Ducks host USC in weekend Pac-12 series

What you need to know

Ducks look to continue PK Park dominance vs. Trojans: Oregon has won 10 of the 12 meetings against USC played at PK Park heading into this weekend. The Ducks swept the Trojans in both 2012 and 2016, while winning two of three in 2010 and 2014. UO's sweep of USC during the 2016 season marks the last Pac-12 series sweep for the Ducks.
Kasser finalist for 2018 Senior CLASS Award®: SR 2B Kyle Kasser is one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award® which honors excellence in community, classroom, character and competition. Fans are encouraged to vote by visiting seniorCLASSaward.com.
Yovan and Nelson named to watch lists: SO RHP/DH Kenyon Yovan is one of 25 players on the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list as well as one of 78 pitchers named to the National Pitcher of the Year watch list. Yovan is joined on the Olerud list by teammate SS/RHP Ryne Nelson.

Kasser one of 10 finalists for 2018 Senior CLASS Award®

SR 2B Kyle Kasser has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award®.
Finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 30 candidates announced in March. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through May 28.
Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. This year's Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2018 College World Series® in June. For more information on all of the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
Classroom: He is an accomplished student who graduated in less than four years. The 3-year member and past co-director of the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) graduated in April with a 3.17 GPA in economics. He claimed second-team Pac-12 all-academic accolades as a sophomore in 2016 and honorable mention recognition as a junior in 2017.
Character: He is a team leader who is well respected by his teammates and the coaching staff. He started his career as a non-scholarship athlete who eventually earned a scholarship and then became an all-conference honoree. He's selfless, on and off the field, coachable, competitive and tough minded. A team-first guy as is evident by being asked to play every position in the infield during his four-year career. He's a team captain, a SAAC representative for two years, and a hardworking/self-made player.
Community: He is the "go-to" guy on the Oregon Ducks' baseball team when it comes to being involved in the community. In addition to being a co-director of SAAC, he is the point man for Oregon baseball's involvement with Team Impact in pairing the team with James Dahl, a 15-year old living with Rasmussen's Encephalitis. His willingness to do community service outreach projects included team Thanksgiving baskets for families in need as part of SAAC. Kasser wants to make a difference and leave a legacy at Oregon and has guided more young players to being a part of the SAAC program resulting in the most baseball players being involved since the sport originated in 2009.
He has a .313 career batting average. As a junior, he batted a modern-era program record .352 and was named first-team All-Pac-12 Conference after hitting .381 in league games (third highest in the conference). The versatile infielder is Oregon's starting second baseman and has started 132 games split between the four infield positions. He has 52 starts at first base, 38 starts at second base, 29 starts at shortstop and 13 starts at third base. At the four infield positions his career fielding percentage is .987, including .994 as a junior while splitting time between shortstop and first base. This season he is batting .318 with a .987 fielding percentage.

Ducks vs. USC

USC leads the all-time series 27-18, but the Ducks hold a 16-11 edge since baseball returned to Oregon.
UO has won 10 of the 12 games played in PK Park including sweeps in 2012 and 2016. The Ducks won two of three in Eugene in 2010 and 2014.
Oregon has won 13 of the last 18 games between the two teams including a series win in Los Angeles last season when the Ducks won two of three games.
Oregon's last sweep against a Pac-12 team came in 2016 when the Ducks beat the Trojans 4-3, 12-8 and 8-5.

Ducks swept at OSU

Oregon struggled in Corvallis dropping all three games of the series.
The Ducks batted just .179 as a team while being outscored 19-8 in the series.

Ducks drop series at Washington despite 13-inning win

Oregon dropped its series at Washington losing two of the three games.
The Ducks lost the opener 2-1, before winning game two 6-4 in 13 innings. UW won the rubber match beating Oregon 4-0.
The 13-inning game was the longest for Oregon since a 14-inning game vs. UC Santa Barbara on March 5, 2016.
The final two games were a doubleheader after rain postponed Saturday's game two until Sunday.
Oregon's pitching staff compiled a 2.79 ERA in the three games, but the Ducks' offense batted just .079 (3-for-38) with runners in scoring position.
SO C Braden Stutzman drove in the winning runs with a two-out bases loaded two-RBI single.

Oregon wins series vs. Washington State

The Ducks won their second Pac-12 Conference series of the season winning two of three games against Washington State.
Oregon swept a doubleheader on Friday night before losing the series finale on Sunday.
The Ducks overcame a .179 team batting average in the series, holding WSU to just a .198 team batting average.

Ducks split Northern California road trip

Oregon went 2-2 on its recent road trip to Stanford and San Francisco.
The Ducks won the opener of a three game series, 10-1, against No. 3 Stanford before dropping the final two games 5-1 and 4-0.
The Ducks wrapped up the trip with a 5-1 win over San Francisco on Monday afternoon.
SR 2B Kyle Kasser led the Ducks on the trip batting .538 (7-for-13) vs. Stanford and .444 (8-for-18) in the four games.
SO RHP Kenyon Yovan picked up the win on Thursday at Stanford earning Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week honors after tossing six scoreless innings while fanning a career-high nine hitters with one walk in the win.
Six pitchers combined to give up just six hits in the win over USF on Monday, while FR CF Jonny DeLuca and JR C Ray Soderman hit back-to-back home runs in the win.

Oregon wins series vs. California

Oregon picked up a series win against California two weeks ago winning both games of a doubleheader on Saturday before losing Sunday's final game.
The Ducks batted .313 in the series with the Bears while finishing with a 2.33 ERA.
SR 2B Kyle Kasser led Oregon batting .583 (7-of-12) with three runs scored, while JR RF Jakob Goldfarb hit .462 (6-for-13) with a triple, two RBI and five runs scored.
JR RHP Matt Mercer and SO RHP Kenyon Yovan picked up Oregon's two wins combining to allow four runs in 11 innings with 12 strikeouts.

Records fall in Ducks win over Seattle

The Ducks set a pair of all-time records in their win over Seattle.
Oregon's 10 runs in the second inning tied for the most in school history. The 1972 team scored 10 vs. Portland State (April 2) and the 2017 team scored 10 at Utah (March 31).
Oregon sent 15 hitters to the plate vs. Seattle in the second inning to set a new record. The Ducks had 14 hitters bat in the game at Utah last season.
Oregon's 14 runs were the most scored by a Ducks' team since they beat Portland 15-4 on May 17, 2016.
The 14-run difference was the biggest for the Ducks since the beat New Mexico State by 15 (22-7) on Feb. 21, 2015.

Ducks put on power display in win over Indiana State

Oregon hit four home runs in an 8-5 win over Indiana State to wrap up the Marucci Desert Classic during the season's opening weekend.
JR RF Jakob Goldfarb hit two solo shots, while SO 1B Gabe Matthews and SO 3B Spencer Steer both hit two-run homers.
The four home runs were the most by a Ducks' team in a game since UO hit four in a game against Cal on April 13, 2013.
In that game, Scott Heineman hit two HRs, while Ryon Healy and Brett Thomas each hit one.
two bombs in a game were the first by an Oregon Duck since Shaun Chase did it vs. Oregon State on May 20, 2014.

Milestone and record book watch

SR 2B Kyle Kasser moved into sixth all-time at Oregon in hits with 165. Kasser needs 12 to pass Aaron Payne (2011-14) for sixth.
had two hits in game one at Oregon State, moving his career total to 48 multi-hit games. He needs five more to pass J.J. Altobelli (2010-13) for fifth all time.
has 528 career at-bats passing Scott Heineman (2012-15) for eighth in the OSU series. He needs 41 more to move into seventh ahead of Kyle Garlick (2011-14).
Kasser is eighth all-time in walks at Oregon and needs four more to pass Altobelli for seventh.
moved into a tie for 10th all-time in the Washington series in stolen bases at Oregon with Connor Hofmann (2011-14), Thomas, Curtis Raulinaitis (2009-10) and John Livingston (1961-63). He needs three more to pass Altobelli for ninth.
SO 3B Spencer Steer is ninth all-time with 17 multi-RBI games and needs one more to tie Altobelli for eighth, and two more to tie Shaun Chase (2012-15) and Serna for sixth. Kasser sits one behind Steer with 16 multi-RBI games and is tied with Scott Heineman (2012-15) for 10th.
is sixth all-time in hit-by-pitches and needs three more to tie Balta and Mark Karaviotis (2014-16) for fourth.
SR INF Daniel Patzlaff trails Kasser in career walks by one and is ninth all-time at Oregon. He needs five to pass Altobelli.
JR RHP Matt Mercer is eighth in all-time starts at Oregon in career starts with 30. He needs three more to tie Tommy Thorpe (2012-14) for seventh.

Ducks in the NCAA rankings (thru 4/22/18)

JR RHP Matt Mercer is 13th in games started with 10.
FR CF Jonny DeLuca ranks third in the country with eight sacrifice flies.

Ducks have veteran infield, gaining experience in the outfield

Oregon has a wealth of experience, particularly in the infield, heading into the Portland game.
Six different infielders have combined to start 436 games during their careers at Oregon with SR 2B Kyle Kasser and SR INF Daniel Patzlaff leading the way with 132 and 114 starts respectively in the infield. Patzlaff also has 19 starts at DH and two starts in left field for a team-leading 135 career starts.
Kyle Kasser has a team-best 92 consecutive starts and 132 total career starts.
Patzlaff needs three more starts to tie Scott Heineman (2012-15) and Brett Thomas (2011-13) for 10th on the all-time list, while Kasser needs six.
Kasser has started games at all four infield positions with 52 starts at first base, 38 starts at second base, 29 starts at shortstop and 13 starts at third base during his career.
Kasser has the third longest consecutive starts streak since baseball returned to Oregon. Mitchell Tolman (2013-15) started a school-record 128 straight games, one more than Ryon Healy (2010-12).
SO 1B Gabe Matthews has an extensive consecutive games streak as well. He boasts a 70-game streak, with 64 coming at first base. His six other starts, including the last two came at DH. He had a 64-game starting streak at first base snapped in game two of the Oregon State series when he started at DH.
SO 3B Spencer Steer had his consecutive start streak snapped at 65 when he didn't play in the second game of the Cal doubleheader on March 24 after he was hit on the hand by a pitch in game one of the twin bill. Steer has started 88 of the 91 games Oregon has played during his two seasons with the Ducks. He also missed the Portland game on April 10 after getting hit on the knee by a pitch in the April 9 game against WSU.
SO SS Ryne Nelson rounds out the infield. He has made 35 starts at shortstop during the 2018 season. Nelson has also started six games at DH as well as one game on the mound.
Oregon has a combined 205 starts in the outfield.
JR C/RF Jakob Goldfarb, who redshirted in 2017 because of a toe injury, has a team-best 89 outfield starts with 84 of them coming in right field. The other seven starts were in left field. He also has nine starts at DH.
SR OF Taylor Travess has started 38 games (30 in LF, 7 in RF, 1 in CF) in the outfield. He also has three starts at DH.
SO OF Jason Drees made his first career outfield start when he played left field against San Francisco on March 26. He got his second start in left against Portland on April 10. Drees also has two starts at DH.
Patzlaff made his first career start in left field in game two of the Stanford series while also starting in left field in game three for the WSU series.
FR CF Jonny DeLuca started Oregon's first 22 games this season and 36 of 37 overall, while FR LF Evan Williams, who started the first eight games of his career, has 26 starts.
SO C Braden Stutzman gave Oregon 13 starts in right field in 2017 due to injuries.
Nobody on Oregon's roster had started a Division I game at catcher before JR C Ray Soderman started the season behind the plate. He started UO's first six games, as well as a total of 31 this season. SO C Braden Stutzman got his first career start at catcher vs. Seattle, while also catching the second game of the UC Davis doubleheader, the last two games of the Cal series, the first USF game and the second game of the WSU doubleheader.

Kasser even better in Pac-12 games

During the last two seasons, SR 2B Kyle Kasser has been better at the plate in Pac-12 games.
The Duck's second baseman is batting .375 against Pac-12 pitching as opposed to .263 in non-league games.
In league games, Kasser is third in hits (27), sixth in at bats (72), seventh in batting average and ninth in on-base percentage (.464) and total plate appearances (84).
In the series at Arizona State, Kasser batted .455 (5-for-11) with three walks and a .571 OBP. He had two 2-hit games and reached base three times in a pair of the games as well.
In the Cal series, Kasser batted .583 (7-for-12) with three runs scored, a walk, a HBP and a .643 OBP. He had two multi-hit games including a 4-hit game in the series opener, while reaching base three times in game two and twice in game three.
In the series at Stanford, Kasser hit .538 (7-for-13) with a run scored, a walk, a HBP and a .600 OBP. He had two 2-hit game, a 3-hit game and reached base four times in the series finale.
struggled against Washington State batting just .182 (1-for-9) with two walks.
In the Washington series, he had a base hit in each of the games while batting .214 (3-for-14) with two runs scored.
led Oregon in the Oregon State series batting .273 (3-for-11).

Kasser continues to be "Mr. Consistent" for Ducks

SR 2B Kyle Kasser picked up in 2018 where he left off in 2017. The Ducks' leadoff hitter batted .364 in Oregon's opening weekend at the Marucci Desert Classic in Las Vegas.
After going 0-for-3 while reaching base on a HBP in the opener, Kasser went 5-for-11 in the final two games including a 3-for-5 game on Saturday.
Kasser finished the weekend with a .500 on-base percentage adding two walks to the four hits and the HBP.
Kasser went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored in the win over Seattle, before going 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored in the series finale against FAU. His two RBI vs. Seattle was his 16th multi-RBI game tying him with Scott Heineman (2012-15) for ninth all-time.
In the UC Davis series, Kasser batted .438 (7-for-16) with two multi-hit games.
A first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2017, Kasser set the modern era (since 2009) program record for highest single-season batting average, hitting an impressive .352.
He led the team in hits (75), runs (34), on-base-percentage (.435) and slugging percentage (.408).
finished third in the Pac-12, hitting .381 in conference games while leading the conference in Pac-12 play with an on-base percentage of .459.
He proved to be one of the more versatile players on the team defensively, starting at least one game at every infield position with most of his starts coming at shortstop or first base.
tied the school record for longest hitting streak in one season, hitting safely in the final 15 games of the year. That streaked ended when he went hitless in the 2018 season opener against Loyola Marymount.
He also led the team in 2017 with 24 multi-hit games putting him in a tie for third on Oregon's single-season list.

Goldfarb returns to lineup with a bang (and a bang, and a bang)

JR RF Jakob Goldfarb returned to the starting lineup at the Marucci Desert Classic after missing the entire 2017 season with a toe injury.
finished the tournament batting .545 (6-for-11) with three home runs and seven RBI, while boasting a 1.455 slugging percentage and a team-best .583 on-base percentage.
Goldfarb was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and a career-high five RBI in the opener against Loyola Marymount. He finished that game with four two-out RBI, including three on his first home run of the season.
On Sunday at the tournament, Goldfarb was 2-for-4 with home runs in back-to-back at bats in the sixth and seventh innings.
two bombs in a game were the first by an Oregon Duck since Shaun Chase did it vs. Oregon State on May 20, 2014.
three home runs matched the total he put up in his first two seasons (2015-16) at Oregon.
also had an outstanding week in the finale against FAU and vs. UC Davis. In Oregon's five games he batted .529 (9-for-17) with a home run, four extra base hits and four RBI in four games against UC Davis and the Monday game vs. FAU. He had multiple hits in three of the games.
In the Cal series and the first USF game, Goldfarb batted .471 (8-for-17) with a triple, two RBI and six runs scored. He had multiple hits in both of the wins against Cal including a 4-for-5 game with two RBI and two runs scored in the first game of a doubleheader. He also had two hits in the nightcap and finished 2-for-4 with a run scored against USF.

Matthews with second career big weekend vs. Washington

In his two seasons at Oregon, SO 1B Gabe Matthews has been at his best against Washington.
In six games against UW, Matthews is batting .417 (10-for-24) with two home runs, seven RBI, seven doubles and a .958 slugging percentage with three multi-hit games.
This year, Matthews hit .500 (6-for-12) with two home runs, three doubles and two RBI against the Huskies in Seattle.
Matthews had a pair of three-hit games at Washington going 3-for-3 with a home run in game one and 3-for-5 with a homer and a double in game two.
As a freshman, he batted .333 (4-for-12) with four doubles and five RBI against UW in Eugene.
He had a two-hit game (2-for-4 with 3 RBI) in a 4-3 win in game one of the series at PK Park.

Matthews gets third career four-hit game in win over Indiana State

SO 1B Gabe Matthews went 4-for-4 with a walk in an 8-5 win over Indiana State at the Marucci Desert Classic.
The four-hit game was the third of Matthew's career and his first this season.
launched a two-run home run over the right-center field wall in the seventh inning to break a 5-5 tie. He also had an RBI single in the fifth inning that got the Ducks within one run of the Sycamores.
He finished the weekend batting .500 (6-for-12) with a homer and three RBI. He also had a .750 slugging percentage and a .538 on-base percentage.
has 20 career multi-hit games.

Steer leads team in multiple RBI games; cracks career top 10 at UO

SO 3B Spencer Steer heads into the Portland game with a team-high seven multi-RBI games, two more than JR RF Jakob Goldfarb.
also had 10 multi-RBI games as a freshman giving him 17 for his career which allowed him to pass teammate Kyle Kasser (2015-pr.) and Scott Heineman (2012-15) for ninth on the all-time list at Oregon. He needs two more to pass J.J. Altobelli (2010-13) for eighth.
matched a season high with three hits (and three RBI) in the win over Seattle before getting his fourth multi-hit game of the season in game two vs. FAU and his fifth vs. Gonzaga.
He had his first two multi-hit games at the Marucci Desert Classic.
Steer went 3-for-5 with a home run in a win over Indiana State. It was his third career three-hit game (he added his fourth against Seattle).
opened the season going 2-for-4 in a win over Loyola Marymount.
has run his career total to 23 multi-hit games.

Steer and Matthews earn freshman All-America honors in 2017 while playing corner infield positions

SO 3B Spencer Steer and SO 1B Gabe Matthews led a talented group of freshman who saw significant action during the 2017 season.
Both Steer and Matthews were named freshman All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball following the 2017 season.
finished second on the team in batting average, hitting .282 with three home runs and 26 RBI.
was also named to the all-tournament team at the Tony Gwynn Classic after batting .571 with a .667 on-base percentage.
hit .262 with a team-high (and Oregon freshman record) 12 doubles and a team-best 35 RBI.

Nelson has big series vs. UC Davis

SO SS Ryne Nelson put some early season struggles to rest with a big series against UC Davis, batting .500 (6-for-12) with a double, four runs scored and three RBI.
raised his average in the UC Davis series by .72 points going from .158 to .240.
He put together his second and third multi-hit games of the season, as well as his second three-hit game.
He added his fourth multi-hit game in the second game of the Cal doubleheader on March 24 when he went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
got his fifth multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 effort with a RBI in a 5-2 win at USF on April 2.
His sixth multi-hit game came in game two of the WSU doubleheader when he was 2-for-4 in a 4-2 Oregon win.
His other three-hit game came at Loyola Marymount on Feb. 25 when he went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in a 9-7 Oregon win.

Yovan makes move from closer to starter

SO RHP Kenyon Yovan made his first start of the season against California, before earning Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week recognition after his second start at No. 3 Stanford.
In five games as a starter, Yovan is 3-1 with a 1
In his last start, Yovan took the loss despite allowing just two runs on five hits in seven innings at No. 10 Oregon State.
got a no-decision despite another dominant performance at Washington. The Ducks righty took a 3-1 lead into the eighth inning before surrendering a two-run homer to tie the game. Yovan fanned seven in 7.1 innings while allowing just four hits.
Against Washington State, Yovan picked up the win allowing just one run on six hits in 7.0 innings with eight Ks and two walks.
Against Stanford, Yovan threw six scoreless innings allowing just three hits while striking out a career-high nine and walking just one.
picked up the win in the Cal start allowing just one run on five hits in 5.0 innings with four Ks and three walks.
started his career with 33 straight appearances out of the bullpen, with 11 of those coming this season.
He has 20 career saves and a 1-2 record with a 2.61 ERA as a reliever.
longest career outings out of the bullpen came against both Mississippi State and Arizona State last season when he tossed three scoreless innings in both games.
He has six two-inning relief outings this year.

Yovan and Nelson named to John Olerud watch list

A pair of versatile Ducks have been named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list.
SO RHP/DH Kenyon Yovan and SO SS/RHP Ryne Nelson are two of the 25 players named to the watch list.
Yovan is 3-2 with a 2.59 ERA and five saves while batting .220 with a home run and three RBI.
is hitting .205 with five RBI while starting 35 games at shortstop. As a reliever, he has a 1-1 records with four saves and a 2.65 ERA.

Yovan named to Pitcher of the Year watch list

In addition to the Olerud watch list, SO RHP Kenyon Yovan has been named to the Pitcher of the Year Watch list by the College Baseball Foundation.
, who is 3-2 with a 2.59 ERA and five saves, is one of 79 pitchers on the list.

Yovan named Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week

After just his second start of the season, SO RHP Kenyon Yovan earned Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week honors.
tossed six scoreless innings in a 10-1 win over No. 3 Stanford allowing just three hits.
struck out a career-high nine batters and walked just one.
The honor was the first of Yovan's career and the second for an Oregon pitcher this season. JR RHP Parker Kelly earned the honor earlier this season.

Yovan earns spot on preseason Stopper of the Year watch list

SO RHP Kenyon Yovan is on the preseason Stopper of the Year watch list after putting together an All-American season as a freshman in 2017.
finished 2017 with 15 saves, which tied for fourth nationally following the regular season, and had a 1.97 ERA with a 1-1 record.
He was a finalist for the 2017 Stopper of the Year Award and earned NCBWA first-team All-America honors.
became the second Oregon pitcher to be named a finalist for the Stopper of the Year Award. Jimmie Sherfy was a finalist in both 2012 and 2013.

Yovan named first-team preseason All-America by both Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA

SR RHP Kenyon Yovan was named a first-team preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Collegiate Baseball heading into the season.
is one of two relief pitchers named to the Collegiate Baseball team.
is one of five relief pitchers named to the NCBWA team.
He earned the honor after putting together a stellar freshman season where he with 15 saves, which tied for fourth nationally following the regular season, and had a 1.97 ERA with a 1-1 record. The Ducks' stopper struck out 36 and walked just six in 32 innings pitched. He picked up a save in half of Oregon's 30 wins and finished with the fourth-most saves in school history.
was named first-team All-American by the NCBWA, while claiming second-team All-America recognition from Collegiate Baseball. The right-handed pitcher was one of five finalists for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, while also being named one of four National Freshmen of the Year by Collegiate Baseball, a first-team Freshman All-American by Baseball America and a second-team freshman All-American by D1Baseball.
was one of three Ducks named first-team All-Pac-12 Conference in 2017.

Yovan in the top 10 in single-season and career saves and games finished at Oregon

He's only appeared in 36 games, but SO RHP Kenyon Yovan has already put his name in Oregon's single-season and career record books with 20 saves.
passed Stephen Nogosek (2014-16) for second on the all-time saves list with his 17th career save at Loyola Marymount on Feb. 24. Jimmie Sherfy (2011-13) is the all-time leader with 40 saves, 20 more than Yovan.
On the single-season list, Yovan (2017) ranks fourth, one shy of Nogosek (2016).
is first (2013) and second (2012) on the list with 21 and 19.
is sixth in career games finished with 29. He needs three more to tie Scott McGough (2009-11) for fifth.
finished his freshman season sixth in single-season games finished with 20.

Yovan finishes freshman year second in Pac-12, sixth in the nation in saves

RHP Kenyon Yovan finished second in the Pac-12 with 15 saves while ranking in a tie for sixth in the country.
picked up saves in 15 of his 22 outings, while getting a win in another appearance.
The Ducks' closer, who didn't give up an earned run in his first 19.1 innings pitched, finished just four saves behind the national leader.

Nelson next up in long line of great closers, gets saves in both games of doubleheader

With Kenyon Yovan moving to the starting rotation, SO RHP Ryne Nelson has moved into the closers role for the Ducks.
Nelson, who is also the team's starting shortstop, has four saves in 11 relief appearances. Since becoming the team's closer, he has two saves and a win in seven appearances.
In the Washington State series, Nelson picked up saves in both games of a doubleheader on April 6.
He also picked up a save at Loyola Marymount (Feb. 25) and vs. UC Davis (March 10).

Tradition of superb closers

It wouldn't be a stretch to call Oregon "Closer University" with the run of top notch relievers the Ducks have had in the back end of the bullpen over the last six seasons.
With SO RHP Kenyon Yovan moving to the weekend rotation on March 24, the 2018 season will be the first "closer by committee" season since 2011 when three Ducks -- Kellen Moen (8), Scott McGough (5) and Madison Boer (3) -- had multiple saves.
Yovan saved five games before moving into the rotation, while SO RHP Ryne Nelson has four saves and JR RHP Parker Kelly has two saves and a team-high 19 appearances.
was the latest in a string of dominant closers last year when the freshman finished as a finalist for the Stopper of the Year Award after finishing the season with 15 saves and a 1.97 ERA.
picked up his 20th career save vs. Gonzaga while throwing two scoreless innings.
followed four closers who combined for a 19-8 record with 78 saves and a 1.85 ERA in the previous five seasons.
All four were drafted in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft.
Jimmie Sherfy started the run in 2012 and combined for a 7-3 record with 40 saves and a 2.22 ERA during his two seasons as the closer before being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 10th round of the 2013 draft.
Jake Reed inherited the closer role and finished 4-1 with 13 saves and a 1.93 ERA before being picked in the fifth round of the draft by the Minnesota Twins.
In 2015 Garrett Cleavinger went 6-2 with nine saves and a 1.58 ERA, and then was selected in the third round by the Baltimore Orioles.
Stephen Nogosek was the next Ducks' pitcher to excel in the role, finishing his final season at Oregon 2-2 with 16 saves and a 1.13 ERA before being drafted in the sixth round by the Boston Red Sox.

Kelly earns national and conference honors

It was a good week for JR RHP Parker Kelly against FAU and UC Davis March 5-11.The Ducks' reliever was named a Collegiate Baseball Player of the Week and the Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week after making three appearances.
struck out 14 batters in seven innings while not allowing a run. He allowed just one walk and one base on balls. Opponents batted just .048 against him in the three games.
In first outing vs. FAU, inherited a no-out, runners on second and third situation with UO leading 5-3. He proceeded to get out of the inning with only one run scoring while striking out final hitter.
In second outing vs. UC Davis, he entered a tie game with no outs and a runner on first. Kelly got out of the inning without allowing a run while fanning two. He struck out the side in the eighth and fanned two more in the ninth to pick up his fourth win.He struck out seven of the 10 hitters he faced, while setting a new career high for Ks.
In third outing vs. UCD, he struck out six of the 10 batters he faced.

Ducks' bullpen has been a strength

Thirteen different Ducks have pitched out of the bullpen this season with JR RHP Parker Kelly leading the team with 19 appearances.
Including Kelly, six different Ducks have double-digit relief appearances (SO LHP Nico Telleche - 13, FR RHP Peyton Fuller - 13, SO RHP Ryne Nelson - 12, FR RHP Hunter Breault - 12, and SO RHP Kenyon Yovan - 11).
Five freshmen have seen the first action of their careers during the season. RHP Cullen Kafka, Fuller, RHP Brett Walker, LHP Kolby Somers and Breault all have made their college debuts.
Six different Ducks (SR LHP Jesse Hobaica, Kelly, Nelson, Noll, Tellache, SO RHP and James Acuna) in the bullpen spent time on the mound in 2017, while one more (SO RHP Jacob Bennett) was a part of the 2016 bullpen before suffering an injury that forced him to miss last season. All seven who pitched last year have made at least one appearance in 2018.
JR RHP Isaiah Stolp also made his Oregon debut against San Francisco on March 26 after redshirting in 2017 after transferring from Puget Sound.
has made 45 career appearances including 19 this season. He has a 5-0 career record with a 3.15 ERA while fanning 78 in 65.2 career innings.
is 4-0 with two saves and a 1.67 ERA in 19 appearances this season with 44 Ks in 32.1 innings pitched. He struck out a career-high seven batters while getting a win over UC Davis.
started fast in 2017 before hurting his arm. He didn't allow a run in three February late inning set-up appearances for Yovan before being shut down until May 9.
has made 12 appearances this season heading into the Portland game and has a 2.65 ERA while fanning 32 in 17.0 inning pitched.
picked up his first career save in UO's win over LMU on Feb. 25 fanning two in 0.2 IP. He got his second save, a two-inning outing, against UC Davis on March 10. He struck out five in the game.
got saves three and four on the same day after closing out wins against Washington State in both games of a doubleheader.

Mercer one of the top prospects for 2018 MLB Draft

JR RHP Matt Mercer is the latest pitcher on the Oregon staff to appear prominently on the radar of Major League Baseball teams.
Mercer was No. 24 on College Baseball Daily's Top 100 Countdown.
ranked No. 42 on D1Baseball's College Top 100 Prospects.
Mercer checked in at No. 53 on Baseball America's March 1 update of the magazine's top 300 MLB draft prospects.
Oregon has had 29 pitchers drafted in the MLB Draft since the sport returned in 2009.
Of those 29, 15 were drafted in the top 10 rounds while nine were picked in the top five rounds.
Tyler Anderson (2011) and David Peterson (2017) were both first-round picks. Both were the 20th overall pick in their respective drafts.

Mercer brings experience to Friday nights

JR RHP Matt Mercer made his 30th career start against Oregon State last week allowing five runs on eight hits in five innings with six Ks and three walks.
At Washington, Mercer allowed just two runs on six hits in 7.2 innings with eight strikeouts and three walks.
Against Washington State, he got the win allowing just one run in 6.0 innings vs. the Cougars.
took the loss against No. 3 Stanford allowing just two earned runs on six hits in 5.2 innings with two strikeouts and two walks.
Against Cal, he picked up a win allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits in 6.0 innings with eight strikeouts and two walks.
In his first 2018 Pac-12 start vs. ASU, Mercer picked up a no-decision after leaving the game with a 4-2 lead after six innings.
He fanned eight and walked four while giving up just four hits to the Sun Devils.
On March 9, Mercer struck out a career nine while getting a no-decision vs. UC Davis.
He also picked up a win in his first start of the 2018 season allowing just one run on three hits in 6.1 innings against Loyola Marymount with four Ks and three walks. LMU turned the tables on Mercer scoring three runs (two earned) on five hits in six innings pitched in a 4-2 LMU win.
got his second win of the season against FAU allowing just one run on three hits in seven-plus innings.
was Oregon's Saturday starter for all 15 weekends in 2017, finishing 6-7 with a 3.16 ERA and 59 Ks in 88.1 IP. He held opponents to a .241 batting average against.
made five starts as a freshman in 2016 including the last four weekends of Pac-12 Conference play. He finished with a 2-2 record and a 4.28 ERA.

Ten Ducks on D1Baseball's list of the Pac-12's top prospects/freshmen

Oregon placed 10 players on D1Baseball's list of top prospects from the Pac-12 Conference for the 2018 Draft, the 2019 Draft and a list of the conference's impact freshmen.
In the 2018 draft prospect list, the Ducks placed two players. JR RHP Matt Mercer was the seventh-ranked prospect and the fourth-ranked pitcher. SR 2B Kyle Kasser checked in at No. 36 on the list.
Oregon had four sophomores on the 2019 draft list. RHP Kenyon Yovan was eighth overall and the fourth-ranked pitcher. SS/RHP Ryne Nelson was 10th on the list, while 3B Spencer Steer was 20th and 1B Gabe Matthews was 27th.
Oregon also had four players on the impact freshmen list. OF Jonny DeLuca was fourth, RHP Cullen Kafka was 16th, OF Evan Williams ranked 23rd and RHP Hunter Breault was 30th.

Ducks 28-21 all-time against ranked teams at PK Park

Despite going 2-5 against ranked teams in 2017, Oregon has been successful against ranked teams at PK Park.
The Ducks have played 49 games against teams ranked in the Baseball America top-25 and compiled an impressive 28-21 record in those games.

Ducks join Team IMPACT and sign 15-year old James Dahl

Oregon Baseball joined Team Impact and signed 15-year old James Dahl of Eugene to a letter of intent on Friday, Feb. 9.
has been bravely living with Rasmussen's Encephalitis, a rare inflammatory neurological disease, since 2012.
At the signing ceremony, Dahl was presented with season tickets for his family and was given his own locker inside the Ducks' locker room.
Since 2011, Team IMPACT has matched more than 1,400 children with over 500 colleges and universities in 47 states, reaching more than 40,000 participating student-athletes.