The Barometer Online

Issue date: 5/29/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Cory Reed Junior catcher Ryan Ortiz tosses the ball back to the pitcher. Ortiz was named to the Pac-10 Conference's First Team for the second consecutive season. Ortiz leads Oregon State with a .343 average.

As the NCAA Tournament opens up today, Oregon State will take to Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, for a meeting with the Texas A&M Aggies.

The Aggies (36-22) were the sixth place finishers in the Big 12 Conference. As the No. 2 seed in the Fort Worth Regional, the Aggies were rewarded for their strong start and early-season rankings. While OSU (35-17) opened the season ranked No. 25 by Baseball America, the Aggies began the year as the top team in the nation.

Despite a relatively strong season overall, Texas A&M was passed over by the rest of the nation and fell from the top 25.

Oregon State battled its way into the tournament with two victories last weekend in Palo Alto against Stanford. Leading the charge for the Beavers in the first game of the series was freshman pitcher Sam Gaviglio. The Ashland, Ore., native has found his spot as the ace of the Oregon State pitching staff and will get the game ball at the start of the Fort Worth Regional.

With nine wins, the last a complete game shutout against Stanford, Gaviglio is believed to have set an Oregon State record for wins by a freshman. Gaviglio finished the regular season with a 2.84 ERA and 49 strikeouts.

"It seems like the balls get knocked down going out to left field in this stadium and carry a little more to right field," Gaviglio said. "I just need to keep the ball down and hit my spots."

Behind Gaviglio is a strong Oregon State bullpen that has been closed out this season and last by sophomore Kevin Rhoderick. With nine saves and a 2.95 ERA, Rhoderick is feeling confident in the Beavers' stable of arms entering postseason play.

"Our pitchers are throwing well, and our starters are throwing well with Sam and Tyler," Rhoderick said. "Tanner threw really well in relief. I feel alright. I feel okay, so that is good."

At the plate, junior catcher Ryan Ortiz and his .343 average leads Oregon State. The Beavers backstop has knocked in 42 runs on the year and has thrown out 17 would-be base stealers.

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