Joey Wong- Courtesy: Dave Nishitani
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State baseball team returned to Goss Stadium Thursday, working out in two separate segments for their first day of fall practice.
“It’s good to be back on the field and see the team as we get ready for the 2009 season,” Oregon State head coach Pat Casey said. “We have a great bunch of newcomers who will join a very experienced group of returners.”
Among the returners is Ryan Ortiz, a member of the 2008 All-Pac-10 Team. He’ll be joined by juniors Jorge Reyes and Joey Wong, who are returning from a summer playing in the Cape Cod League. Senior John Wallace returns to the outfield after finishing a summer as a member of the 2008 West Coast Collegiate League champion Corvallis Knights.
Oregon State’s pitching staff will be bolstered by the return of left-handers Josh Osich, Kraig Sitton, Kyle Foster and Tanner Robles, and right-handers Kevin Rhoderick, Greg Peavey, Taylor Starr, James Nygren and Mark Grbavac, who was drafted in the 32nd round of the MLB Draft in June but did not sign.
Those returners helped welcome a host of newcomers Thursday, a day that saw the Beavers practice in the morning before returning to the field in the afternoon. Most of the day was spent on specific positional work, with 10 outfielders, 10 infielders, four catchers and 15 pitchers comprising the fall roster.
Oregon State has seven junior college transfers on the fall roster. They are: catchers Michael Chiarelli (Skagit Valley CC) and Bryce Starratt (Sacramento CC), infielders Jared Norris (Yavapai College), Stefen Romero (Pima CC), Adalberto Santos (New Mexico JC) and Max Shupe (San Jose CC) and outfielder Logan Lotti (Sierra JC).
Oregon State has two pitchers join the fall roster in right-handers Sam Gaviglio (Ashland HS) and Tyler Waldron (Pacific). Infielders Carter Bell (Courtenay, B.C.) and Kyle Beverley (Salt Lake City) and outfielders Blake Gibbs (Bellevue, Wash.), Ryan Gorton (Tigard, Ore.) and Brent Warren (Robins, Iowa) comprise the freshman class.
The Oregon State baseball team is scheduled to practice again Friday.
Make sure to visit osubeavers.com for more information on the Oregon State baseball team. Available online is an interview with Oregon State Olympian Brian Barden, as well as photo galleries, statistics, information on the 2009 Papé Grand Slam and a page devoted to the six-team Palm Springs Tournament in March hosted by the Beavers.
