The third game was rained out but officials tried very hard to get it in.ASU coach Clint Myers said he was impressed with OSU’s ground crews.

“I have to compliment the crew that works here because they busted their butts trying to get this thing in,” said Myers, whose team also had its third game against Oregon rained out a couple of weeks ago. “I am envious of how many people they had out here and how hard they worked. They had rakes and shovels and they did a whole lot of things. They tried like heck to get it in but we just ran out of time.”

The possibility of risking players’ health becomes a factor when making those decisions.

“It’s silly to take a chance on getting somebody hurt if you can’t get five innings in,” Myers said. “If we could’ve had a guarantee where we would get five innings in then I think both of us would’ve played. But with where we’re at in the season right now, if somebody gets hurt and you don’t get in five, it’s a waste.”

The game will not be rescheduled. According to Pac-12 rules, even if the game was played at some point down the road, it would not count in the official conference standings.

The Beavers now turn their attention to Stanford for a three-game series on the road. OSU snapped that road loss streak with the victory over UCLA and would like to break through against the No. 15 Cardinal.

If the Beavers can stay competitive down the stretch, win the games they should win and snag some others along the way, they should make it to regionals.

It didn’t happen as the games were washed away along with many other sporting events. So, I’ll have to wait until next week when OSU hosts Arizona State in a key Pac-12 series.

I’m particularly interested to see all of OSU’s new talent this season, such as shortstop Liz Santana, center fielder Dani Gilmore, second baseman Ya Garcia, pitcher Aryn Feickert and outfielder Hannah Bouska. Of course, it’ll be good to see Desiree Beltran’s renewed energy at the plate, Erin Guzy over at first and Ally Kutz behind the plate. Paige Hall can change a game at pitcher or at the plate and outfielder Lea Cavestany can get the big hit. Tina Andreana is also back at pitcher.

For those of you keeping track, OSU rescheduled those games against Portland State for April 24 with a 2 p.m. start time.

First up at 3:45 p.m. is Indiana. The Hoosiers have been playing well lately with five wins in their last six games. One of Indiana’s losses this season was to Brigham Young. Remember what OSU did to the Cougars? So, on paper, it looks like the Beavers should be the favored team.

OSU then plays Northwestern at 6 p.m. The Beavers have a pretty good series history against the Wildcats with 22 previous meetings. Last year, Northwestern beat OSU at this same tournament, 3-2. And last week, the Wildcats upset then-No. 11 Missouri, 7-1.

It looks like you can listen to the Indiana-Oregon State game on the Hossiers’ online radio network. You can try to access here: http://www.iuhoosiers.com/allaccess/?media=304712. I listened to some of the Indiana-Stanford game this morning and it seems to work.

Meanwhile, Nebraska is ranked No. 22, a school the Beavers crushed in the tournament in Arizona. OSU took Georgia Tech to extra innings; the Yellowjackets are up to No. 17 in one poll. San Diego State, another team the Beavers defeated, received votes in both polls.

It doesn’t really matter. If the Beavers keep winning, they’ll break into those rankings and receive the appropriate recognition.

I watched the last half-hour or so of OSU’s practice on Tuesday. The Beavers worked out at the Truax Indoor Facility because of the poor conditions outside. It wrapped up with assistant coach Geoff Hirai running players through a series of sprints.

The team traveled today down to California for the Cathedral City Classic, a tournament that the Beavers host. It’s my understanding that OSU coach Kirk Walker had a lot to do with the tournament’s inception years ago. It’s grown into one of the top tournaments in the country.

OSU is capable of sweeping all of its games this weekend. I think the Ohio State game on Friday could be the toughest of the batch. The Buckeyes have a 6-4 overall record and are batting .305 on the season but their pitching is more suspect compared to OSU.

But listen to this … the games in Tempe represented the single-best five-game offensive stretch in team history. OSU scored 59 runs in 31 innings, including 10 homers (two grand slams) and a .482 batting average.

The 22 runs in the season-opener against BYU are the most in program history and the 16-run second inning is a school record as well. In fact, sports information director John Cantalupi discovered that the five homers in that second inning ties an NCAA record (just the fifth time ever that it’s been done). And the 16 runs, that’s good for sixth for any one inning in NCAA history.

The 11-3 victory over Nebraska on Saturday was significant as well. It was the school’s first victory over a top 20 team on the mercy rule since a 9-0 win over No. 17 Washington in 2005.

Those offensive numbers are crazy. It will be fun to keep an eye on the OSU bats this season. I’ll be writing more about that later.

Here’s a capsule look at today’s games.

Oregon State (2-0) vs. Georgia Tech (0-0)

Friday, 7:30 a.m., at Tempe, Ariz.

Coaches: OSU’s Kirk Walker (18^th year, 560-467-3); Ga. Tech’s Sharon Perkins (5th year, 228-85)

Last game: Oregon St. beat BYU (22-5) and Idaho St. (16-3) on Thursday; Georgia Tech has not played

OSU player to watch: Freshman center fielder Dani Gilmore hit .500 through the first two games, including 3 for 3 with two walks against Idaho State.

Tech player to watch: Senior shortstop Kelsi Weseman hit .424 last season and was included among those on the “watch list” for player of the year. She also had a .968 slugging percentage last year, second-best nationally.

Last meeting: Feb. 22, 2009, Georgia Tech 6, Oregon St. 0

Series: The series is tied, 1-1

Brad’s take: This should be a very interesting matchup, especially with the game taking place at 8:30 a.m. in Arizona (7:30 a.m. here in Oregon). Those first two wins for the Beavers were great but can they keep hitting the ball at such a torrid pace against an exceptional opponent like Georgia Tech? The pitching will decide this one.

Oregon State (2-0) vs. McNeese St. (0-1)

Friday, 12:30 p.m., at Tempe, Ariz.

Coaches: OSU’s Kirk Walker (18^th year, 560-467-3); McNeese State’s Mike Smith (1st year at McNeese State; 14th  year overall, 636-173)

Last game: Oregon St. beat BYU (22-5) and Idaho St. (16-3) on Thursday; McNeese State lost to Arizona (8-1).

OSU player to watch: Paige Hall made OSU history in the team’s opener with two home runs in one inning against BYU. Hall contributes effectively both at the plate and out of the bullpen.

MSU player to watch: Instead of a player, we’ll mention instead assistant coach Caty Reeves. She just joined the McNeese staff in September; she had played for Smith at Cal Baptist. And her hometown is Corvallis. But if you must have a player to watch, Claire Terracina returns after hitting .293 last year.

Last meeting: Feb. 8, 2002, Oregon State 4, McNeese St. 3

Series: Oregon State leads, 1-0

Brad’s take: The Beavers should simply be the better team so a letdown must be avoided. McNeese State has a first-year coach in Mike Smith, who led Cal Baptist to the NAIA national title a couple years ago. But none of that will matter on the field today. OSU should be able to take a comfortable victory.

Here’s a capsule look at today’s games.

Oregon State (0-0) vs. Brigham Young (0-0)

Thursday, 11 a.m., at Tempe, Ariz.

Coaches: OSU’s Kirk Walker (18^th year, 558-467-3); BYU’s Gordon Eakin (10^th year, 371-160)

Last game: This is the season opener for both teams.

OSU players to watch: Tina Andreana returns as the team’s most experienced pitcher. First baseman Erin Guzy is back for her senior season after leading the ballclub in hitting last year. Third baseman Desiree Beltran is solid in the field and at the plate.

BYU players to watch: Third baseman Jessica Dugas and outfielder Carly Duckworth are both back after making last season’s All-Mountain West squad.

Last meeting: Feb. 16, 2007 – BYU won 2-1 (9 innings)

Series: Oregon State leads the series, 8-2

Brad’s take: The Beavers should have the upper hand here as far as pitching goes. BYU lost its top pitcher and catcher from last year’s 40-18 team while Oregon State brings back Andreana and battery mate Ally Kutz. Despite this advantage for OSU, expect a close one against a quality Cougars lineup.

Oregon State (0-0) vs. Idaho State (0-0)

Thursday, 1:30 p.m., at Tempe, Ariz.

Coaches: OSU’s Kirk Walker (18^th year, 558-467-3); ISU’s Julie Wright (1^st year at ISU; 53-52 in career)

Last game: OSU will have played BYU on Thursday morning. It will be Idaho State’s first game.

OSU players to watch: The Beavers have a couple of talented freshmen and a transfer that could be immediate contributors. Freshmen Aryn Feickert (pitcher) and Ya Garcia (second base) and Dani Gilmore (center field) have turned heads in practice. Elizabeth Santana (shortstop) transferred in from UC Davis and has also looked good.

ISU players to watch: Team captain Amanda Fitzsimmons is a talented pitcher and hitter who transferred to Idaho State after playing one season at Washington. In all, the Bengals have eight returning players.

Last meeting: March 27, 2010 – Oregon State swept a doubleheader, 8-0 and 12-2

Series: Oregon State leads the series, 10-0

Brad’s take: This is one of those games that Oregon State should simply win. The Bengals have never defeated the Beavers and in fact, have not beaten a Pac-12 team since the school’s softball program was revived in 2007. This game will be Idaho State’s season opener with OSU playing its second of the day. It shouldn’t matter with the Beavers getting the victory.

The toughest opponents for OSU appear to be Georgia Tech on Friday and Nebraska on Saturday. Both of those programs are ranked nationally. The opener on Thursday against Brigham Young should also be a challenge.

The Pac-12 looks tough as usual with No. 1 Arizona State leading the way. Seven teams are nationally ranked with OSU and Utah the only programs not receiving any love in those preseason polls.

Walker believes the Beavers could be postseason material.

“I think this team definitely has talent, but more importantly has the focus, desire and work ethic to be a postseason team,” he said. “Having the fortune to coach postseason teams in the past, there is something different about those teams. I certainly feel that’s what’s coming out in this group right now.”

Walker doesn’t see much changing as far as the Pac-12 goes. The Utes are a new addition but it should be business as usual with ranked programs battling it out.

“Right now Arizona State is at the top of the heap in the country and they return a freshman pitcher from last year that took them all the way to the national championship,” Walker said. “I think who’s on top might be a little different at any given time, but you have nothing but exceptional talent and exceptional coaches and competitive teams right on through the conference.”

Walker is confident that his team has the potential to break into the rankings.

“There’s a lot ahead of us. There are 56 games and a lot of hard travel so time will tell,” he said. “I’m certainly very optimistic and realistic to think that this team could put us back where we want to be, which is a team that is ranked in the top 20 and a team that is vying for that national championship by making the postseason.”

But Crescent Valley’s Jenny Pinard and Corvallis’ Trevor Gourley were great kids to talk to after the two schools met in a swim dual Tuesday at the Osborn Aquatic Center. Pinard impressed me with a pretty sizeable victory in the 100-yard backstroke, beating out her nearest competitor by nearly 8 seconds. And Gourley won two individual events in two entertaining races – the 50 and 100 freestyle.

The 50 freestyle, which is exciting  just because it’s an all-out sprint, was close between Gourley and CV’s Chad Seevers. Gourley just barely beat him. And in the 100 free, CV’s Garrett Fleetwood led by about a half-second midway through the race. In the final turn, they came off the wall even and then Gourney finished strong to take it by less than a second.

Winning has become a way of life for the CV girls swim team.

When asked about the rivalry win over Corvallis, Raiders coach Rex Watkins said he doesn’t keep track.

“Our focus is always on the last two of the season, the district and the state meet,” Watkins said. “The rest of them are a learning process.”

CV’s Allison Wells certainly was impressive in her two individual wins. She won the 200 free by 8 seconds and the 500 free by 10 seconds. And yeah, she’s another freshman.

Other notes from the dual:

* Kayla Ashland of Corvallis, a freshman, had a nice finish in the 200 IM during the freestyle portion of the event. CV’s Laurel Field ended up second.

* The 50-yard freestyle was quite the sprint with Corvallis’ Erika Weiler and CV’s Erin McCown touching the wall at the same time to finish with times of 27.13. When CHS coach Judy Storie was asked if ties in swimming were uncommon, she said no, they’re more common than you would think. In fact, they had a tie just last week in another meet.

* Meredith Wells of CV was very impressive in the 100 freestyle. It wasn’t even close and she won with a sub-minute time of 58.96. The runner-up came in at 1:10.10. Later on, Allison Wells of CV won by nearly 10 seconds in the 500 freestyle.

* The boys 200 freestyle was pretty entertaining with a good race between CV’s Connor King and CHS’s Adrian Van Horsen. The first half of the race was a dead heat and then at 150 yards, King started to slightly pull away and led at the final turn. He finished very strong to win with a 1:57.86 with Van Horsen coming in at 1:59.27.

* The boys 500 freestyle was another thrilling race for Van Horsen. The Corvallis freshman led pretty much the whole way but had to hang on at the end with CV’s Chad Seevers coming on strong. Van Horsen got the win by about a half-second.

* The boys 100 breaststroke was a good one between CV’s Isaac Chan and CHS’s Keet Dailey. Dailey had the lead midway through but Chan had the stronger finish and got the victory by 44 hundredths of a second.