Tag: Mark Wasikowski

Oregon pitching implodes and Omaha eludes Ducks again

Oregon was in position to force a Game 3 in the Super Regional, but the Aggies score nine runs in the seventh to end the Ducks’ season.

It’s an inning that will go down in Oregon baseball history and that’s not a good thing.

Once up 8-4 in the seventh inning in Game 2 of the Bryan-College Station Super Regional against Texas A&M, the Ducks’ pitching absolutely imploded as they saw the Aggies score nine runs on just two hits to take the 13-8 lead and the eventual 15-9 win.

Brock Moore, who threw two innings beforehand, walked in three runs and forced another in before finally being relieved by Jaxson Jordan. It got worse after that as Jordan walked in a run and allowed a Kaeden Kent grand slam to account for the nine-run frame.

Oregon’s season is over as a trip to Omaha and the College World Series eludes the program once again. They’ve had three chances and have yet advance past the Super Regional round.

This one hurts almost as much as last season when the Ducks were two outs away from going to Omaha. The Ducks were in position to win both of these games as they were up 6-3 in Game 1 and 7-2 in Game 2 before blowing both leads.

Oregon got off to a hot start in the first inning when the Ducks scored four runs on back-to-back-to-back home runs from Chase Meggers, Drew Smith and Anson Aroz.

The Ducks added on in the second when they pulled off a perfect double steal that saw Bryce Boettcher steal home and the 5-2 lead. Oregon scored two more on an error and a Carter Garate single to center.

Dominic Hellman made it 8-4 with a single to left-center field right before all heck broke loose the very next half-inning. Hellman ended his night with an absolute bomb in the bottom of the eighth to left field to make it 15-9.

Ducks homer four times to even weekend series in Seattle

After a disappointing series opening loss where they gave up a 6-0 lead, the Ducks left no doubt in Game 2 with a 13-6 win over Washington.

The mark of a good team is how they rebound off of a disappointing loss and if Saturday night in Seattle is any indication, the Oregon Ducks baseball team is in good shape.

Oregon gave away a 6-0 lead in the series opener to Washington to eventually lose 7-6, but the Ducks showed some mettle in Game 2 with a convincing 13-6 victory over the Huskies.

The Ducks hit four home runs to propel them to the big win. Ironically, the team’s leader in dingers, Jacob Walsh, wasn’t among those who hit a deep ball. Mason Neville, Maddox Molony, Carter Garate, and Chase Meggers all hit homers. Meggers also hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning to give him five runs batted in for the night.

Oregon scored in every inning except for the fifth and eighth. Even though the Ducks were lighting up the scoreboard early on, they still couldn’t shake the Dawgs. It was 7-4 after four innings.

But then Brock Moore came out of the bullpen and threw five scoreless innings to bring things back to order. He also struck out eight in the 90-plus-pitch effort out of the pen.

Oregon goes for the series win Sunday afternoon as the regular season winds down. After the Ducks finish their trip to Seattle, they come home to finish the Pac-12 season with a three-game series with Washington State at PK Park. That will be the last regular season series in the Pac-12 for the Ducks as the conference tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz. will be on the horizon.

Washington and Oregon conclude their series Sunday at noon.

Duck baseball projected as a 2-seed and play in Clemson Regional

D1Baseball has Oregon projected as a 2-seed in the Clemson Regional where the national 4-seeded Tigers would await.

Clemson might have to call Vandiaerbilt to see what the Oregon Ducks baseball team has to offer when it comes to NCAA regional action.

In their latest Field of 64 projection, D1Baseball.com has Oregon going to Clemson, South Carolina and playing in that regional along with the Tigers, Coastal Carolina, and Sacred Heart.

Going across the country and playing in a regional on the road is nothing new for coach Mark Wasikowski and his Duck team. Just last season, Oregon traveled to Nashville and won the four-team, double-elimination tournament on Vanderbilt’s home field.

If this projection is accurate, the Ducks would have a chance to do something very similar. According to the website, Clemson would be a national 4-seed and would host a Super Regional should the Tigers advance. Currently, Clemson is ranked No. 2 in D1baseball’s Top 25. The Tigers are currently 37-10 and 17-7 in the ACC.

Coastal Carolina, a traditional good baseball program, is having a down season, at least for them. The Chanticleers are currently 28-20 overall and just 11-13 in the Sun Belt Conference.

As for Sacred Heart out of the Northeast Conference, the Pioneers are 27-20 overall, but a whopping 20-7 in league action.

Other notable projections are Oregon State as a 2-seed in the Columbia, SC regional, Utah as a 3-seed in the Norman, Okla. regional and Arizona as a 2-seed in the Santa Barbara regional.

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Oregon rallies for four runs and stuns Seattle in 10 innings

Drew Smith’s two-run single completed the four-run rally in the 10th inning as the Ducks stunned Seattle U 5-4.

It was just how Mark Wasikowski and the Ducks drew it up.

That plan, obviously, was to wait out a 70-minute weather delay, give up three runs in the top of the 10th, and then use two infield hits, a deflection into center field, two hit batsmen, and a single from Drew Smith to score two more and stun Seattle University 5-4.

All right, this scenario wouldn’t be No. 1 on the list in ways to win a game, but that’s exactly how Oregon captured the opening contest of a four-game non-conference series with the Redhawks.

It was 1-1 after nine innings that was a rare midweek pitching duel. But that ended quickly in extra when Seattle’s third baseman Derek Gellos deposited a pitch over the left-center wall for the three-run home run and give the Redhawks a 4-1 lead.

Things were looking quite bleak for the Ducks, who were trying to avoid a two-game losing streak. The rally began harmlessly when Bryce Boettcher hit a high chopper to third that he was able to beat out at first. Chase Meggers hit his own tapper off the end of the bat for another infield single and the Ducks were in business.

Anson Aroz didn’t waste any time by smacking a liner off of pitcher Brady Liddle’s foot that got past the shortstop into center to score Boettcher.

After a sacrifice fly from Mason Neville Liddle didn’t help his cause by hitting Justin Cassella and Jacob Walsh to reload the bases. Only needing a fly ball to tie the game, Smith did much more with a liner down the left field line to score both Aroz and Cassella.

It was Oregon’s second walk-off win in five days. The Ducks defeated Arizona 3-2 on Saturday.

These two teams will meet up again for Game 2 of the series, set for a 5:05 pm PST first pitch streamed on Pac-12 Insider.

Oregon baseball finds itself ranked prominently in all season-ending polls

Oregon baseball finished the season as high as No. 12 and as low as No. 19 in all of the college baseball polls.

With the College World Series ending with an LSU dogpile on the mound, all six college baseball polls have been released one final time and the Ducks are squarely in the middle of all of them.

According to these polls, Oregon baseball finds itself ranked as high as No. 12 and as low as No. 19.

D1Baseball.com was the poll that gave the Ducks their highest ranking and well … USA TODAY Sports gave the lowest.

Baseball America ranked Oregon 13th and the National College Baseball Writers of America said the Ducks were No. 14 in the country.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper also gave Oregon a No. 13 ranking as did Perfect Game.

All in all, it’s a solid ending for the Ducks, but obviously it’s not where Oregon or its head coach Mark Wasikowski envisioned at the start of the season. The goal is and always has been to reach Omaha and the CWS, a goal that’s still elusive for the Ducks.

For the 2024 season, Oregon is expected to field another strong team that will contend for its first Pac-12 regular season title and hopefully its first trip to Omaha since 1954.

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Twitter Reaction: Oral Roberts gets walk-off win to beat Ducks, force Game 3

After experiencing a walk-off win on Friday night, Duck fans unfortunately saw the flipside of that coin on Saturday. Game 3 Sunday. Buckle up.

The Oregon Ducks were two outs away from advancing to their first College World Series. Two outs away from continuing their 10-game winning streak and making it further than any Oregon team has since 1954.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t get the job done.

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In the bottom of the ninth inning against Oral Roberts, the Golden Eagles strung together a pair of singles and got a batter walked to load the bases. Then a line drive down the left field line ended up bouncing out of play, giving the Golden Eagles a walk-off ground-rule double to keep their season alive.

It was the second walk-off in as many days at PK Park, with the Ducks getting a walk-off RBI single from Drew Cowley on Friday night to end Oral Roberts’ 21-game winning streak.

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Now the two teams will play in Game 3 on Sunday afternoon for a chance to move on to the College World Series. Buckle up, I’m sure it will be a classic.

For now, here are some of the best reactions on social media throughout the night, ending in a brutal loss for the Ducks:

‘This team won’t quit;’ UO coach Mark Wasikowski credits heart, fan electricity for comeback win

“Our fans wouldn’t let us lose,” Coach Wasikowski said. “Our fans were amazing, and I don’t think PK Park has ever been that electric.”

It was a roller coaster ride for your average Oregon fan on Friday night in attendance at Game 1 of the Super Regionals between the Ducks and Oral Roberts Golden Eagles on Friday night.

While the electricity was present and pumping before the first pitch was thrown, with the second-largest crowd in PK Park history, the energy was quickly sapped from the ballpark as Oral Roberts hung an eight-run third inning on the Ducks and blew the game open.

Coming into the contest, everyone knew that the Golden Eagles were no joke — you don’t go 49-11 with a 21-game winning streak by accident. Duck fans were learning the hard way.

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A once raucous environment turned quiet. However, while the fans may have been frustrated and solemn in the stands, the Ducks stayed calm and looked to right the ship.

“This team won’t quit. This team’s got a toughness to them that I’ve never seen before,” said head coach Mark Wasikowski. “They won’t quit. To come back from an 8-0 deficit, as disappointed as they were in the third inning… They’ve been working to build this thing to where a day like this would happen, this number of people and this energy. And to get really punched in the face in the beginning of this game, I don’t think I’d ever be able to imagine another team rebounding from that.”

Back-to-back home runs from Jacob Walsh and Bennett Thompson in the third gave Oregon life, and then a three-run bomb again from Thompson in the fourth inning gave the Ducks a spark. From that point, the comeback was on.

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“You can’t hit a seven-run home run; I’ve never seen it,” Thompson said. “So I was just trying to put a good swing on the ball. That guy had been throwing a lot of strikes, and so I was just able to get a fastball in the zone and not trying to do too much. Ultimately the ball left the yard but I wasn’t trying to do that; it just ended up happening. So that was awesome to get the momentum back on our side there.”

The Ducks tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, and then a walk-off RBI single from Drew Cowley in the bottom of the ninth put Oregon over the top, completing the largest comeback in Super Regionals history.

“Our fans wouldn’t let us lose,” Wasikowski said. “Our fans were amazing, and I don’t think PK Park has ever been that electric. I think it can even get better, but they would not let us lose.”

It was an incredible win, and something that will give plenty of momentum going into Game 2 on Saturday night. Despite the craziness, the Ducks know that if they aren’t able to win one more game against Oral Roberts, then all of this will be for not.

“We’re obviously excited, grounded in the moment, but we understand that we’re still one win away,” Wasikowski said. “So it’s not like anything’s been accomplished other than the fact that it was a fantastic environment, a great game.”

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Oregon baseball to participate in 2024 tournament at Globe Life Field

The Oregon baseball program will open the 2024 season in style as it will play in the College Showdown at Globe Life Field Feb. 16-18, 2024.

The Texas Rangers have made good use of their relatively new stadium of Globe Life Field since it opened in 2020.

Major League Baseball held both league championships there and the World Series due to the pandemic. The facility has also been host to “The College Baseball Showdown,” a tournament with the top baseball programs in the country. In 2024, the Oregon Ducks will be a participant in the tourney that will be held Feb. 16-18, 2024.

Sponsored by Shriners Children, the tournament will also have Baylor, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas Tech.

“The Oregon Ducks can’t wait to open up the 2024 college baseball season at Globe Life Field for the Shriners Children’s College Baseball Showdown,” Ducks head coach Mark Wasikowski said in a press release. “It’s going to be an awesome experience with the people out there in Texas. We can’t wait to see our fans come pack the house and root the Ducks on. We can’t wait to get down there.”

This year’s Ducks are fighting for a possible NCAA Regional as they are currently 31-16 overall and 14-10 in Pac-12 play. They have one more regular season series at home against Washington this weekend before closing it out at Utah next week.

Baseball recap: Ducks win ninth straight with a sweep in the desert

Oregon baseball keeps rolling with a nine-game winning streak which includes a sweep over Arizona down in the desert.

The offense was a problem for the Oregon Ducks baseball team early in the season. The key word in that previous sentence is “was.”

It’s not a problem anymore.

The Ducks scored 15 runs on Friday, 13 more on Saturday, and eight in the series finale at Arizona. With the completed sweep, Oregon moves to 18-7 overall and 6-3 in Pac-12 play. They have also won nine straight.

Before this winning streak, Oregon had a team batting average under .230. Now it’s over .300. A big part is the resurgence of power hitter Jacob Walsh. The sophomore first baseman crushed three homers in this series, including an absolute bomb to right-center to give the Ducks an early 2-0 lead.

Oregon had a 7-1 lead and held on to win 8-5 in Game 3 against Arizona. It’s the second straight series sweep over Arizona for the Ducks.

Drew Cowley homered twice and drove in five while closer Josh Mollerus managed to get a five-out save for his fourth of the year. Walsh also homered. He might not want to return to Eugene after nine hits of the series, including a trio of round-trippers.

This series started out with a bang as the Ducks scored a season-high 15 runs and 22 hits in a huge 15-3 win. Sabin Ceballos led the way with four hits and four RBIs. Walsh hit a homer and Jace Stoffal threw seven solid innings for his third win of the season.

In Game 2, it wasn’t how coach Mark Wasikowski would have drawn it up, but a win is a win. Arizona scored 10 runs in the first two innings of the game and about 98 percent of the time, it would be over. But the Ducks were able to scratch and claw their way back.

Still down 11-5 in the seventh, Oregon managed to plate five runs to make it 11-10 Wildcats. Dominic Hellman and Rikuu Nishida each had run-scoring hits to cut the big deficit to just one.

In the top of the ninth, Oregon scored three runs to take a 13-11 lead and eventual win. Colby Shade’s double tied the game and Nishida’s single scored two more runs.

Mollerus came in to pitch a scoreless ninth for his third save of the season.

Now the Ducks come back home for a 10-game homestand beginning with a single game with Portland before hosting rival Oregon State, beginning on Thursday. The Beavers are 18-10 overall and 5-7 in conference action.

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Oregon cruises past the Bears 8-3 with a five-run first inning

Oregon scored five runs in the first and cruised to an 8-3 win over California at PK Park.

Oregon Ducks baseball coach Mark Wasikowski probably prefers his offense to spread the runs out a bit more, but as long as the Ducks win, it doesn’t matter all that much.

A five-run first inning gave the Ducks the upper hand and Oregon was able to cruise to a relatively easy 8-3 win over California on a blustery day at PK Park. With the win, the Ducks improved to 28-14 overall and 13-7 in conference play.

Oregon starting pitcher Isaac Ayon pitched six solid innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and striking out seven. He earned his third win of the season.

It didn’t look good for Ayon early on as he gave up a lead-off homer and a double in the first inning. But he was able to settle down and held the Bears off the scoreboard other than that home run.

That was all the Oregon offense needed to get to off the deck in the bottom of the first. The Ducks used three doubles and three singles to score five runs and that was more than enough for Ayon.

Cal scored single runs in the second and third. The Ducks scored a run in the second and at the end of three, it was 6-3 Oregon. It stayed that way until the seventh when the Ducks were able to score two insurance runs on Tanner Smith’s single to left that drove in Anthony Hall and Gavin Grant.

The Ducks will go for the sweep Sunday at noon as they will send out Jace Stoffal to the mound. The Bears haven’t announced their starter.