.6 ERA.
Speaking of combined efforts on the mound, it seems like just yesterday the eighth-ranked Oregon State softball team had just extended its winning streak to 21 games, one shy of a school record, when it pounded Ball State 6-1. Fate would rain out the next games against Fresno State and Central Florida, allowing Kirk Walker to return home to grab his 400th win.
But it wasn’t yesterday, and the softball team is now 15-9 as they return home from the Hawaiian Invitational, where they suffered two loses to the host, Hawaii, and almost dropped games to Liberty and Pacific. That reminds me, Lady Sovereign Mia Longfellow is officially the biggest midget in the game. The five-footer crushed a two-out three-run walk off home run in the seventh inning to give the Beavers the “W” against Pacific.
This Saturday they are set to face South Dakota State and Utah State. This time there is no winning streak but a lack of domination from a team I thought had a serious chance to take the Pac-10 crown. I don’t think I’m alone when I ask, “What happened?”
Consistency is what happened – or, in this case, didn’t happen. The Beavers have been unable to hit as a team so far this season, often leaving runners stranded on base. It’s tough to drown an opponent when you load the bases and can’t get a run in the inning.
All is not lost, though. I don’t expect this streak of less-than-stellar play to continue. Brianne McGowan and Ta’Tyana McElroy are both pitching well, and if the bats can come around, this team will return to prominence. The girls return home to play the next 16 of 18 games at the home. I’m sure the team is set for another winning streak.
Coach Jay John is another story. If I ever hear the words “winning streak” and “Jay John” in a sentence … never mind, that’s pretty self-explanatory.
Now, I love watching basketball, I love the basketball players at this school, and I love Jay John, but that last game was god awful. To quote Mike Valenti, “They handed it away like a nice three-button coat at the Salvation Army.”
The bad part is, I don’t think Coach John deserves all the blame for that game. I don’t think I have ever watched a team lay down and get run over as easily as I saw my beloved Beaver basketball team in that game. That was flat out atrocious. Words can not do a 34-2 run any justice.
I could grab Barometer sports writers Lindsay Schnell, Casey Grogan, Sean McLean, Nick Vardanega, with Frank Hoaglin as my sixth man and challenge California to a game, and they wouldn’t go on a 34-2 scoring run – especially with Schnell’s moves in the paint.
Now people want to call for Jay John’s head. After a lot of thought, I have decided to not make the same mistake twice. I have Coach John’s back as long as he makes an effort at the next two criteria:
Someone – I don’t care who – teach Sasa Cuic how to box out, rebound, defend and play the inside game with some heart. I don’t wasn’t to see him fire up 18-foot fadeaways for 30 minutes every game. If he can’t learn, then bench him.
Also, instruct this team to not fold like a napkin when it’s down by ten points or more. I can’t tell you how many times I watched this team’s body language dictate a game. Being down 12 doesn’t mean act lackadaisical; it means play harder because what you are doing isn’t enough.
If John can get those two things done, maybe OSU will win a game. And if not, at least there’s softball and baseball for Beaver fans.
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