Kavin Keyes is 850 miles away, but he's never really far from home.

The former Alta High standout, who graduated early to enroll and play baseball at national power Oregon State, has a couple of familiar faces to keep him company.

His roommate is fellow freshman Adam Duke, who played at Spanish Fork. In the outfield is sophomore Garrett Nash, a Jordan High graduate.

In the batter's box, Keyes has found success similar to what he enjoyed playing for the Hawks. Keyes earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors this year as a freshman, and his 4-for-12 performance in last weekend's NCAA regional tournament has lifted his batting average to a team-best .316.

Whether it's in Sandy or Corvallis, Ore., the swing remains the same.

"It was an honor to have that come my way," Keyes said of his All-Pac-10 honor. "I played pretty well and the team is having a good season, so that worked out pretty well, too."

Duke, a 16th-round draft choice by the Boston Red Sox last year, is 1-0 with a 5.79 earned run average in just five appearances this year for the Beavers (41-17), who open a best-of-three NCAA Super Regionals this weekend against No. 6 Vanderbilt with a chance to advance to the College World Series.

But perhaps the biggest reason the Beavers are still playing was the performance of Nash in the regionals. After hitting just one home run during the regular season, Nash hit two homers in three games, finishing the tournament 3 for 8 with 3 RBIs.

Nash, whose brother Colton played against Keyes in high school, returned from his two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Spokane, Wash., this season. He is hitting .206 in 46 games.

Nash, who committed to play at Oregon State after the Beavers won the first of their back-to-back national championships in 2008 and 2009, said he chose the Beavers over Arizona, Cal State Fullerton, Arkansas and others because Oregon State had "the total package."

"I wanted to play in a good conference and play at a school that had a good tradition and good program," Nash said. "I came up to Corvallis for a visit and really liked the small-town atmosphere, the college town atmosphere.

"I felt everything about Oregon State was good and would work out well for me."

The Beavers have found success in recruiting along the Wasatch Front in recent years. They landed Cottonwood pitchers Kyle Beverley in 2009 and Tanner Robles in 2007.

Keyes, who also liked the "college town" feel of Corvallis, was named Pac-10 Player of the Week in April and has 30 RBIs and 10 doubles in 53 games, mostly as the team's designated hitter. He also had a 14-game hitting streak earlier this season.

An unexpected benefit to playing at OSU came earlier this year when Utah was added to the conference. That means Keyes, Nash and Duke will get to play in front of family and friends every other year.

"I think we are there next year," Keyes said. "I think the schedule has us playing in Utah next year." Beaver fever

Oregon State has landed five area baseball recruits over the past five years and has three locals on this year's roster.

Former Alta High standout Kavin Keyes leads the team with a .316 batting average and he was named All-Pac-10 First Team as a freshman.

Sophomore outfielder Garrett Nash hit two home runs in OSU's NCAA regional last weekend.