The baseball rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State was born before even the former reinstated its baseball program in 2009.
It started when the Beavers won back-to-back College World Series titles in 2006 and 2007,which back then made Oregon look like “little brother.” It intensified when Oregon brought baseball back, and now, with both programs vying to host Super Regional play, the series between the two is more important than ever.
The Beavers bullied the Ducks during Oregon’s first reinstated season, taking five of six games. The next year, the Beavers swept the Ducks in Corvallis and went 1-1 in two nonconference games.
Over the next two years, the teams traded sweeps with the home team always coming out on top. This year Oregon has taken the only game, a 6-3 victory, a non-conference matchup in Corvallis.
The teams will go at it four times between Friday and Tuesday, three coming in a weekend series in Eugene and the fourth being a final nonconference game on Tuesday in Corvallis.
The Beavers and Ducks — ranked fourth and sixth in the nation in the USA Today Coaches Poll, respectively — have much more to play for this year than pride. Both teams are a virtual lock to host regional play in the postseason, but that isn’t the final goal.
Oregon head coach George Horton, when asked about the teams hosting Regionals and Super Regionals, said it’s possible both teams can host. He hopes, however, the two teams won’t face off in the postseason until the last game of the post-season.
“I’ve said often that I hope one of these days that we both go to the College World Series,” Horton said. “In a perfect storm, we’d play each other for the National Championship. There’s room for both of us in Omaha, and there’s room for both of us to host.”
A perfect storm is a great description for the two teams going head to head. The similarities between them are uncanny.
They have the best records in the conference, and both rely heavily on their pitching, sitting atop the Pac-12 in:
— collective ERA, Oregon State at 2.06 and Oregon at 2.62;
— saves, Oregon with 23 and Oregon State with 17; and
— the top four in strike outs, with Oregon leading the conference with 362 and Oregon State coming in fourth with 335.
Neither team is extraordinary from the batter’s box, coming in middle of the pack in most batting statistical categories, with the Beavers generally slightly ahead of the Ducks — but each finds a way to make up for their offensive struggles. Oregon falls back on their defense, ranked second in the conference, while Oregon State has a stellar on-base percentage of .379.
Both teams have nearly identical season records, with the main difference being Oregon scheduling more games for their 2013 season. Neither has dropped three games in a row, and both have been able to limit losing consecutive games.
Perhaps most interesting is the hot streak both seem to be on: Oregon State has won 12 in a row, and Oregon took 12 of its last 13.
Statistics and records, like those above, can show the differences between the teams, which doesn’t separate one from the other. That point will have to be proven on the field.