TROJANS' TICKET TO OMAHA CANCELED OREGON STATE WINS SUPER REGIONAL OREGON ST. 10, USC 8.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Postseason experience was on USC's side. In the end, that was no match for Oregon State's momentum and offense.

The Trojans were bidding for their 22nd College World Series appearance - second only to Texas - but the Beavers, playing in the postseason for the first time since 1986, have been among baseball's elite nationally and in the Pacific-10 Conference all season.

Oregon State proved its mettle Monday, scoring a 10-8 victory to win the best-of-3 Super Regional series to claim its first CWS berth since 1952.

USC, which had rallied to even the series Sunday, scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the score 7-7, but Oregon State pushed across a run in the bottom of the inning and added two more in the seventh to win in front of 2,752 at Goss Stadium.

Oregon State (46-10), ranked No. 2 in the country by Baseball America and seeded eighth nationally, will face top-seeded Tulane on Saturday in Omaha, Neb.

Beavers first baseman Andy Jenkins hit for the cycle, going 5 for 5 and driving in four runs. Oregon State scored 28 runs in the three-game series.

``It really came down to stopping them,'' said USC catcher Jeff Clement, who hit a three-run home run to tie the score in the third inning. ``That's something we couldn't do.''

Jenkins tripled in the bottom of the sixth to complete the cycle, then scored on Shea McFeely's sacrifice fly to give the Beavers an 8-7 edge. After Oregon State extended its advantage to 10-7, the Trojans cut the deficit in the eighth on Matt Cusick's sacrifice fly.

USC (41-22) went in order in the ninth, and Jenkins fielded the final out and then hurled the ball into the outfield - just as he was engulfed by his teammates. As they all collapsed to the field, the crowd chanted ``Omaha! Omaha!''

USC, which has won 12 CWS titles, was playing in the postseason for the first time since 2002. The Trojans were trying for their first CWS berth since 2001.

``You come to win. You plan to win. You play to win,'' USC coach Mike Gillespie said. ``And when you don't, you're disappointed.''

USC rallied from a five-run deficit Sunday to win Game 2 in 10 innings, and it appeared the Trojans might do so again Monday. With the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth, Oregon State reliever Nate Fogle hit Roberto Lopez with a pitch, scoring Billy Hart, Hector Estrella delivered an RBI single and Zach Kalter added a sacrifice fly as the Trojans narrowed the gap to 7-6.

Then reliever Eddie Kunz walked Cusick with the bases loaded and one out to tie it. Kunz struck out Clement, and Hart flied out to end the threat.

``The one question that I thought was important was: `How will your players react?''' Beavers coach Pat Casey said of Sunday's loss. ``And I told you I thought they would react like they have all year. And that's what they did.''

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Photo:

USC's Jon Williams, left, and Billy Hart show their disappointment as Oregon State's players celebrate after advancing to the College World Series.

Greg Wahl-Stephens/Associated Press

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CWS SCHEDULE