The scramble to build a competitive schedule, grueling road trips and a team bus snafu highlighted Oregon State's road back to national title contention

Twenty-one months ago, Oregon State athletics was dealt what many saw as a death blow when the Pac-12 imploded, leaving them without a conference. The baseball team, unlike any other sport at OSU, opted to play a completely independent schedule this season.

As Oregon State baseball coach Mitch Canham scrutinized film of the Louisville Cardinals ahead of the Men’s College World Series, it didn’t take him long to identify the biggest obstacle separating the Beavers from the winner’s bracket at Charles Schwab Field.

Just eight teams remain as the 2025 College World Series enters a full sprint to end the NCAA baseball season. See how to tune in to the CWS for free.

A legitimate Cinderella story, a conference-less powerhouse and the nation's hottest team threaten to end the SEC's reign atop the sport

Caraway led off the bottom of the first inning with a line drive single to left, jumpstarting a game-changing first inning that featured seven runs and five hits, including back-to-back home runs. And the second of those homers came from McEntire, in his first-career postseason at-bat, when he belted a towering shot to left field.

To get to the College World Series, teams had to win at least five games over two weekends without losing more than once each round. Three of the eight qualifiers swept their way to Omaha, while one (Oregon State) had to play eight times to secure a spot.