On the schedule, Arquette, Talt and other things Beaver baseball …
Coach Mitch Canham calls junior Aiva Arquette: “He has to be the best shortstop in the country (courtesy Dominic Cusimano)
CORVALLIS — Observations on Oregon State baseball after the Beavers’ 7-3 victory over Rutgers Tuesday night at Goss Stadium, completing a 9-0 homestand:
• Taking care of games you should win is not always as easy as it sounds, but the Beavers have done a nice job handling their business.
Oregon State is 16-3 and ranked between sixth and 11th in the various national polls and ranked No. 26 in RPI as they head into a three-game weekend series at San Luis Obispo, Calif., against a solid Cal Poly team that is 13-6 overall, 6-0 and leading the Big West and standing at No. 41 on the RPI list.
As they play an independent schedule for the first time in 107 years — J.D. Baldwin’s 1918 team went 4-6 without a conference in which to play — the Beavers must navigate uncharted waters. The 2025 schedule will be an independent one, too, before the new Pac-12 is open for business in 2026. Canham and others are working behind the scenes to put together a baseball conference worthy of national respect.
“Getting this year’s and next year’s schedule lined up takes a lot of work, with a lot of people involved,” Canham says. “It wasn’t the funnest thing in the world to put together, but for the situation we were in, we did our best. Whatever the job requires right now, it is what we are going to do.”
The goal was to put together a challenging schedule and compile a resume impressive enough that at season’s end, the NCAA Tournament selection committee judges them to be among the top eight teams in the country, so they would be in line to play host to a Regional and Super Regional. That would be immensely helpful to their goal of reaching Omaha for the College World Series.
Working around the various conference schedules of all of their opponents, Oregon State compiled a 55-game schedule with 20 games in Corvallis, two games in Hillsboro, 10 at neutral sites (Surprise, Ariz., Round Rock, Texas, and Arlington, Texas) and 23 on the road. Still ahead are 36 games — 13 in Corvallis and Hillsboro, 23 on the road.
All three of the Beavers’ losses came in the two four-team events in Texas in February. Two of them were to Oklahoma (ranked No. 9 by Baseball America) and Auburn (No. 17). The other setback was to Minnesota, unranked and with a 9-10 record but No. 18 on the RPI list, which takes into account strength of schedule. Xavier, beaten twice by OSU, is No. 3 on the RPI list. The Beavers also defeated Virginia, ranked No. 2 nationally at the time and currently ranked 22nd by Baseball America.
“How the guys handled the first three weeks was outstanding, and we learned a lot about each other and how we should prepare,” Canham says.
Remaining on Oregon State’s schedule are seven games against top-25 teams — Oregon (No. 13) and Cal Irvine (No. 20). Four of those games — one against the Ducks and a three-game series vs. the Anteaters — are at home.
There are 15 games left against teams ranked among the top 100 in RPI, including UCLA (10), Hawaii (30) and Oregon (39). Besides Oregon and Hawaii, there are road series at Nebraska, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge.
Canham is optimistic by nature, and he is looking at the glass as not just half-full, but full.
“Our players and coaches — and I think our fan base — have handled this thing with excitement,” Oregon State’s sixth-year coach says. “Why not? We get to do something different. We get to show people how to handle a little bit of adversity, that we can handle anything that is in our way.
“Once the schedule is made and we are out there playing, we just focus on our development and how we compete every day. We aren’t worried about any of the other stuff. We play with a chip on our shoulder, anyway. We do that no matter what.”
Canham was a captain, catcher and team leader on Oregon State’s back-to-back national title teams of 2006 and ’07. His nine-year minor league career took him as far as Triple-A.
“I had a great time running around on the road in college as a player and in the pros, too,” he says. “We look forward to showing these guys how to have a great time when you travel and seeing other ballparks and being together with your teammates, which is the funnest part of it all.”
Oregon State’s schedule ends with a home series against Long Beach State from May 15-17. The NCAA Regionals don’t start until May 30. While other teams are playing in their conference tournaments, the Beavers will be idle. While a two-week hiatus could provide important rest for the pitching staff, it also might leave the Beaver bats a bit rusty going into a Regional.
It is not something Canham and his staff will spend a moment worrying about.
“If we keep playing the way we are playing and winning games, everything will take care of itself,” Canham says. “We are in control of our own destiny.”
• Canham isn’t allowing himself to become complacent with his team, however.
“We are still climbing,” he says. “We haven’t hit our stride. The pitching is taking jumps forward, which is awesome to see. Our position players are getting better (defensively). Our defense has been in a really good spot. (Wilson) Weber is catching the heck out of it. But offensively, there is still more in the tank.”
The Beavers are hitting .291 with a .414 on-base percentage and 20 home runs in 19 games. In 2024, they hit .297 with a .420 OBP and a school-record 118 homers in 61 games. The Beavers are averaging 7.7 runs, 9.4 hits and 6.4 walks a game this season.
“We are drawing a lot of walks, sure, but we want to do so much, maybe we are trying to do a little too much on some pitches — fouling them off, or just missing them,” Canham says. “The thing is, if we can get into a little more exhale and relaxation, we will start driving the ball even more. We are putting together a lot of runs without playing at our potential there.”
• Canham has had a number of important transfers over the last couple of years, but none as impressive as shortstop Aiva Arquette.
The 6-5, 225-pound junior shortstop from Honolulu is hitting .361 with six doubles, three home runs, 19 RBIs and a .455 on-base percentage, and has been outstanding in the field, with only two errors in 75 chances so far this season.
I ventured to Corvallis with the intent to do an interview with the prize transfer from Washington, hoping to fill in Beaver Nation on his thoughts about the OSU program, his background and so on. After the game he declined my request, saying he would talk about Tuesday’s game, but didn’t want to talk about “me.”
Sources tell me that Arquette has indicated he will be doing “no media” this season. Speculation is that it is at the behest of his agent, the infamous and powerful Scott Boras. Seems like whatever logic there is in that decision is misdirected. Arquette, predicted to be going between No. 9 and 14 in this summer’s MLB draft, will be doing plenty of interviews with scouts and team officials. Speaking with media would be good training — and frankly, just common courtesy for the fans who follow the team and want to know more about one of the best players to come through the OSU program.
And that he is. When I ask assistant coach Joey Wong what he likes about Arquette, he smiles.
“Everything,” Wong says. “Just to have a guy at that size who moves so smoothly around the infield and has great feel has been fun. He has worked really hard on his game. He has always been a great defender, but has continued to worked on the defensive side of the game and added little pieces to his repertoire defensively.”
And at the plate?
“He is really tough,” Wong said. “Good zone discipline. Power to all fields. He has hit four or five balls so far at Goss early the year, with the cold air and the wind is blowing in. … if he were playing somewhere else, he would probably have 10 homers already. Everybody knows that power is going to be there at the end of the season.”
Canham seconds that.
“The last couple of games, he has hammered a couple of balls that haven’t left the yard, which shocked everyone,” Canham says. “What happened? It’s a little chilly out, and the ball isn’t carrying.”
Arquette played second base for his two seasons with the Huskies, where he was first-team All-Pac-12 and on the All-Pac-12 Defensive team as a sophomore.
“So the question was, can he play shortstop?” Canham says. “Oh yeah, he can do it and then some. From what I have seen, he has to be the best shortstop in the country. He has a cannon, he has made some great stuff happen in the six-hole, ranged out on shallow fly balls. He is not afraid to steal a bag, too. He can do it all, on and off the field.”
The leadership aspect has been big, Canham says.
“What he does in the locker room is all the stuff on the field, and then some,” he says. “How loose and confident he makes everyone feel. What he does for our pitchers, being a solid defender behind them. How quickly he came in and was a part of the unit was tremendous, and he continues to show up humble and full of joy.”
Aiva has been a godsend in another way. Junior Jabin Trosky, a part-time starting infielder last season and a deft-fielding shortstop, is out for the season following shoulder surgery.
Arquette attended St. Louis school in Honolulu, which has been a quarterback factory over the years featuring the likes of Marcus Mariota, Tua Tagovailoa, Jeremiah Masoli, Jason Gesser and Timmy Chang, among others. Arquette played some football — I am guessing at QB, but I couldn’t confirm it — and was a standout basketball player, the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in leading his team to the state title as a senior.
To get perspective on Arquette as a prep baseball player, I reached out to KJ Harrison, the first baseman and cleanup hitter at Oregon State from 2015-17. Harrison, a Honolulu native who went to Punahou High, was Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-American in 2015 and a three-time first-team All-Pac-12 selection. He was a stalwart on what was probably the greatest OSU baseball team in history — and certainly the best not to win a national title. Under Pat Casey, the 2017 Beavers were a remarkable 56-4 before losing back-to-back games to LSU in the College World Series to end their season in heartbreaking fashion.
Harrison, a third-round draft pick by Milwaukee in 2017, played four seasons in the minor leagues, advancing to Double-A ball, before retiring from pro ball in 2022. Harrison, 28, now lives in Honolulu, selling residential real estate while working part-time at a country club. He gave hitting lessons to Arquette for a couple of months while the youngster was in high school.
“We have known Aiva’s family for a long time,” Harrison says. “His family reached out and we started working together. We have a cage in our backyard in Kailua. I did some hitting lessons with him. Humble kid; great family.”
Harrison watched Arquette play baseball in high school.
“He has always had a ton of tools, has been super athletic,” Harrison says. “When I first started working with him, he was raw but he worked hard in the cage. It was fun to build a connection with him. It is not surprising at all that he is where he is at in his career now. I am excited to keep following him and seeing his journey. It is a pleasure to see him have success now. He is one of those kids you root for.”
Washington coach Jason Kelly left after the 2024 season to become pitching coach at Texas A&M. Shortly thereafter, Arquette entered the transfer portal. The Arquettes reached out to Harrison for insight into Oregon State.
“Oregon State was one of his options,” Harrison says. “I talked to both Coach Canham and Aiva. I have known Mitch since I was a player there. He is such a great guy to play for and embodies what it means to be a Beaver — just like Coach Casey did. My Dad talked to Aiva’s dad as well. I had such a great experience at Oregon State, and I conveyed that to Aiva.
“I am happy the connection worked out. It is great to have another local boy at Oregon State. Aiva is so happy there, and I know Mitch is happy with him, too. I am glad Aiva made the decision to go there to become a better player and man.”
Harrison is bullish on Arquette’s pro future.
“He has all the potential in the world,” Harrison says. “Very athletic body, plays a great infield, tools offensively. Whatever team gets him will be lucky. I believe he is going to be in the big leagues one day and have a great career.”
Junior right-fielder Easton Talt shined in his first time hitting in the leadoff spot, with two walks, two runs scored and a run-scoring double against Rutgers (courtesy Dominic Cusimano)
• Canham switched his batting order against Rutgers, moving right-fielder Easton Talt to the lead-off position and pushing third baseman Trent Caraway back from leadoff to third.
Talt delivered with a pair of walks, two runs scored and a run-scoring double roped down the right-field line. The 5-10, 180-pound junior from Everett, Wash., is batting .327 with a team-best .538 on-base percentage. He has great speed and has a team-high six stolen bases in seven attempts.
Canham wouldn’t commit to sticking with the order against Cal Poly.
“Every day is different,” Canham says, “but he did a good job with it (against Rutgers), working to deep counts in a couple of at-bats, drawing a walk, keeping the line moving. I am appreciative of what he was doing down in the order and felt it would be good to have him at the leadoff spot.”
Traditionally, lineups featured speedsters and bunting specialists in the first two spots in the order, the team’s best hitter at third and power hitters at cleanup and the fifth spots. Analytics have changed that.
“The typical lineup construction from an analytic perspective (for the first four hitters in the lineup) is on-base (one-hole), second on-base (two-hole), high slug (three-hole) and on-base again (four-hole),” Canham says. “You want the guys who get on base the most hitting the most frequently.
'And when you have guys who get on base early in the game— a guy like Trent, who isn’t afraid to get up there and go at it — they are probably going to be in scoring position. It puts on a lot of pressure, especially after facing a guy like Talt, who is seeing a lot of pitches, fouling some off.
“A player is hitting leadoff only once a game. A player is hitting 3-hole once a game. It comes down to the guys who get on the base the most. They are going to have the most opportunities, and you want the guys up front who are getting on.”
Canham says he does like having Arquette hit in the two-hole between Talt and Caraway.
“Aiva can help Trent, and Talt, who sees a lot more pitches, can help Aiva,” Canham says. “He can come back with a better scouting report on what the pitcher has on that day. Trent wants to go out and get after it right now. Is he throwing strikes? Talt can help us get those answers early on.”
According to Canham, metrics say the two biggest opportunities for RBIs come in the four-hole and the eight-hole.
“You line up your order in that direction, and with 7-8-9, who do you think has the best feel that day to get it done?” he says. “If the eight-hole is getting the second-most opportunities for RBIs, then you look for a guy there who has a higher percentage of putting the ball in play.
“And you consider (the opponents’) pitching. You see the starter two times, maybe three times through the order. What are their relievers like? Do you have guys off the bench who are right for a certain matchup?”
Canham says he likes to tinker with the order from time to time, “just to shake things up a little bit. Day to day it’s something we talk about, preventing things from getting too stagnant. Making sure you are mixing things up with the guys.”
• The starting pitching has been lights out, with the weekend crew of Nelson Keljo (2-0, 1.57 ERA, .156 opponents batting average), Dax Whitney (2-2, 3.13, .188 OBA) and Ethan Kleinschmidt (3-1, 1.35, .136 OBA) leading the way. They have given up a combined 40 hits in 72 2/3 innings, with 91 strikeouts and 32 walks.
Reliever Matthew Morrell is evidently out with an unspecified injury, and veteran Joey Mundt hasn’t pitched recently, though pitching coach Rich Dorman says he is “fine. He will be available against Cal Poly.”
The Beavers may have their closer, however, in fireballing freshman Zach Edwards, who threw bullets while working the final inning of the Rutgers game. The 6-2, 215-pound right-hander from Riverton, Utah, has allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings of work this season, with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
“Zach’s last couple of outings have been really good,” Canham says. “High intensity, very physical. He was at 96 or 97 (mph on his fastball against Rutgers), and you see how they are swinging at some of those heaters. That thing moves. It has a lot of cut to it, too. The ball goes down or straight across. And he is throwing it all in the zone — the slider as well. He continues to hone that thing in for a two-way guy (who was an all-state shortstop in high school).”
So is Edwards the closer?
“Everyone in the bullpen better be ready to close a game,” Canham says.
• The elephant in the room is Dallas Macias, the well-regarded junior outfielder who was outstanding as a sophomore, hitting .315 with eight homers, 41 RBIs and 42 runs scored. Macias is hitting .114 with only four hits in 35 at-bats, though he has 10 walks. Meanwhile, fellow junior Canon Reader has taken advantage of his opportunities in the outfield, hitting a team-best .406 with a .537 OBP in 32 at-bats.
“I don’t think anyone is worried about Dally,” Canham. “He isn’t getting the productivity he wants and knows he can have, but he had a good day of pregame workouts (before the Rutgers game). He is one pitch away from being out of any kind of funk, but he is still one of the best competitors there is. It could happen at any moment, which we know it will.”
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