No. 7 Oregon State baseball vs. No. 2 Virginia: Start time moved up because of weather

Another aspect of the Oregon State baseball schedule has been adjusted due to the winter Arctic blast that is sweeping through Texas.

In order to avoid the worst of the freezing temperatures that are sweeping through central Texas, administrators announced Wednesday that the Beavers’ big game versus the Virginia Cavaliers will now begin two hours earlier. The new time for Friday’s first pitch is 2 p.m. PST.

Officials canceled Oregon State’s midweek matchup against the Houston Cougars just hours before the announcement.

The Beavers began their 17-day, 11-game season-opening tour last week with four games in Surprise, Arizona, and were set to play the Cougars in Round Rock, Texas, on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the Austin area and an extreme cold warning for the Texas Hill Country due to an Arctic blast that brought subfreezing temperatures and strong winds to Central Texas. About 20 miles outside of Austin is Round Rock.

Over the course of the three-day, four-team Round Rock Classic, temperatures are predicted to range from 20 to 42 degrees until Sunday.

On the seventh-ranked Beavers’ new independent schedule, the game against Virginia is arguably the most anticipated and difficult one thus far this season.

The Beavers face their toughest test in what should be a contested tournament against the Cavaliers, who come into the week ranked second and with dreams of winning the national championship. The Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Oklahoma Sooners, who are ranked in the top 20 in one of the five major college baseball polls, are also in the running.

Last week, the Beavers easily won four games in four days in Surprise, kicking off the season in a commanding manner. They dominated UNLV, Indiana, and Xavier by a total score of 40-6, recording two shutouts during the weekend, and needed an eighth-inning comeback to defeat Xavier, 8-3, in the season opener.