Beavers on the brink of repeat feat.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

OMAHA, Neb. - One more.

An Oregon State victory in today's game against North Carolina at the College World Series, and the Beavers will have repeated as national champions.

Who dares think the Beavers won't do it?

`We're tough to beat right now, and our whole club feels that way,' OSU shortstop Darwin Barney said. `I'd be real surprised if we didn't come out and play well.

`We know nothing's going to be easy, but the way we're playing right now, it's going to take a good performance to beat us.'

The Tar Heels (57-15) didn't offer that Saturday night, dropping an 11-4 decision before 26,887 in Rosenblatt Stadium and a national television audience that must have watched with the sense there's no beating the Beavers.

But maybe it didn't matter what North Carolina did, or does. OSU is simply looking unbeatable at this point in the season.

The team that finished tied for sixth in the Pac-10 is not only 4-0 in the College World Series but has outscored its opponents 33-13 and hasn't trailed for even an inning. Not one.

In fact, the last time the Beavers were behind was in the second inning of a June 5 game against Virginia. That takes it to 61 consecutive innings since OSU last trailed, and going back to last season, the Beavers are on a run of 50 consecutive innings at Rosenblatt Stadium since they last looked at the scoreboard and saw themselves with fewer runs than the opponent.

Not like any of that is any surprise to them, of course.

`We've been dominant all year,' Barney said. `There was a month where we weren't, but other than that we've been pretty dominant. It shows what kind of club we can be.'

They could soon be the first repeat national champions in 10 years, if the Beavers can keep their streaks going in the second game of the title series that's scheduled for a 4 p.m. PDT start. OSU even has its staff ace, junior right-hander Mike Stutes (11-4, 4.03 earned-run average), as its scheduled starter against North Carolina sophomore Luke Putkonen (8-1, 4.44).

`We'll regroup, and it's best two-of-three,' UNC coach Mike Fox said of the title series. `We'll play better. We'll have to.'

Yes, they will.

OSU freshman Jorge Reyes continued his streak of pitching well in opening games of series, going 6 1/3 innings and leaving with a 6-2 lead. That follows his eight scoreless innings in the first game of the Super Regionals and one run in six innings of the World Series opener a week earlier.

`It's not getting old at all,' Reyes said. `I love winning, and that (national championship) trophy is right there and I want it.'

Joe Paterson finished up for the Beavers, allowing four hits, including a home run by Benji Johnson that only narrowed the lead to 10-4.

The Beavers scored in six of the eight innings they batted Saturday, and eight of the nine starters each had at least one of OSU's dozen hits. The one starter who didn't get a hit did drive in a run with a sacrifice fly as the RBIs were spread among seven players.

Those hits included the 236th of Barney's career, to tie the school record, but the biggest blows came from the eighth and ninth batters in the lineup, on Jordan Lennerton's second home run of the College World Series and a pair of doubles by Lonnie Lechelt.

`I just think one through nine in our lineup, we can swing it,' Lechelt said.

The scoring started on Lennerton's two-run homer to right-center in the second inning. After that, the Beavers scored however they could. They took the extra base on hits - and fly balls - and stole and bunted as the lead grew.

`I like to allow our players to be aggressive,' OSU coach Pat Casey said. `If you do that, you have to be confident.'

Despite all that, North Carolina brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh inning, on a one-out single and a walk to the final batter Reyes faced, and then a four-pitch walk to the first batter faced by Paterson. A sacrifice fly scored a run before Paterson struck out all-American shortstop Josh Horton to leave it 6-3.

With the Tar Heels attempting to limit their use of top relievers Rob Wooten and Andrew Carignan because of a heavy workload earlier, the Beavers took advantage of three seldom-used pitchers to score four runs without a hit in the bottom of the seventh.

That rally was made up of four walks, two throwing errors by pitchers on bunts and a sacrifice fly. Two hits and two hit batters scored the final run in the eighth.

`We're obviously excited about winning the first game but we're also well aware you've got to win two,' Casey said. `We still need one (win) but we are pretty good at focusing on what we need to do.'

OSU VS. NORTH CAROLINA

4 p.m., today. TV: ESPN2. Radio: KKNX-AM (840), KXOR-AM (660) in Spanish.