Behind Enemy Lines: Five Questions for Oregon State On SI's Joe Londergan

Following a blazing run in the NCAA Tournament, the Louisville baseball program has officially made their way back to the College World Series. Starting off their 2025 run in Omaha, the Cardinals will be taking on No. 8 national seed Oregon State. First pitch is set for Friday, June 13 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Ahead of the matchup, Louisville Cardinals On SI sat down with Joe Londergan of Orefgon State On SI to find out more about the Beavers:

1. With Oregon State opting to compete as an independent this season, how did that impact scheduling and their overall approach to the year?

From a scheduling standpoint, OSU was away from home a lot this year. Including neutral site games, the Beavers played 35 games on the road (ten more than UofL, for comparison), including ten before their first home game. These weren’t against cupcakes either. Oregon State has 12 quadrant one wins, well within the top 20 in that category - not necessarily easy to set up given the time they had and the fact that they're independent.

Fortunately for the Beavers, head coach Mitch Canham prepared them for that challenge. He’s preached for most of the year that he was willing to deal with difficult circumstances earlier in the year if it put them in a better position to play at home in the postseason. Ultimately, it did. OSU hosted their Regional and Super Regional, and having a home crowd seemed to give them a little extra push.

Given those circumstances, the Beavers were fortunate in terms of dealing with injuries and overall wellness, as well. That was also very intentional, as Canham noted this week in placing a major emphasis on nutrition and physical recovery in between games this season.

2. The Beavers rank No. 3 in the nation at drawing walks. What makes them such a disciplined team at the plate?

I think that’s been a point of emphasis the last few seasons. They set a program record for home runs last season with 118 (second most in Pac-12 history). They’re up to 103 this year. They know how to look for the right pitches they can capitalize on. I know it’s obvious that any team that’s made it to the College World Series at this point has a good offense, but it’s been the identity of the Oregon State program the last handful of seasons.

3. Who is the “X-Factor” in the starting lineup?

There are a few different names that you could probably apply that label to. However, I think I have to go with Aiva Arquette. The Hawaiian shortstop was definitely OSU’s biggest get in the transfer portal, joining after two seasons at Washington. Arquette leads the team with a .354 batting average. He’s also hit 18 home runs with 65 RBIs, second on the team in both categories. With a fielding percentage of .982 and 38 double plays, he’s a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award this season, given annually to the top shortstop in the country.

4. Who is expected to get the start on the mound, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?

In this first contest on Friday, the Beavers are likely to go with Dax Whitney. A true freshman, Whitney earned Freshman All-America honors from Perfect Game and the NCBWA. He leads the team in strikeouts with 111 with the second-most innings pitched. As exceptionally  good as he is, the inexperience shows at times. A few at-bats don’t go his way in a row, you run the risk of him losing control. He had five starts out of 16 this year where he allowed three earned runs or more. 

5. What is the one thing that Oregon State has to do in order to win?

Oregon State are great at quickly learning from their mistakes…but they do make mistakes. It might sound a little cliche, but they need a complete performance.

In the first game of the super regional, the offense couldn’t get going early in the game, but woke up in the bottom of the ninth to score three runs and force extra innings where they got the win. In their loss of the second game, despite a stellar performance from their starting pitcher, they fell 3-1. Then in the third game, they were on fire offensively in the opening innings, but allowed Florida State to mount a significant comeback in the final five innings of what ultimately was a 14-10 OSU win. If they can just put it all together the way they did in the final four games of the Corvallis Regional, a span in which they outscored opponents 50-6, they’ll be in a good spot. 

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