After the game, ASU head coach Pat Murphy wasn't too happy about the long wait his team had after the first game of the day went 5:40.

"That's as bad baseball that we played all year for six innings. We had to sit around and weren't prepared to play," Murphy said.

"We hadn't been punched in the mouth all year. We won the conference by four games, and never experienced something like this all year," Murphy said.

It's interesting because ASU hadn't lost a legitimate game in well over a month since they played Cal April 29. Yes they lost to Arizona, but they played guys they usually don't play in that game because they had the Pac-10 all clinched.

Even the players after the game were using the little time in between as an excused. Some guys were still being taped during the national anthem, but let's be serious, so did the Beavers!

It sounds as if Brian Flores will come back and start his second game in a row. Murphy pulled him for that reason, as he thinks he's a good matchup against UC Irvine. He can throw everyday, so he's going to be handed the ball.

He didn't pitch horrible, but he did fall behind a lot of batters, ending up giving up four hits and two runs but only threw 21 pitches, losing his second game of the season.

Mike Stutes for OSU was unbelievable for the first six. He only allowed two hits through six, while limiting that ASU lineup to only one run. Things got a little bumpy in the seventh, as he didn't record an out in the inning. But still picked up his 11th win of the season, against four losses.

Player of the game has to go to OSU's Mike Lissman who finished the day 3-for-4, with four RBI (in the first two innings!) including a three-run homerun in the second that really broke the camel's back so to speak. Joey Wong also had a great night, pouring in three hits, and driving in three runs as well.

The Beavers are now set up in real good shape. They have a day off to rest their bullpen, and now just need one win in two games to return to the championship series. Who woulda thunk it? I know this guy didn't, but they play a good brand of baseball, and if they are going to put up 18 hits and 12 runs, then jeez, that's going to be ridiculous.

"When you have guys like Darwin and Canham and Liss, they get guys ready to play," head coach Pat Casey said.

The Oregon State defense up the middle is some of the best I've ever seen. Shortstop Darwin Barney and second baseman Joey Wong just seem to have such a special connection that they can get to a lot of balls and cut off a lot of stuff that would normally get through.

Casey had a funny point about Murphy's decision to throw Flores instead of Satow.

"I watched tape late last night thinking that Satow would be throwing and then he goes and throws Flores. I'm sure he thought that was pretty funny," Casey said.

If that's not classic perception of Murphy, not sure what is.

So it wasn't the result everyone thought it would be. It's as if OSU and ASU switched uniforms since the last time they played up in Corvallis. Amazing. That's baseball.

That'll do it from Rosenblatt. Six teams left, as Fullerton and Mississippi State have packed their bags and gone home from Omaha. Two more teams will leave us tomorrow, as Louisville plays North Carolina in the first game at 2pm Eastern, and Arizona State faces UC Irvine in the nightcap.

Hopefully not after a five hour and 40 minute affair!!

G'night everybody, from the moth-filled Rosenblatt.