Barney takes the lead in OSU's surge.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

OSU BASEBALL

CORVALLIS - Two losses into a three-game series at Arizona State, its lead in the Pac-10 standings down to a game over the Sun Devils, Oregon State needed something to rouse itself.

`We all knew the coaches were thinking about moving the lineup around,' OSU shortstop Darwin Barney recalled. `But they didn't want the team to think we needed to make a change.'

So Barney, feeling he personally needed a change in the batting order as much as any of the Beavers, decided to take the first swing at it himself. He went to OSU coach Pat Casey, and `I said I had no problem moving' in the batting order.

Instead of Barney hitting third in the order, Barney suggested, it should be Cole Gillespie.

`I felt like we needed to make sure he always got up in the first inning,' Barney said, which would necessitate a move from the cleanup spot or lower in the OSU lineup.

And Barney?

`I told (Casey) I'd be good in the leadoff spot,' Barney said. `And what do you know? I got three hits that day.'

And the Beavers won, and kept winning in a five-game streak of victories that led to them clinching the Pac-10 title. As they prepare for meeting Wright State on Friday evening at Goss Stadium in the NCAA regionals, it is certainly with the conviction that those changes in the batting order will remain in place, the most notable of them being Barney hitting leadoff so Gillespie, the Pac-10 player of the year, can take his swings third in the order.

`I feel at home in the leadoff spot,' said Barney, himself named to the Pac-10 all-league team. `I hit one my whole life. ... The first time I ever hit third was at Oregon State, which is odd, if you think about it.'

Well, maybe not. A year ago, the Beavers had all-American Jacoby Ellsbury hitting first, and there might not have been a more natural leadoff hitter in college baseball. Barney adjusted to hitting third well enough that he was the Pac-10 freshman of the year. The power numbers weren't overwhelming, but he did hit .301 for a team that reached the College World Series.

So why change success? Barney was back hitting third this season, while eight other Beavers were tried and found wanting as the leadoff hitter.

Then came that decision three weeks ago to shake up the lineup, putting Barney at the top of the order. In the six games since then, Barney has 13 hits in 25 at-bats, for a .520 average, and with five walks that gives him an on-base percentage of .581.

That's led to him scoring 10 runs in those six games, and he's also been perfect in three steal attempts.

Those would all seem to be the numbers of almost the ideal leadoff hitter.

`I like hitting one,' Barney said. `I feel like I can do more for the team hitting in the leadoff.'

With his recent surge, Barney finished the regular season batting .348, second among OSU regulars, and led the Beavers in hits with 72. Despite a couple of nagging injuries - a sore back might have contributed to that midseason mini-slump - he was one of only two Beavers to start and play all 53 games.

What might he have done hitting leadoff all season? No sense wondering now, though he certainly looks, and feels, like it's his natural spot. Again, it's not like he hasn't done it before, just not for the Beavers until six games ago.

`I'll take a walk and be totally satisfied,' Barney said of batting leadoff. `I'm not worried about driving the ball into the gap and driving somebody home. I'm trying to set the table. I want to get on base, maybe steal a base and let the guys behind me drive me in.'

The reality is a leadoff hitter may actually lead off an inning only once in a game, so that may make that first-inning trip to the plate the most important for Barney.

`I like to see some pitches, get deep in the count,' Barney said. `That's what hitting leadoff is all about, getting into the pitcher's head. I like that role.'

CAPTION(S):

Darwin Barney had an on-base percentage of .581 over Oregon State's last six games after taking over the No. 1 spot in the batting order.