Tag: PK Park

Oregon baseball holds off USC 9-7 for its fifth straight win to maintain first place in Pac-12

Oregon scores early, take a big lead and then holds off a late USC rally to take Game 1 over the Trojans 9-7 at PK Park.

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USC pitcher Jaden Agassi isn’t the first Friday night starter the Oregon Duck offense has hit hard and he won’t be the last.

But that fact probably doesn’t make the Trojan hurler feel any better as he was knocked out in the fourth inning. Agassi gave up nine runs, six earned, and 10 hits before the Ducks held off a late USC rally to win it 9-7 at PK Park.

Oregon (15-6, 6-1) has now won four straight conference games and five straight overall. USC fell to 13-7 overall and 3-4 in Pac-12 action.

As usual, the Ducks used the long ball to take the lead on two separate occasions. Josh Kasevich put Oregon on the scoreboard in the first with a three-run homer to left-center that bounced off the top of the wall before going over.

After the Trojans Johnny Olmstead tied the game with a three-run homer of his own in the second, USC took a brief 4-3 lead in the third on a sacrifice fly. But as per usual, the Duck offense immediately answered with Brennan Milone’s two-run bomb to left to give Oregon the lead for good at 5-4.

The Ducks added two more runs in that four-run third and two more insurance runs for a commanding 9-4 advantage.

It was a commanding advantage for long, however.

The Trojans scored one in the fourth and put two runners on base off of Oregon starter RJ Gordon. Oregon went to the bullpen, but USC managed to put two runs across in the sixth to make it 9-7.

It turned into the battle of the bullpens where both teams’ relievers did yeoman’s work. Oregon’s relievers threw four scoreless innings and USC’s bullpen shut down the conference’s most potent offense for five innings.

Kolby Somers pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his third save of the season.

Jacob Walsh went 3-for-5 with a double and Kasevich drove in four runs for the Ducks. Olmstead also drove in four runs for the Trojans.

These two teams will get together for Game 2 of the weekend series with a first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. Isaac Ayon (2-0, 5.33 ERA) will start on the mound for the Ducks and he will face USC’s Tyler Stromsborg (1-1, 2.88 ERA). The contest will be streamed on goducks.com.

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Oregon brings out the brooms to sweep away the Utes

Oregon completes the weekend sweep over Utah with a 7-2 win Sunday afternoon at PK Park.

Oregon didn’t need any late-inning heroics this afternoon.

The Ducks scored first, broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the fourth and eventually cruised to an easy 7-2 win over Utah Sunday afternoon at PK Park.

With the victory, Oregon completed the three-game weekend series and is now in first place of the Pac-12 with a 5-1 mark. They also improved to 13-6 overall. Utah came into this series with an impressive 11-4-1 overall record, but now the Utes are reeling after this trio of defeats.

Josh Kasevich and Anthony Hall both singled in the second to set up the Ducks’ first two wins of the game in the second inning. Josiah Cromwick drove in Kasevich with a ground out and Gravin Grant later singled home Cromwick for the 2-0 lead.

Utah managed to tie it 2-2 with single runs in the third and fourth. But as usual, Oregon seems to take it personally when the opponent gets back into a contest. Hall homered for the second time of the series to give Oregon the lead for good at 3-2.

But the Ducks were far from finished.

Cromwick singled to set up Tanner Smith’s two-run home run to right-center to make it 5-2 Ducks.

Meanwhile on the mound, the Oregon bullpen was stellar once again. Starter Caleb Sloan flirted with danger in the first three innings and probably can consider himself lucky he only allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings. But the combination of Logan Mercado, Dylan Sabia, Stone Churby, Christian Ciuffetelli, Rio Britton and Matt Dallas went 5.1 innings, no runs, three hits and eight strikeouts.

Oregon will now head up to Spokane to take on Gonzaga for a non-league contest on Tuesday before coming back to the friendly confines of PK Park to host USC for yet another three-game weekend series.

Oregon scores five in the eighth to win 8-6 and series over Utah

The Ducks score five in the eighth inning to rally past Utah 8-6 to claim the weekend series over the Utes.

Pac-12 baseball teams are quickly learning that the Ducks are never out of a game.

Oregon rallied from a 6-3 deficit in the eighth inning with five runs to stun Utah 8-6 and take the weekend series over the Utes. The Ducks improve to 12-6 overall, 4-1 in conference play, and will now go for the sweep tomorrow morning at PK Park.

The late-inning rally got started after an out was recorded, but then two walks and a hit batter set the table for Gavin Grant’s single to left to make it 6-4 Utes. Tanner Smith, who earlier homered, laced a single to right that scored both Sam Novitske and Josiah Cromwick.

With the scored tied 6-6 and still just one out, Oregon saw the runners move to second and third thanks to a wild pitch. Colby Shade hit a sacrifice fly to right to give the Ducks the 7-6 lead and Brennan Milone, who also homered during this game, drove in Smith for some insurance.

Closer Kolby Somers came into the ninth and earned his second save of the season.

Oregon starting pitcher Isaac Ayon kept his team in the game with his six innings of work where he gave up four runs, one earned, seven hits, and three strikeouts. It could have been worse for Ayon as he buckled down in the sixth. After giving up the go-ahead run, he found himself in deeper trouble with runners on second and third with just one out. Ayon managed to whiff Dakota Duffalo and get Carter Booth to ground out.

In the series finale, Oregon will send out Caleb Sloan (0-1, 2.70 ERA) to go up against Cam Day (1-1, 4.42 ERA) for Utah. The game is scheduled to be televised on Pac-12 Oregon/Mountain at 11 a.m. PT.

Around the horn: Duck bats stay hot with easy win over Utah in series opener

Powered by three home runs, Oregon defeated Utah 11-4 to claim the series opener over the Utes at PK Park.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team is still looking for a reliable Friday night starter. But what has been more than reliable has been the bats and those aluminum sticks didn’t let Oregon down tonight.

Powered by three home runs, the Ducks overcame an early 3-0 deficit and defeated Utah 11-4 at PK Park in the opener of a three-game weekend series.

Brennan Milone, Anthony Hall and Gavin Grant all crushed homers. Milone’s third-inning clout would have easily left the yard before the renovations of Oregon’s home stadium. It also erased Utah’s lead.

While the bats stayed hot, Oregon is still looking for a pitcher to put on the mound on a regular basis on Fridays. RJ Gordon got the start this time around and unfortunately, he didn’t make it out of the fourth inning.

The Ducks bullpen backed Gordon up, however. The combination of Dylan Sabia, Logan Mercado, Jacob Hughes and Scott Ellis went 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run and just one hit.

Around the horn: Ducks prepare for Pac-12 play with win over Portland

Oregon hit three more home runs at home and that was more than enough to hand Portland an 18-2 loss Tuesday.

Midweek games during the college baseball season can be taken for granted at times. Teams sometimes give their regulars a rest to give players on the bench much-needed at-bats.

Oregon isn’t doing that.

The Ducks (8-5) sent out the regulars in a huge 18-2 win over the Portland Pilots Tuesday afternoon at PK Park. Perhaps that plan will change later this season, but Oregon wanted to keep its starters in rhythm with No. 2 Stanford next on the docket.

Tanner Smith, Jack Scanlon, Colby Shade, and Tyler Ganus all homered for the Ducks, who are continuing to build a case that their home ballpark is no longer a pitcher’s paradise. Oregon has hit 14 home runs in its first nine games at home so far.

Oregon baseball takes a big step forward, but wants more in 2022

Oregon’s baseball season was a successful one, but the Ducks showed they are capable of a lot more in 2022 and beyond.

In the four seasons before Mark Wasikowski took over the Oregon Ducks baseball program, they were floundering around the .500 mark, and in college baseball, that’s mediocre.

Oregon didn’t bring baseball back in 2009 to just be mediocre.

The Ducks could see signs of the turnaround right away in 2020, but the pandemic hit and the season was canceled after just 15 games. In some strange way, it gave Oregon time off the field to go into the weight room, to recruit, and to build up everything it needed to be successful on the field.

Whatever they did, it worked. Oregon proved that the turnaround is nearly complete by being one game away from winning their first conference title and just one inning away from going to a Super Regional. Unfortunately, that one inning where a few mental lapses occurred ended the season with a 9-8 loss to LSU.

But those lapses shouldn’t define a season. Instead, Oregon should take solice in the fact it can be a successful program in many ways. Before the Ducks were offensively challenged and relied heavily on pitching and defense.

The 2021 Ducks proved there’s more than one way to skin a cat. The Ducks featured their best offensive lineup in the program’s history.

BRIAN HAYES – THE STATESMAN JOURNAL

Kenyon Yovan went from one of the best pitchers in the Pac-12 to one of the best power hitters in the country with his school single-season record of 17 home runs. The senior proved PK Park can be the home of a premier power hitter and Oregon has to hope that attracts more power hitters to consider the Ducks in the future.

Recruiting homegrown talent also paid dividends. Besides Beaverton’s own Yovan, Salem’s Aaron Zavala won the Pac-12 Player of the Year. First baseman Gabe Matthews turned into a MLB prospect as well as Eugene’s own Robert Ahlstrom, the ace of the pitching staff and closer Kolby Somers from Hillsboro.

Look for Wasikowski to keep mining Oregon high schools and the Pacific Northwest. It worked for Oregon State in its national championship seasons and Oregon proved homegrown talent can help with the program’s turnaround.

No one knows what 2022 will bring to PK Park, but this season showed that Oregon can be and should be a destination for top talent. Mediocrity won’t be acceptable any more and Omaha is finally within the Ducks’ reach.

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PK Park is selected as one of the 16 regional sites for the NCAA baseball tournament

Oregon’s great season was rewarded Sunday night as the NCAA announced that Eugene would be an NCAA regional site for the baseball tournament.

Well, there it is.

After some speculation, the NCAA made it official by announcing that PK Park would be one of the 16 host sites for the regionals round of the NCAA tournament. Oregon baseball hasn’t hosted a regional since the 2013 season.

Who the other three teams are that will join the Ducks in Eugene to play for a trip to the Super Regional won’t be known until Monday morning when the NCAA announces the seedings. Arizona and Stanford were also named as regional sites.

But just getting to the tournament, let alone hosting a regional is quite the accomplishment for Mark Wasikowski in his first full season as the Duck coach. When he arrived on the scene, the Oregon program was in disarray as the Ducks went 27-29 overall, but just 10-19 in Pac-12 play in George Horton’s final season.

The Ducks played just 15 games in 2020 before the pandemic hit, so who knows where that team would have ended up at. But in 2021, Wasikowski turned Oregon around and nearly won the Pac-12 title, going 20-10 in conference action, just one game behind Arizona, and 37-14 overall.

Everyone will find out who will be going where Monday at 9 a.m. on ESPN2 when they televise the NCAA baseball selection show. In order for the Ducks to be a possible Super Regional site, Oregon will have to be one of the Top 8 seeds in the tournament field.

Rob Mullens is hopeful Autzen Stadium will be full of Duck fans in 2021

Oregon’s athletic department lost millions due to empty venues in 2020. Winning in multiple sports will help make up the deficit soon.

It was difficult to watch the Oregon Ducks play in an empty Autzen Stadium in 2020 for everyone involved. It stunk for the players, coaches, fans, and even opponents.

But according to Athletic Director Rob Mullens, the Ducks’ pocketbook took a worse hit than another Pac-12 quarterback in the sights of Noah Sewell.

“I have been riding on the hope wave for quite a while, and I’m still on the hope wave,” Mullens told Ryan Thorburn of The Register-Guard. “I am hopeful that vaccination is in fact the path to a full Autzen.”

Oregon lost a total of about $60 million of revenue mostly by having no fans inside Autzen or Matthew Knight Arena for the 2020-21 sports calendar season. A lot of big games were scheduled for last fall, including Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State visiting Autzen for the very first time. Ohio State has said they’ll pay Oregon $3.5 million to help make up for the Buckeyes not being able to make the trip to Eugene last year.

The Ducks also missed out on having rival Washington come to Eugene, a game that could have meant the Pac-12 North title.

Mullens is hoping the department can quickly make up the lost revenue in the next couple of seasons. Having highly successful programs in the big sports such as football and both basketball teams will ease the burden for sure.

Also, the eagerness of fans just being able to watch their favorite teams in person is going to go a long way. Mullens is grateful for the unwavering support the Duck fans have shown in this unusually difficult time.

I really appreciate how our fan base stepped up. I think that we are off to a great start and I think our season-ticket renewal will be something that is very high. People are excited to get back into Autzen Stadium, wanting to support the Ducks and to see the new video board and so much more. I’m confident, and really pleased at the support that we’ve received from our season ticket base.

Fans will a lot to cheer for in the 2021-22 season and let’s all hope venues such as Autzen, Matthew Knight Arena, PK Park, Jane Sanders Stadium and Hayward Field are never, ever empty on gameday again.

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Ducks baseball jump into the Top 10 with recent sweep of Washington

Oregon moved up four spots to No. 9 in the most recent USA Today/Coaches poll after its sweep of the Huskies.

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It’s always nice to sweep one of your rivals on the diamond and the Oregon Ducks baseball team was rewarded for their efforts.

With the Ducks’ handling of the Washington Huskies this past weekend at PK Park, Oregon moved up into the Top 10 of the USA Today Coaches Poll on Monday.

Oregon is now the No. 9 team in the nation, moving up four spots from last week, with its 30-11 overall record and 14-7 in Pac-12 play. The Ducks remain 1.5 games behind Arizona for first place in the conference as the Wildcats are 16-8.

Despite being in second place, Oregon is still the highest-ranked Pac-12 team. Arizona (12), Stanford (13), and UCLA (22) are the other conference teams who are still in the poll.

Not only are the Ducks battling for a possible Pac-12 title, but they are hoping for enough wins in order to host at least a Regional and maybe a Super Regional if their seeding allows for one. The top eight seeds are lined up to host a Super Regional before advancing to the College World Series.

But there’s still a lot of baseball to be played. Oregon has 10 games left in the regular season, nine of those conference games. The Ducks travel to Utah this weekend for a weekend set with the Utes, who are struggling with a 5-16 conference mark and 12-26 overall.

Oregon bats stay hot in 13-1 thumping of the Spartans

Oregon Ducks baseball stays hot with a 13-1 drubbing over San Jose State to complete the brief two-game mid-week series with the Spartans.

Unlucky 13 wasn’t so unlucky after all.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team managed to sweep the brief two-game series with San Jose State with a 13-1 beatdown over the Spartans. In the mid-week series, Oregon scored 24 runs.

Oregon’s bats didn’t wait to fall behind this afternoon as they did in the series opener as the Ducks jumped on San Jose State starter Wesley Clawson for four runs in the second inning.

After a single, double, and hit-by-pitch, Gavin Grant found himself up with the bases loaded and no one out. He proceeded then to drive in two with a double off the rightfield wall for the early 2-0 lead. Tanner Smith walked to reload the bags and Anthony Hall smacked a two-run single.

The Spartans managed to avoid a huge inning as Kenyon Yovan flew out and Zavala was coaxed into a double play to end the inning.

Oregon then put the game away in the fifth with five more runs to make it 9-0. The Ducks hit three extra-base hits in that inning, which also included three walks.

San Jose State finally got on the scoreboard when slugger Ruben Ibarra clubbed a home run to right-center. It was his sixth homer of the season and among the Spartans, the big 6-foot-5, 285-pound first baseman stood out.

But Ibarra couldn’t carry his team to a win as Oregon did a number against the San Jose State pitching staff. Not only did the Ducks score 13 runs, but they also were credited with 18 hits.

Smith went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI. Zavala also had three hits and three RBI and Grant was also a perfect 3-for-3 with a trio of RBI.

In his first appearance as a Duck, pitcher Logan Mercado got the win as he threw three innings and gave up just one hit.

At 26-9 overall, Oregon will go back to Pac-12 action Friday as it goes up to the Palouse to take on Washington State for a three-game weekend series. The Cougars are currently 19-16 overall and 7-11 in conference play.