Junior Drew George is getting comfortable hitting the Pac-10

By Brooks Hatch
Gazette-Times reporter

Drew George had no intention of hitting a home run when he came up in the second inning of last Sunday’s game against California with two outs and Jordan Lennerton on third base.

Oregon State trailed 2-0, had scored just one run in its previous 19 innings and seemed to have flatlined emotionally. However, George applied some instant CPR with one swing of the bat and his towering two-run homer to right field sent the Beavers on their way to a 5-3 win and a crucial 2-1 series victory.

“I was just trying to make contact with a guy at third base,” George said after his

2-for-2, two-walk, two-RBI performance ended a nightmarish personal slump and helped save the weekend for the ninth-ranked Beavers.

“I didn’t want to end the inning without getting that run in. The guy hung a curveball, and I just hit it well. It’s my first home run at Oregon State, so it was pretty cool.”

Cooler yet was bumping his Pac-10 average up 65 points (from .138 to .193), raising his own confidence level and quickly vanquishing any lingering negative vibes about a bases-loaded groundout that ended OSU’s 4-0 loss to the Bears the previous afternoon.

“Any time you hit a home run — on the team — it’s going to lift the team,” George said. “It got the bats going a little bit,” and the Beavers (28-8, 4-5) scored in each of the next three innings to move within a game of .500 in the Pac-10.

“I definitely needed that boost for myself. I’ve been struggling a little bit and just trying to stay confident and get my hacks when I’m in there.”

The former Lebanon High standout hopes his offensive renaissance continues this weekend when the Beavers entertain UNLV (14-26) of the Mountain West Conference during their Pac-10 bye weekend. Games are scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Goss Stadium.

“On Sunday I had four consistent at-bats,” George said at Tuesday’s practice, shortly before trotting off for his turn in the left-field batting cages.

“On Saturday I hit a ball well, too, just right at the right fielder.

“I just want to stay as consistent as I can, every swing. ... You always have to stay confident, every time, regardless of what happened the last weekend or last at-bat.

“You can’t take that into the box with you. I just have to rely on my old swing, and just let it go.”

That “old swing” served him well at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Wash., where he hit .367 as a sophomore and .340 as a freshman, with 62 RBIs in 96 games. He started off hot at OSU as well, but had dropped to .260 before Sunday’s 2-for-2 bumped him back to .276.

And that’s uncharted territory for a career .300-plus hitter at every level he’s played.

“I’m hard on myself and I expect to get a hit every time, which obviously doesn’t happen every day in baseball,” George said. “I tried to take in everything the coaches have been working with me on in the cage, and I found I was wrapping a little too much,” and throwing his swing off-kilter.

“Drew’s a talented guy,” OSU coach Pat Casey said. “There’s no doubt he’s a better hitter than when he came here, with plate coverage and the breaking ball.

“One of the aspects of baseball is how to handle the mental part. You must have an absolute trust in what you’re doing,” even when things aren’t going well.

Sunday’s game demonstrated George is getting back to his old self. His first OSU home run easily cleared the fence at the 340-foot mark, and he later drilled a solid single to the left-center gap for his other base hit.

“That boosts your confidence,” he said. “You always try to be as confident as you can, but obviously you’re way more confident when things are going your way.”

Drew George

WHO: Junior third baseman on the Oregon State baseball team

SIZE: 6-foot-2, 181 pounds

HOMETOWN: Lebanon

FAMILY: Parents Rick and Deb George; older brother, Ryan

EDUCATION: Graduated from Lebanon High in 2004 with a 3.51 GPA. Graduated from Lower Columbia Community College with 3.29 GPA; Exercise and Sports Science major at OSU.

STATS: Has played in 33 games, starting 26; batting .276 with one homer and 11 RBIs

ETC.: Was MVP of the NWAACC’s Northern Division in 2006 at Lower Columbia after hitting .367 with 37 RBIs. Hit .340 as a freshman and was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 44th round of the 2005 major-league draft. ... three-time Midwestern League all-star at Lebanon; second-team all-state as a senior. ... Switch hitter.

QUOTE: “He’s as hard a worker as I’ve ever had. He’s made big improvements and big strides to be a third baseman in the Pac-10.” — OSU infield coach Marty Lees, on George.