The Daily Barometer 5 • Thursday, April 17, 2014
Sports
Inside sports: Men’s and women’s golf Pac-12 power rankings
page 6
sports@dailybarometer.com • On Twitter @barosports
Keyes out indefinitely with thumb injury n
Senior first baseman Kavin Keyes fractured thumb Sunday, hopes to return for postseason By Andrew Kilstrom THE DAILY BAROMETER
In second place in the Pac-12 standings with the most important part of No. 6 Oregon State’s schedule around the corner, the Beavers have been dealt bad news. Senior first baseman Kavin Keyes, a staple in the middle of OSU’s lineup for the better part of the past three seasons, is out indefinitely with a fractured left thumb. The injury came in the third inning of Sunday’s 8-1 victory against Washington State on a play at first. “It was a tag play at first, I had to come off the bag, I tagged him and it just got caught,” Keyes said at practice Wednesday. “When it happened, I realized something was wrong but I didn’t feel very much pain at first. “I went back out there and kept playing an inning and two-thirds to try and get through it, and it got to the point where I wasn’t helping anyone out by playing first base.” Keyes later left the game for a nearby hospital to get X-rays. While he doesn’t know his exact timetable, he expects to return for the postseason, assuming Oregon State qualifies
Senior first baseman Kavin Keyes celebrates after reaching second base against Wright State March 1 in Goss Stadium.
justin quinn
THE DAILY BAROMETER
at the end of the year. He’s still waiting on doctors to determine treatment and an accurate timeframe for his recovery. “I still need to figure out with doctors what type of treatment and how it goes,” Keyes said, “but it shouldn’t be anymore than five or six weeks.” Keyes’ absence is a significant one for an Oregon State team that has struggled with consistency at the plate this season. Keyes has the third-highest batting average on the team through Sunday (.325), while contributing 19 runs batted in and sound defense at both and first and occasionally third base. The Beavers know replacing one of their senior leaders will be no easy task, but have confidence in whomever fills Keyes’ void at first base. “He’s obviously a big part of our team defensively and offensively, but I think that we have guys that come in and step up,” said freshman shortstop Trever Morrison. “We’ve got Jerad (Casper) and Billy (King) maybe that can come up, but I think we’ll be able to work with each other and we’ll trust each other.” Casper is the most likely replacement for Keyes as he’s the most experience of the two and has seen important playing time the past two See BASEBALL | page 6
Softball looks to rebound following sweep n
Oregon State hits road to No. 2 UCLA for 3-game series starting Thursday By Josh Worden
THE DAILY BAROMETER
Laura Berg stood in left field after the Oregon State softball team finalized an 18-0 blowout loss to No. 1 Oregon on Monday. The head coach looked over the stat sheet after the postgame huddle. Two numbers jumped out to her: three errors in the five-inning game, and being outhit 19-1. All three errors resulted in unearned runs and only 11 of the 18 runs allowed in the game were earned. Also — as Berg pointed out herself — Oregon had more hits Monday than the Beavers’ 11 hits in the three-game series. “They didn’t want to be here any more than the man on the moon,” Berg said. “You could see it on their faces.” “I can kind of agree with that,” added freshman pitcher Alleyah Armendariz. “It seemed kind of slow-paced, not a lot of people were into the game until we were down by a lot.” If it’s any consolation for OSU (13-23, 3-10 Pac-12), the next team on the schedule was also on the receiving end of a recent pummeling by
the Ducks — No. 2 UCLA (36-4, 9-3). In the national rankings, UCLA is second only to Oregon, but the Bruins are still stinging from their last Pac-12 matchup against Oregon. UCLA avoided the sweep, but lost the first two games, including a 12-4 defeat in five innings in the middle contest of the series. Oregon State will have only two days in between the Oregon and UCLA matchups with the first game against the Bruins set for 7 p.m. Thursday in Los Angeles. “It’s disappointing because we only get to play these games for so long,” Armendariz said of the Oregon loss. “We have to flush it and move on to the next series.” The Beavers missed an opportunity to beat the No. 1 team in the nation, but the underdog situation will remain the same against the Bruins. UCLA is led by double-threat sophomore Ally Carda, who leads her team’s starters with a 21-2 record in the pitcher’s circle and a 1.27 ERA. If that weren’t enough, she also bats .384 at the plate with a .524 on-base percentage and six home runs. For an OSU team that is looking to break See SOFTBALL | page 6
Junior running back Storm Woods fights through defenders at spring practice April 9.
justin quinn
THE DAILY BAROMETER
Running backs ready for breakout n
Storm Woods, Terron Ward hope to build on last season’s late success By Andrew Kilstrom THE DAILY BAROMETER
justin quinn
| THE DAILY BAROMETER
Oregon State walks toward the dugout at the OSU Softball Complex in Sunday’s loss to No. 1 Oregon.
Oregon State finished the 2013 season ranked 113th in the nation in rushing, receiving just 94.4 yards per game on the ground. Considering there are only 123 teams in the nation, it’s an area the Beavers hope to improve for the 2014 season. OSU struggled running the ball a year ago, but the Beavers get juniors Terron Ward and Storm Woods back and are optimistic they can improve. The duo has been working hard during the offseason and say they feel as good as ever midway through spring practices. “I feel really good — faster, stronger, bigger,” Woods said. “Now that we’re getting in the flow, we’re ready to take off.” Woods rushed for 505 yards in 2013, averaging 3.8 yards per carry while scoring six touchdowns. Ward finished with similar numbers, gaining 555 yards for the season with a 4.6 yard per carry average and five touchdowns. Woods and Ward shared the backfield all of last season — Woods had 127 carries and Ward had 113 — and expect to once again. Though both admit they’d like to be the clear-
cut starter, they’re more focused on contributing on the field and taking advantage of the touches they do get. “Every player’s goal is to be a starter and contribute, but we’re both going to get the ball and we’re both going to get in the game,” Ward said. “As long as I have an impact on the team, I’m OK with that.” Despite battling for the same position, Ward said the two help push each other to be better every single day. There’s constant competition, but it’s a friendly relationship both on and off the field. “If you ask any coach out here, he’d probably tell you me and Storm are the two hardest workers out here and that’s because we feed off each other,” Ward said. “We know what we expect and we know what we want to see from this team. We’re just working hard every day.” While the Beavers struggled to run the ball for the majority of the season, they did find some success toward the end of the year. The biggest breakthrough was in OSU’s one-point loss to Oregon in the Civil War last November. Ward rushed for 146 yards on 17 carries and Woods added 75 yards on 15 carries. Despite losing three offensive linemen from a year ago to graduation, Oregon State expects to improve off its late-season success. See FOOTBALL | page 6