Oregon State Sees Two Familiar Faces in Omaha

Oregon State plays U-C Irvine on Wednesday at 4 p.m. PDT.

Former OSU pitcher Kevin Gunderson gets in his workout. Photo: OSU Athletics

OMAHA, Neb. - Kevin Gunderson thought Dallas Buck was kidding.

Gunderson, now pitching for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the Carolina League, got a phone call from his former Oregon State baseball teammate and Buck, now pitching for the Visalia Oaks in the California League, a few minutes after the Beavers qualified for their third straight College World Series appearance.

“Dallas called me on Monday night after they won the Super Regional, maybe five minutes after the game was over, and said, ‘Let’s go to Omaha’,” Gunderson said Tuesday. “I thought he was joking, but I didn’t put two and two together – I didn’t realize that the all-star break was next week (this week) for us, so I was thinking, ‘Okay, good joke, whatever.’ But he was being serious, so I said, ‘All right.’ I looked online that night for some tickets, and the next day we both booked our flights.”

So, after flying into Omaha on Monday, two of the heroes of OSU’s 2006 national championship were on hand for OSU’s 12-6 win over Arizona State on Monday night.

Gunderson also went with the Beavers to practice on Tuesday, and the two will have to return to their professional teams before Oregon State (46-18) plays California-Irvine on Wednesday at 4 p.m. PDT.

Wednesday’s game will be televised on ESPN2, and all of the Beavers’ CWS games can be heard on KEJO-AM (1240) in the Corvallis area, KUIK-AM (1360) in the Portland area, KKNX-AM (840) in the Eugene area, KBZY-AM (1490) in the Salem area, KICE-AM (940) in the Bend area, KMED-AM (1440) in the Medford area, KRNR-AM (1490) in the Roseburg area, KNPT-AM (1310) in the Newport area, KAGO-AM (1150) in the Klamath Falls area and KODL-AM (1440) in The Dalles area, and KTIX-AM (1240) in the Pendleton area.

UC-Irvine (46-16-1) would have to beat the Beavers Wednesday and then again Thursday to keep them out of the best-of-three championship round that starts Saturday against the winner of the other bracket.

OSU’s practice on Tuesday was at Girls and Boys Town, perhaps better known as Boys Town and originally founded by Father Edward Flanagan as Father Flanagan’s Boys Home in 1917.

A number of Girls and Boys Town students and staff members visited OSU’s practice, talking with the Beavers and collecting autographs.

Girls and Boys Town is America’s largest privately funded organization serving severely at-risk, abused, abandoned and neglected children.

The nonprofit, nonsectarian organization works to provide these children with a safe, caring, loving environment where they gain confidence to get better and learn skills to become productive citizens.

While the school recalled the movie “Boys Town” that starred Spencer Tracy as Father Flanagan in 1938, the workout itself had a “Field of Dreams” feel to it.

Just beyond the outfield fences there was corn growing, and fans scooted through the stalks trying to track down home run balls during the Beavers’ batting practice.

Gunderson got in a workout of his own as the Beavers practiced, and he jumped into the batting cage for a few swings. His efforts drew some good-natured hoots of derision from his former teammates.

The night before, he and Buck had gotten a different view of Rosenblatt Stadium. After seeing the ballpark as players in both the 2005 and 2006 College World Series, this time they were there as fans.

“It’s a lot different,” Gunderson said. “Last night was a little weird. We were outside the stadium, we got there about 4 o’clock and waited outside the stadium for a while because the Irvine-Fullerton game took so long.

“Walking in the stadium, it felt like I should be in uniform because I’ve never been in the stands like that except on media day. But it was fun – once the game started, being a fan is a different perspective. It makes you wish you were here, but be thankful that you got to play here for two years.”

The guy who threw the final pitch, then leapt in the air after the final out was made to give OSU the national title, found himself recognized by CWS fans.

“It was kind of weird – I didn’t expect that,” Gunderson said. “I just wanted to come here and have a good time, hang out with the guys and the coaches and everybody. It was weird Monday; people did recognize me and I just had an Oregon State baseball shirt on – I didn’t have my ring, didn’t have anything, just ordinary street clothes and that shirt. I just wanted to blend in with the crowd.”

When Gunderson left OSU for pro ball after last season, he wasn’t sure what type of OSU team he was leaving behind.

“To be honest, I had no idea,” Gunderson said. “Obviously, the players that we lost were pretty significant – the Pac-10 Player of the Year (Cole Gillespie), two of the best starting pitchers in the nation (Buck and Jonah Nickerson), a lot of other guys like that – it was just up in the air. I knew some of the guys coming in, and I knew the guys coming back were going to be solid.

“It’s special that they’re back, because I guarantee you from the time that we won it last year, after everyone signed, that people said Oregon State had no shot at coming back. It’s good that they came out and proved everyone wrong.”

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