Oregon State players Aiden May and Travis Bazzana know they’re walking into a hostile environment in Lexington.
The Super Regional between the host Kentucky Wildcats and the Beavers promises to be a good one. Heck, May thinks he can use a pro-Kentucky crowd to his and Oregon State’s advantage.
It’s one of the more anticipated Super Regionals in the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
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“I think you use the crowd to your advantage,” May said. “I think they’re going to be great fans this weekend and they’re going to be loud, but we’ve played in a lot of loud environments. Obviously Goss is a big example, and that’s our fans, too. I mean, we played against Arkansas. There was 15,000 people at that game.
“We played a series at Arizona, like Skip touched on, which was a big one. There was a lot of people at that game. I think it’s just using the crowd to your advantage and trying to use that to amp up your adrenaline but keep focused and just kind of let your stuff do the talking, just win ballgames at the end of the day. It’s the same game whether there’s 80,000 people or nobody.”
Bazzana acknowledged Oregon State would have a challenge with a Wildcat crowd, but also mentioned his team’s success amid adversity.
“I think that obviously having a home crowd going wild every time something is happening is a nice thing, and we’ve had a lot of success at Goss, and I know teams feed off that,” Bazzana said. “I think the biggest thing is just stepping in the box with confidence and comfort and being on the mound with confidence and comfort like it’s your environment and just using the energy the right way. Some guys get caught up in sort of doubting themselves with no Oregon State fans or no home fans in those situations.”
As Bazzana put it, Oregon State is just going to take it one game at a time and operate like normal.
“So it’s about preparing the same way you would, and again, just being able to find yourself and find your focus in that moment and be present with the pitch that’s there,” Bazzana said. “And the crowd really zones out. It’s just getting to that state of focus, I think.
“I feel like our guys have gotten to that point more and more as the season has gone on, and Skip mentioned Washington State, and yeah, just starting to feel more confidence and comfort in away environments, and I think the crowds are going to be incredible just like — yeah, it’s going to be a great time. Just got to find that focus.”
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