OMAHA, Neb. — Oregon State has won 109 of 127 baseball games over two seasons with mostly the same cast of players. The Beavers see winning a national championship as the only way to validate their body of work.
"Ultimately," Beavers coach Pat Casey said Sunday, "nobody cares how many games you win unless you win the last one."
Standing between Oregon State (53-11-1) and the title is Arkansas (47-19) in the best-of-three College World Series finals starting Monday.
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES FINALS
Best-of-3
Oregon State (53-11-1) vs. Arkansas (47-19)
Game 1: Monday, 4 p.m., ESPN
Game 2: Tuesday, 4 p.m., ESPN
Game 3 (if necessary): Wednesday, 4 p.m. ESPN
The Beavers lost their CWS opener and staved off elimination four times to reach the finals for the first time since 2007, when they won the second of two straight championships.
The Razorbacks swept through their bracket in three games, knocking off defending champion and No. 1 overall seed Florida to make the finals for the first time in the best-of-three era. Arkansas was runner-up in 1979.
PITCHING PLANS
Arkansas' Blaine Knight (13-0) will start Monday, followed by Kacey Murphy (8-5) on Tuesday and Isaiah Campbell (5-6) if a game is necessary Wednesday.
Casey didn't name a Game 1 starter. Ace Luke Heimlich (16-2) would be coming off four days of rest after not getting out of the third inning in either of his starts in Omaha.
Heimlich's appearances at the CWS have drawn reaction on social media but little to none in the stadium, other than support from Beavers fans. Last year, he left the team before the CWS after it was revealed he had pleaded guilty to molesting a young relative when he was 15. The university allowed him to return to the team this year. He served two years of probation and went through a treatment program but denied wrongdoing in recent interviews with Sports Illustrated and The New York Times.