OSU baseball team, fans stay ‘Bellerose Strong’ in first game after pitcher accident

CORVALLIS, Ore. (PORTLAND) – The Oregon State University baseball team took the field Friday for the first time since one of its players, pitcher Tyler Bellerose, was involved in an accident. According to the team, Bellerose was involved in an accident and left him in a serious medical condition this week. OSU confirmed this week that the crash was related to the decision to postpone a game against the University of Oregon earlier in the week. As they are back on the diamond at home, Beaver fans are still finding positives to look forward to, even as Bellerose himself is presumably still in recovery. “It’ll just be good to see the kids back together,” Beaver fan John Rexford said. “They've had kind of a rough week, it’ll just be fun to see them playing as a team out on the field. We really want to support the team. That's– that's what we do. We've– it's a great way to spend our time. We love to support the kids. And this is just an extra special– a special time to do that.” The fans—eager for any opportunity to support the group they care so much for. “Well, I just know that when I was an athlete on the field, I knew when I had support in the stands and I assume that they can feel that same thing,” Rexford said. “As, as they're, out playing, playing a, a great baseball game.” Through successes and struggles both on and off the field, the fans said they will always rally together. “You know what Oregon State's always been about family,” Beaver fan Rob Moody said. “You hear that with every team, with the volleyball teams, the women's basketball team, the men's basketball team, and certainly the baseball team, it's a family. And Mitch preaches that as the coach and the guys all buy in.” The team honored Bellerose pregame warming up in shirts that said, “Bellerose Strong” and featured his number on them. According to posts on social media the shirts are for sale, with all proceeds going to support the Bellerose family.