Freshman Caraway puts his money on Beaver baseball

Caraway is using All-American second baseman Travis Bazzana (above) as a role model this season (courtesy OSU sports communications)

Updated 3/10/2024 12:15 AM

CORVALLIS — Trent Caraway had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad start to his Sunday at Goss Stadium.

Oregon State’s prize freshman third baseman had two errors in the first inning of the Beavers’ 13-7 win over North Dakota State. He struck out, then grounded into a double-play in his first two at-bats.

Caraway turned things around from there, reaching base by twice getting hit by a pitch and with a run-scoring double to the left-center wall on his final at-bat in the eighth. He also made one of the fine defensive plays of the game, diving for a one-hopper off the bat of Bison clean-up hitter Jack Steil, then getting up and throwing him out at first in the fifth.

“We are going to highlight that one in our meeting on Tuesday,” OSU coach Mitch Canham said afterward.

Asked by a reporter about his slow start but promising finish, Caraway said, “In baseball, stuff happens, just like in life, stuff happens. You just have to move on and take your next opportunity with all you can give it. That’s the way I think.”

Self-confidence works well in baseball when you have the talent to back it up. Caraway has it, with panache that works, too.

“Trent has the ‘Rocky’ (walk-up) song playing when he goes up to the plate,” Canham said. “He has some strong belief in himself, and his teammates have that in him, too, the way he carries himself.”

Consider this: Caraway passed on an offer of a $1.5 million signing bonus from the Detroit Tigers during the 2023 Major League Baseball draft to play for Oregon State.

“I wanted $1.5 million,” said the 6-2, 205-pound Caraway, a native of Dana Point, Calif. “If I got that, I’d be good. But I also wanted to go on Day One (of the draft) — that was the main thing. I thought I deserved that.”

The first two rounds went by on July 9; no team selected Caraway. As the third round began on July 10, the Tigers called him and said they would pay him a higher-than-slot $1.5 million bonus if he signed in that round.

“I said no,” he said. “I told them I was a Day One guy. That’s why I am at Oregon State today. It’s just that belief in myself, especially coming here. I mean, this is fun. This is baseball. Money doesn’t change baseball.”

Caraway figures after two seasons at Oregon State, he will be a first-round pick in the 2025 draft (Caraway turns 20 on March 29, so he will be eligible next year). Canham believes that, too. That’s the distant goal. There are other goals to be reached before that.

“I’d like to be Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, national Freshman of the Year,” Caraway said. “And I want us to win the ‘Natty.’ ”

The ‘Natty’ is the College World Series championship.

“I just expect that out of myself,” Caraway said. “I work really hard. I love the game. I want to win the ‘Natty’ with this team. We have what it takes. That’s the main goal, really. Everything else will take care of itself.”

Caraway is off to a great start. He sizzled through the first nine games, hitting .455. He cooled off in the last three games of the four-game North Dakota State series, going 2 for 13, but is still batting .370 with two home runs and a .463 on-base percentage.

In 12 games for the fourth-ranked Beavers (11-1), Caraway leads the team with five doubles and ranks second to All-America second baseman Travis Bazzana in hits (17), runs scored (14) and multiple-hit games (five). Caraway also leads the club in strikeouts, not surprising for a freshman facing college pitching for the first time. He and Bazzana are the only players to have started every game at the same position this season.

Caraway is using All-American second baseman Travis Bazzana (above) as a role model this season (courtesy OSU sports communications)

“Trent has been impressive,” Canham said. “Everyone knows he can hit. He has carried that over from high school. And he is taking on things like the push bunt, the drag bunt, while getting used to playing in some wet weather and using the turf to his advantage. We have given him some freedom on the basepaths, too. He is not afraid to run.”

“Wet weather” doesn’t fully describe the conditions for the North Dakota State series. There was a bit of snow, plenty of rain and biting cold with temperatures never surpassing 40 degrees.

“It’s my first time playing in snow,” Caraway said with a smile, but he wasn’t using it as an excuse. “It’s something different. I’m from Southern California. It’s something new to experience in life. Not many kids get to experience playing in the snow.”

Caraway went from one tradition-rich baseball program to another. JSerra Catholic High is the alma mater of major leaguers Austin Hedges and Royce Lewis along with a number of college stars. Caraway was a pitcher and shortstop as the Lions claimed back-to-back CIF Division 1 state championships the past two seasons. As a senior, he set a school record with 49 hits in 30 games, batting .462 with seven home runs.

Caraway had a number of scholarship offers on the West Coast. He narrowed his choices to Oregon State, UCLA, Arizona and Oregon State before picking OSU. Beaver Nation, take a bow.

“It was the atmosphere up here, how passionate people are about the game as well as the winning culture,” Caraway said. “There is a really good legacy here, and the fans eat it up. Even this early in the season, they are sitting there watching us in the rain. … it’s awesome playing in front of that. You actually have people who want to be there for you.”

There have been plenty of things besides weather to get used to. For the first four games, he batted ninth in the order.

“Never batted ninth before in my life,” said Caraway, who batted second Sunday and has hit in five different spots this season. “Nothing really changes. I’m still stepping to the batter’s box and hitting. I don’t want to overcomplicate things.”

Third base is a new position, though he played it some in high school. Caraway has a team-high six errors but has also made some gems, including a pair of charging one-handed grabs of a bunt and swinging bunt to throw out runners at first during the opening four games at Surprise, Ariz.

“Trent has lots of arm strength,” Canham said. “I love seeing him when he is really aggressive on the field, wanting to make all the plays. There were a couple of plays he should have made early on today, but then he makes a diving one. He is a good defender.”

“I feel really good about my defense,” Caraway said. “I make dumb mistakes sometimes. I’m still young. Gotta learn from that. Being a freshman in college is a learning experience for me, even offensively. I’m still adjusting to new pitching and how they’re pitching to me, how they want to pitch me. It’s a game of adjustments, and it’s early on in my (college) career.”

The adjustment from high school to college has gone pretty smoothly, Caraway said. He lives in a house not far from the ballpark with outfielders Gavin Turley and Dallas Macias. Trent said he has meshed well with his teammates and loves the talent level.

“Playing with a ton of ‘dudes’ is just fun,” Caraway said. “In high school, I always felt like I was one of the best players. No one else could really compete. Here, we have nine of those dudes — everyone in the starting lineup can do something special. That drives me more to be better, to keep competing and see what I can get out of myself.”

Caraway has spent plenty of time observing and emulating Bazzana.

“I’ve already learned a lot from him discipline-wise, just seeing what he does at the plate,” Trent said. “He is smart, someone really good for me to learn from.”

Caraway said he has also learned from Canham.

“There is no one better,” Caraway said of his coach. “He is always having a good time, making jokes, but when he needs to be in the right head space, he gets there. He has a good feel for it. That’s one really nice thing. A lot of coaches don’t have feel with that stuff during a game. He does a pretty good job of that.”

Dana Point is an hour north of San Diego. Caraway no doubt misses the outdoor wonderland provided by his home land.

“Growing up as a Southern California beach kid, pretty much all I did was surf, fish and play baseball,” he said. “Whenever I had the chance I would go to the beach and do anything — sometimes just walk around by myself.”

Caraway is a long-board surfer.

“There are a lot of good spots in Southern California to long board,” he said.

Caraway fishes the Dana Point harbor for spotted bay bass, sand bass or calico bass.

“I’m usually going from dock to dock, dropping down lures to see if I can get something,” he said.

For now, he is consumed with Beaver baseball and a bid to reach Omaha in June.

“It’s been good,” Caraway says. “ We have a good time. We compete. It’s just fun. I love it here at Oregon State.”

NOTES: In Sunday’s series finale, Oregon State amassed 14 hits, nine walks and three hit batsmen. In the four-game series, OSU scored 48 runs with only 38 hits but with 37 walks and 10 HBPs.… In his second start at shortstop, sophomore Jabin Trosky had a three-run triple and four RBIs and played an excellent game defensively. In a designated hitter role, regular shortstop Elijah Hainline went 1 for 2 with a double, two walks and a hit-by-pitch. … In his first start at right field, sophomore Easton Talt had two bunt singles. … first baseman Mason Guerra launched a 427-foot bomb over the left-field fence for a solo homer in the third, his second round-tripper of the season. … Tanner Smith, who caught all four games of the series, went 2 for 3 including a two-run shot over the left-center fence in the eighth … freshman right-hander Eric Segura had a third straight quality start, allowing three hits and three earned runs while walking none (but with three hit-by-pitch) with two strikeouts. “Eric was really good,” Canham said. “He had a slight hiccup with (three) hit batters, but dialed it back in, getting a lot of ground-ball outs.” … The Beavers went without pitcher Aiden May, outfielders Micah McDowell and Brady Kasper and catcher Wilson Weber, all out with what Canham inferred were minor injuries. “Those guys were bugging me about playing today, which is a good sign,” Canham said. “I’m probably more cautious about that than most coaches.”

Oregon State is hitting .326, its opponents .225 this season. OSU pitching has a collective 3.09 ERA, its opponents 11.28. … Among regulars, McDowell leads with a .438 average followed closely by Bazzana at .432. Bazzana has scored 18 runs and has six homers, 17 RBIs, a slugging percentage of 1.023 and an on-base percentage of .583. … The Beavers, who have scored in double digits seven times, have hit 22 home runs in 12 games. Last season, they got their 22nd homer in the 18th game. … Hainline, a junior transfer from Washington State, started the season 1 for 18 at the plate. Hainline, who hit .337 as the Cougars’ second baseman last season, is 6 for 16 since then to bring his average up to .206. … Junior Jacob Kmatz is off to a great start on the mound with a 2-0 record, 0.64 ERA and a .133 opponents’ batting average. He has allowed only six hits with four walks and 19 strikeouts in 14 innings. … OSU’s most improved player from a year ago is outfielder Dallas Macias, who hit .203 in 64 official at-bats last season. The 5-11, 195-pound sophomore is hitting .400 in 30 official at-bats, with 10 runs scored and a .457 on-base percentage. … Cal State Northridge visits for a four-game series that begins Thursday at Goss. The Matadors are 9-2 and have won eight in a row, sweeping three games from Nevada over the weekend. Canham said May’s availability to pitch “all depends on how his throwing progression goes this week. He is wanting to get in and pitch now.”

► ◄

Readers: what are your thoughts? I would love to hear them in the comments below. On the comments entry screen, only your name is required, your email address and website are optional, and may be left blank.

Follow me on X (formerly Twitter).

Like me on Facebook.

Find me on Instagram.

Be sure to sign up for my emails.