Baseball Weekly Release: Hawai'i
02/16/12 | Baseball
WEEK ONE
Game 1: 8:35 p.m., Fri. Feb. 17
Game 2: 8:05 p.m., Sat. Feb. 18
Game 3: 3:05 p.m., Sun. Feb. 19
Game 4: 3:05 p.m., Mon. Feb. 20
Venue: Les Murakami Stadium
TV : OCSports (Jim Leahey & Pal Eldredge) - Sunday & Monday only
Radio/Audio: KSCR 1320 AM (Eugene)/The Game 750 AM (Portland)/O-Zone
Broadcaster: Jerry Allen
Webcast: www.OCSports.tv (for a fee) - Sunday & Monday only
Live Stats: www.GoDucks.com
Series Record: 3-11
at Hawai'i: 3-10
Last Series: 2-2 (Feb. 18-21, 2011)
Last Meeting: ORE 4, HAW 3 (Feb. 21, 2011)
Season Opener
For the second year in a row, the Oregon baseball team will play its season opener at Les Murakami Stadium on the campus of Hawai'i.
The Ducks and Rainbows will open the season with a four-game series beginning at 8:35 p.m. (PT) on Friday in Honolulu.
On The Road
Oregon will play its first eight games of 2012 on the road with the first four at Hawai'i this weekend. The Ducks will then head to Nashville, Tenn., to play a single-game at Belmont (Feb. 23) as well as a three-game weekend series at 10th-ranked Vanderbilt (Feb. 24-26).
Belmont won its first ever Atlantic Sun Conference Championship in after finishing a perfect 4-0 in the A-Sun Conference Tournament to clinch the Bruins' first NCAA Regional berth.
Vanderbilt (54-12, 25-11) was the No. 6 seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, and moved on to the CWS after taking two games from Oregon State in the Super Regional.
2012 Schedule
Oregon's 2012 schedule is ranked the third strongest in the country according boydsworld.com. In fact, eight teams from the Pac-12 rank in the Boyd's World Strength of Schedule top-10: Stanford (1), USC (2), Oregon (3), UCLA (4), California (6), Washington State (7), Arizona State (8), and Washington (9).
Currently seven of Oregon's 2012 opponents are ranked in the Baseball America Preseason College Top 25 poll. In addition, 13 opponents on Oregon's schedule reached the postseason a year ago.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Perfect Game
Preseason All-Conference Team
UT So. Ryon Healy .320, 4HR
Top 50 Draft Prospects
28. Jr. LHP Christian Jones
(missing 2012 season with injury)
40. So. 1B/RHP Ryon Healy
47. So. RHP Jimmie Sherfy
50. So. C/OF Aaron Jones
Top 100 College Seniors
46. Sr. RHP Alex Keudell
98. RS-Jr. RHP Joey Housey
BASEBALL AMERICA
Top 50 Freshmen
23. Fr. RHP Jake Reed
26. Fr. OF Billy Flamion
46. Fr. OF Spencer O'Neil
A NEW LOOK
Oregon enters the 2012 season with 18 newcomers on the roster.
From the 2011 squad, the Ducks lost three position starters with shortstop KC Serna, second baseman Danny Pulfer and catcher Jack Marder all departing Eugene after being selected in the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
On the mound, Oregon has taken its biggest hit. The Ducks lost 322 and 1/3 innings of pitching, 15 wins and all 17 saves as Tyler Anderson, Madison Boer, Scott McGough and Kellen Moen were lost to the 2011 MLB Draft. Freshman Porter Clayton (0-1, 1 SV) is also missing from the 2012 roster after choosing to depart on a two-year mission.
HEALTH REPORT
The Ducks' starting rotation took a hit in the preseason as Oregon went from returning two starters from last year's rotation to only one - senior Alex Keudell.
Junior left-hander Christian Jones (7-2, 3.24) will miss the 2012 season with an injury.
FRESHMAN CLASS RANKING
Once again a highly-touted recruiting class has joined the Oregon baseball program as the 2011 class received a No. 9 ranking from Baseball America's annual recruiting evaluations.
For the second year in a row, head coach George Horton brought in a top-10 class, and for the fourth consecutive year, Oregon has recruited a top-25 class.
STARTING LINEUP
Junior J.J. Altobelli - voted the team's top defensive player for the last two seasons on the hot corner- has made the move to shortstop for the 2012 season.
Freshman Thomas Walker is expected to make the start at third base for Oregon, taking over for Altobelli, who had started 105 games at third base during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
At second base, Aaron Payne is expected to take over for three-year starting second baseman Danny Pulfer - now with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.
Last season, Ryon Healy started 18 of Oregon's final 19 games at first base. The rookie led Oregon batting .320 with four home runs.
Behind the plate, senior Brett Hambright will get the nod, and he will be backed up by sophomore Aaron Jones.
Hambright started 21 games - including the final nine - behind the plate last year.
The Ducks have 10 outfielders on the roster including returning veterans Kyle Garlick, Connor Hofmann, Andrew Mendenhall, Brett Thomas and Jones.
PITCHING
The only returner from Oregon's 2011 starting rotation is senior Alex Keudell.
Keudell was drafted in the 38th round by the Minnesota Twins in the 2011 MLB Draft, but chose to return to Eugene for his senior campaign.
Keudell is expected to throw out the first pitch of the 2012 season at Hawai'i on Friday night.
In three seasons with the Ducks, Keudell posts a 12-15 record with a 3.81 ERA, which has improved each season he has been in a UO uniform.
Keudell's junior campaign was his first season as a full-time starter, posting a 7-3 record and 2.89 ERA while striking out 71 and walking just 24 in 90 and 1/3 innings on the mound.
STARTING ROTATION
Saturday night's start will belong to freshman right-hander Jake Reed. The rookie was selected in the 40th round (1,221 overall) of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox. A 2011 graduate of Helix High School in La Mesa, Calif, he helped Helix to a 25-9 record and its first CIF San Diego Section II Championship since 1988. He was named to the Max Preps California All-State Second Team, Cal-Hi Sports Third Team, the San Diego Section First Team and the Grossmont Hills League First Team after finishing his senior season with a 9-1 record, 0.63 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 67 innings pitched.
Sophomore Brando Tessar is expected to make just the second start of his career on Sunday.
As a freshman in 2011, Tessar made 12 relief appearances and one start, finishing the year with a 1-1 record and 2.08 ERA. In his only start, of 2011, Tessar picked up the win tossing six innings of shutout baseball, holding Gonzaga to just three hits while walking four and striking out one in a 6-0 victory at PK Park on May 17.
THE RELIEVERS
Redshirt junior Joey Housey, redshirt sophomore Jeff Gold, and sophomore right-hander Jimmie Sherfy are the veteran relievers that will highlight the staff this year.
Last year the trio combined for a 3-0 record in a total of 29 and 1/3 innings on the mound. Newcomers this season include freshman right-hander Henry Gigeous, junior right-hander David Wylie and freshman left-hander Thomas Thorpe.
BIG BATS
After hitting just .258 last season, the Ducks are adding some pop to their lineup with the additions of freshmen Billy Flamion, Jordan Spencer and Shaun Chase.
Flamion was selected in the 25th round (760 overall) of the 2011 MLB by the Houston Astros out Central Catholic High School in Modesto, Calif. He finished his career with a .435 batting average, 42 doubles and 19 home runs.
Spencer, who is expected to also pitch this season for Oregon, was a two-time Class 6A all-state first baseman (2010 & 2011) at Beaverton High School in Oregon. As a senior in 2011, he batted .329 and drove in 20 runs with 23 runs scored, seven doubles and six home runs.
Chase was named to the Arizona Class 5A Second Team at Desert Vista High School (Phoenix, Ariz.) after leading the Fiesta League with 13 home runs.
FAMILIAR FACES
Oregon's 2012 roster will be the home of several familiar faces. Redshirt senior outfielder Antony Kreitz was on Oregon's 2009 squad, but missed the 2010 and 2011 campaigns, and he has returned for his final year of eligibility.
Redshirt sophomore Nick Wagner returns to the field in 2012 after missing all of 2011 with a knee injury.
Senior Vernell Warren was selected in the 36th round (1,093 overall) of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves out of Grant High School (Portland, Ore.), but chose to pursue a track career. After spending four years on the Oregon track squad, and qualifying for NCAA Championships in the long jump twice, Warren will use his fifth year of eligibility on the diamond.
2011 SEASON RECAP
Oregon finished the 2011 season with a 33-26-1 record and an eighth place finish in the Pac-10 with a mark of 11-16.
The Ducks clinched three conference series victories with wins over two Super Regional participants; Stanford and Oregon State as well as regional participant, Arizona.
Final Push
Despite falling short of a postseason berth, Oregon finished the 2011 season with a 10-3-1 record in its final 14 games.
During that final stretch, the Ducks claimed series victories over Stanford and then 6th-ranked Oregon State.
Oregon's offense finally got on track, batting .327 as seven starters hit over .300, and the Ducks outscored their opponents 92-55.
The pitching staff maintained a 3.39 ERA as the starters claimed an 8-1 record, while Scott McGough claimed two wins and a save in relief, and Madison Boer totaled three stops as well.
The Close Ones
In 2011, Oregon finished the year with a devastating 5-12 record in one-run games. The Ducks also struggled with late-game deficits, posting an 0-14 record when trailing after six innings.
The Freshmen
Oregon head coach George Horton wasn't shy about letting his true freshmen play in 2011. With 12 true freshmen on the roster, on 29 occasions Horton put at least four of his rookies in the starting lineup. The fifth-ranked class in the country finished with a 16-12-1 record in those games, but picked up steam finishing 8-2-1 when starting in the last 14 games of the year.
Aaron Jones hit .270 on the season and led the Ducks with 36 RBIs as well as seven assists from the outfield. He finished his rookie campaign with a team-leading 11 multiple-RBI games as well as accounting for driving in the game-winning run on five occasions.
First baseman Ryon Healy finished the season batting .320 with 20 RBIs, 10 doubles and a team-leading four home runs. He started 22 of UO's final 23 games of the season batting .360 with a .605 slugging percentage and 12 extra-base hits during that stretch.
Center fielder Brett Thomas finished the season batting .290 with 10 RBIs, 14 runs scored, five doubles and one triple.
DRAFT RECAP
Following the 2011 season, a record eight Oregon Ducks were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Five members of the Oregon pitching staff were drafted in 2011, including four in the first seven rounds, led by Tyler Anderson. The left-hander was selected as the 20th overall pick on June 6 by the Colorado Rockies.
On June 7, junior right-hander Madison Boer was selected in the second round by the Minnesota Twins. In addition, junior right-hander Scott McGough was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth round, while senior right-hander Kellen Moen was chosen by the Kansas City Royals in the seventh round.
On June 7, draft-eligible sophomore catcher Jack Marder was selected in the 16th round by the Seattle Mariners, and junior second baseman Danny Pulfer was chosen in the 19th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
On June 8, three-year starting shortstop KC Serna was the final Duck to be drafted as he was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 42nd round.
