Kraig Sitton
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State baseball team worked out for nearly three hours Monday afternoon in the Beavers’ first practice in anticipation of the 2009 season, which is 18 days away when the club visits Tennessee.
The Beavers met at Goss Stadium for the workout and started the afternoon off with individual and defensive drills. The first practice also saw the club scrimmage for five innings before wrapping up for the day.
“It was good to be out there at that first practice,” head coach Pat Casey said. “It was a beautiful day on Monday and everybody was real eager to get back out on the field. We don’t have much time to work out before the season starts so we have to maximize all the time we have and I think we did that today.”
The first workout came a day after the first allowable practice date as mandated by the NCAA. Casey and his coaching staff elected to give the Beavers Sunday off, making Monday the club’s first workout.
That first workout was the team’s first practice together since the fall. NCAA rules allowed the Beavers individual workout times in the month of January.
Among the returnees on the field Monday was 2008 All-Pac-10 honoree Ryan Ortiz, who batted .351 with 55 runs batted in as sophomore. Also on the field was Kevin Rhoderick, who was named a Freshman All-American last season after posting 12 saves in his first season in Corvallis.
Newcomers to the club, and ready for their first NCAA Division I season, included freshmen Brent Warren and Carter Bell, sophomores Jared Norris and Stefen Romero and juniors Adalberto Santos and Logan Lotti. Also in his first spring workout with the team was sophomore transfer Tyler Waldron, who played for Pacific last season.
The squad is currently ranked 25th by Baseball America and 24th in the preseason top 25 ranking released by Rivals.com in early January.
The Beavers are scheduled to work out at Goss Stadium through the rest of the week. On Tuesday, Casey and selected players will meet with the media at the team’s annual media day. Make sure to visit osubeavers.com to read more about what the Beavers had to say.
Available now are a number of season tickets for the 2009 season. The season-ticket packages include 24 games at Goss Stadium and the three-game series against Missouri State go for $400 and can be obtained at the ticket office at legendary Gill Coliseum, by calling 1-800-GOBEAVS or by visiting osubeavers.com. Single-game tickets for the 2009 season will be made available to the public on Feb. 16.
Additionally, tickets to the 2009 Papé Grand Slam will go on sale on Feb. 11. The 2009 Slam will take place from March 13-15 and will feature Oregon State and perennial Midwest power Missouri State in a three-game series at PGE Park in Portland.
Tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, including www.ticketmaster.com, and by calling (503) 224-4400. Tickets will also be made available at the PGE Park box office beginning Monday February 23rd.
Single-game tickets for the Papé Grand Slam are $10 for adults and $5 for youths (ages 3-18), with each seat being general admission. Oregon State students who present their ID on game day can also get seats for $5. Those who have season tickets for the 2009 Oregon State baseball season will have a specific number of sections reserved for them on the Oregon State dugout side of PGE Park.
The 2009 season officially opens Feb. 20 when the Beavers start a three-game series against Tennessee in Knoxville.
