Ducks travel to Southern California for four games

Ducks return to Pac-12 Conference play at USC this weekend: Oregon wraps up its road portion of the Pac-12 schedule this weekend when the Ducks visit USC. The Trojans lead the overall series 26-16, but the Ducks hold a 14-10 advantage since baseball returned in 2009. UO has struggled in the modern era in Los Angeles winning just four of 12 games. USC won the last series in L.A. between the two team with victories in games one and three of the 2015 series. Oregon swept last year's three-game set in Eugene.

Ducks play at UC Riverside Monday: Following the USC series, Oregon will stay another day to play at UC Riverside. The game wasn't on Oregon's original schedule, but was added after the Ducks had a game rained out in San Diego on February 27. Oregon holds a 7-1 all-time series lead over the Highlanders, including a 5-0 edge since 2009. The last time Oregon visited UCR, the Ducks won a pair of games during the 2015 season. They won game one 10-7 in extra innings and then won the second 12-3. Oregon also swept a three-game series with UCR in 2014 in Eugene.

Peterson named a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist: Oregon junior David Peterson was named one of 25 candidates for the annual award given to the top player in collegiate baseball by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Peterson ranks third in the country in strikeouts (122) and wins (10) and is fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.17) and sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.72). So far this season, the Ducks' lefty has twice been named the Pac-12 pitcher of the week and Collegiate Baseball national player of the week. Peterson is also on USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list and was named second-team midseason All-America by Perfect Game.

Down the stretch they come: With two weeks remaining, a number of Pac-12 Conference teams are still jockeying for position in the standings and possible postseason berths. Oregon State has already locked up the conference title, but the rest of the league continues to be fluid. Stanford enters the week in second place with the Cardinal hosting a crucial three-game series with Washington, who is tied for fourth place. Third-place UCLA enters the weekend two games up on three teams who are tied for fourth, including Utah who the Bruins host starting Friday. Arizona, who is also tied for fourth, visits Arizona State starting Thursday for their rivalry series, while Washington State visits OSU starting Friday. California hosts a non-conference series against No. 6 TCU.

On deck: After playing four games in Southern California, Oregon returns home to face UCLA in its final regular-season series of the season. The Ducks and Bruins open the matchup on Thursday at 6 p.m. at PK Park. The two teams also play Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.

Peterson sets new single-season record at Oregon: In his start at Washington State on May 6, JR LHP David Peterson passed Tyler Anderson (2011) and set a new single-season strikeout record at Oregon. The Ducks' lefty fanned added five more last week vs. Oregon State to run his season total to 122 Ks, giving him eight more than Anderson. Peterson is also closing in on the single-season wins record. He currently sits in a tie for fourth with 10. Cole Irvin (2013) holds the record with 12 wins during his freshman season. Peterson also moved into sixth on the strikeouts looking list with 28.

Peterson needs 22 strikeouts to set new Oregon career record, while ranking in career top 10 in four total categories: With two weeks left in the regular season, JR LHP David Peterson needs just 22 strikeouts to break the Oregon career strikeout record. The Ducks' ace also ranks seventh all-time in wins (18) and innings pitched (242.2), while ranking fourth all-time in games started (40).

Peterson's six double-digit strikeout games ties Oregon single-season record: With his 10 strikeouts against Washington State on May 6, JR LHP David Peterson notched his sixth game this season with double-digit Ks. The Ducks' lefty has had back-to-back double-digit strikeout games three times this season. Peterson set a then career high with 17 Ks in a 1-0 win over Mississippi State on March 3 and followed that with a 14 strikeout effort in a 2-1 win over Santa Clara on March 10. Peterson then had back-to-back 11 strikeout games in blowout wins Utah and UC Irvine on March 31 and April 7. He went back-to-back with double-digit strikeouts again in his last two starts. He set an Oregon record with 20 Ks vs. Arizona State on April 28 and then had 10 at WSU last Saturday. His six double-digit strikeout games ranks ties the six Tyler Anderson had during the 2011 season for the most in a single season. Anderson was a first round draft pick (20th overall) by the Colorado Rockies following that season.

Peterson earns conference and national player of the week honors after 20 strikeout game: JR LHP David Peterson was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Pitcher of the Week, as well as a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and the Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week after the Arizona State series. The Ducks' lefty claimed his first NCBWA award, while winning the other two awards for the third time this season. Peterson earned the honors after a dominating win over ASU on April 28. The Ducks' Friday night starter pitched a complete-game shutout striking out 20 while allowing just four hits and one walk. The 20 strikeouts was an Oregon record and matched the most by a player in college baseball this season. Peterson's performance also matched the most strikeouts ever against an Arizona State team and was the most against a Sun Devils team in a nine-inning game. The complete game was the first of Peterson's career. The awards are just the latest in a stellar season for Peterson. He earned Collegiate Baseball Player of the Week honors after wins over Mississippi State and Santa Clara in early March. He claimed Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week accolades after wins over Santa Clara and Utah. Peterson also was named the NCBWA Pitcher of the Month after a dominating March.

Peterson strikes out school-record 20 in first career complete-game shutout: In a season of outstanding performances, JR LHP David Peterson put together his most dominating performance of the season in a win over Arizona State on April 28. The Ducks' lefty struck out a career-high 20 Sun Devils while tossing both his first career complete game and shutout. Peterson allowed just four hits and one walk in the dominating win, while matching the most Ks ever against a Sun Devil team. Oregon's Friday night starter struck out multiple batters in eight of the nine innings, including three times where he struck out the side. Peterson had two Ks in the second, third, fourth, sixth and eighth innings while fanning three in the first, fifth and ninth innings. He struck out "just" one hitter in the seventh.

Peterson only pitcher in the country to rank in top 6 in four statistical categories: Friday night starter JR LHP David Peterson is the only pitcher in the nation to rank in the top six in victories, strikeout-to-walk ratio, strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings heading into this week's games. Peterson is third in wins (10) and strikeouts (122), while ranking fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.17) and sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.72).

Peterson's 113 strikeouts in last 11 games is most by a Duck in 11-game stretch: It's been a dominating season for JR LHP David Peterson. The Ducks' lefty has fanned 113 hitters in the last 11 games, the most ever by an Oregon Duck. His 113 strikeouts actually matches the number of Ks he had over an 11-game stretch starting with the UC Irvine game in the Tony Gwynn Classic and ending in his Washington State start. His 107 strikeouts in the first 11 games this season ranks third, while Tyler Anderson had the fourth and fifth best streaks in 2011. Peterson also holds the 10-game strikeout school record with 108 running from the Mississippi State game through his Washington State start. He also has the second and third most over a 10-game stretch this season. He had 103 Ks from the UC Irvine game on Feb. 24 to the Arizona State game on April 28, while totaling 87 Ks from the season opener through the Stanford game on April 21. Anderson has the other two top five 10-game K streaks with 89 and 81 in separate stretches in 2011. Peterson's nine game streak is also impressive. The Ducks' lefty has combined to strikeout 98 hitters from the Mississippi State to Arizona State starts. His 98 Ks in nine starts was seven more than he fanned from the Santa Clara start to the Washington State start and is 15 better than his 83 strikeouts stretching from his Feb. 24 start vs. UC Irvine to his start against Stanford three weeks ago. He also boasts the fourth-best streaks with 82 Ks in a nine-game stretch twice. The most by an Oregon pitcher not named David Peterson struck out over nine games was Anderson's 81 strikeouts in 2011. Peterson also ranks highly in strikeouts in stretches ranging from two to seven games.

Peterson named to Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list: Oregon junior David Peterson, who led the NCAA in victories and was second in strikeouts at the time of the announcement, was named to the Golden Spikes Award watch list by USA Baseball. The Golden Spikes Award is given to the country's top amateur baseball player. Peterson was one of 40 players named to the midseason watch list. At the time of the announcement, the 6-foot-6 left-hander had won eight straight starts. At 8-1 with a 1.85 ERA and 82 strikeouts and five walks, Peterson was tied for the NCAA lead in victories, third in strikeouts and first in strikeout-to-walk ratio. He hadn't allowed more than one earned run in his previous seven outings. That streak began with his 17-strikeout dominance of Mississippi State on March 3. In Pac-12 play, Peterson had allowed two earned runs in 27 innings when the watch list was released, while striking out 31 with two walks. So far this season, the Ducks' ace has been named a Collegiate Baseball national player of the week twice, and the Pac-12's pitcher of the week twice. He was named national pitcher of the month by the NCBWA after going 5-0 with a 0.50 ERA, 57 strikeouts and two walks in March.

Peterson named NCBWA National Pitcher of the Month: JR LHP David Peterson was named the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Month for the month of March after finishing with a 5-0 record and a 0.50 ERA. In games against Mississippi State, Santa Clara, California, Washington and Utah, Peterson allowed just two earned runs in 36.1 innings pitched with 57 strikeouts and only two walks. Peterson finished with double-digit strikeouts in the wins over Mississippi State (17), Santa Clara (14) and Utah (11).

Peterson claims Perfect Game midseason All-America honors: Oregon's Friday night starter JR LHP David Peterson was named second-team midseason All-American by Perfect Game. Peterson was 6-1 with a 2.14 ERA during the first half of the season with 66 strikeouts and just six walks. He led the nation in victories, while ranking in the top 17 in five separate statistical categories. In addition to being the national leader in wins, he ranked third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (16.50), eighth in strikeouts, 11th in walks allowed per nine innings (0.78) and 17th in strikeouts per nine innings (12.82).

Peterson named a national player of the week in back-to-back weeks, also earns two Pac-12 weekly honors in a month: JR LHP David Peterson was named a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks following his dominating efforts against Mississippi State on March 3 and Santa Clara on March 10. Peterson was also named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career following the Santa Clara game when picked up the win after holding the Broncos scoreless through 7.1 innings while striking out 14 hitters. Peterson fanned multiple batters in four of his innings, including striking out the side twice, and allowed just three hits while walking one. The week before, he earned the national honor after fanning a school-record 17 hitters over eight innings of a 1-0 win against Mississippi State allowing just three hits and no walks. Over the two starts, Peterson didn't allowed a run on just six hits in 15.1 innings while striking out 31 batters and walking just one. Peterson added to his awards claiming Pac-12 Player of the Week honors on April 3 after holding Utah to just one run in eight innings with 11 strikeouts and now walks in an 11-1 win. The two Collegiate Baseball honors gave him three for his career. He earned his first honor after beating UC Santa Barbara in the series clinching game last March.

Peterson, Yovan turn in dominating months of March: Not much more could be asked for than what JR LHP David Peterson and FR RHP Kenyon Yovan accomplished during the month of March. Peterson, Oregon's Friday night starter, was dominant in all five of his starts winning either a national or conference award after three of those. The Ducks' lefty finished the month 5-0 with a 0.50 ERA and was named the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Month. He allowed just two earned runs on 28 hits in 36.1 innings pitched with 57 strikeouts and just two walks. He had three games with double-digit strikeouts, highlighted by a 17 strikeout (0 walks) effort against Mississippi State. Peterson also fanned 14 (one walk) in his next start against Santa Clara, and had 11 Ks (0 walks) against Utah.

Yovan was nearly perfect out of the bullpen. The Ducks' closer picked up seven saves and a win in eight appearances. He allowed just one unearned run in 12 innings and struck out 17 while walking just two. Yovan got a save in all seven save opportunities with five of them coming in one-run games. In his win, Yovan entered a tie game in the ninth inning and pitched three-scoreless innings in a 6-5, 11-inning win over Mississippi State.

Peterson strikes out 17 in win over Mississippi State: In a dominating performance against Mississippi State on March 3 that resulted in him being named a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week, JR LHP David Peterson fanned a then career-high and Oregon record 17 hitters in eight innings while giving up no runs on three hits with no walks. Peterson's 17 Ks bested his former career high of 13 vs. UC Santa Barbara on March 6, 2016, and was three more than Tyler Anderson's 14 vs. Long Beach State on March 4, 2011. Oregon's team record for strikeouts is 20 against Lewis & Clark on April 8, 1969. Peterson and reliever Kenyon Yovan combined for 18 against Mississippi State. They also combined for 18 in Peterson's next start with the Peterson fanning 14 and Yovan four.

Peterson's scoreless streak ends at 22.1 innings pitched, earned run streak halted at 25.1 innings: In a stretch of four starts, JR LHP David Peterson was dominant leading Oregon to four wins, three at PK Park and one at California. The Ducks' lefty, who was 4-0 in the stretch with wins over Mississippi State, Santa Clara, Cal and No. 22 Washington, combined to throw 21.1 consecutive scoreless innings (22.1 including his final inning in the UC Irvine game at the Tony Gwynn Classic) on just 15 hits in the first three games with 39 strikeouts and only two walks. The streak came to an end when UW scored an unearned run in the top of the first in a 4-3 win. The Huskies eventually scored an earned run in the fourth inning to snap Peterson's earned run streak at 25.1 innings.

Peterson ranks 10th in D1Baseball.com's list of preseason top 100 college prospects for 2017: Oregon has a history of pitchers getting drafted since the return of baseball before the 2009 season. In eight seasons, the Ducks have had 24 different pitchers picked in the MLB Draft, including 14 in the top 10 rounds. JR LHP David Peterson should bring the number to 25. The two-year weekend starter at Oregon was ranked as the 10th-best college prospect in the 2017 Draft by D1Baseball.com heading into the season. Peterson was one of seven pitchers in the top 10, and one of three Pac-12 players.

Peterson plays for Collegiate National Team: JR LHP David Peterson spent the summer before his junior season playing with USA Baseball's College National Team. The Ducks' lefty took part in a three-country tour that included stops in Taiwan, Japan and Cuba. Peterson made six appearances for the CNT finishing with a 1-1 record and 2.57 ERA in 14 innings pitched while striking out 13. He held opposing hitters to a .227 batting average.

Mercer gives Ducks a solid 1-2 punch at top of rotation: Pitching on Saturday's, SO RHP Matt Mercer has been a nice compliment to LHP David Peterson. Mercer is 9th in the Pac-12 in ERA (2.82) while ranking seventh in batting average against (.235). The sophomore, who moved into the starting rotation for the last four weekends of his freshman season, is second on the team with seven quality starts this season. Mercer has pitched in the weekend rotation 17 times in his career and has given the Ducks a quality start in 10 of those games. In his five outings from Feb. 25 to March 25, he had a 1.09 ERA in 33.0 innings pitched and allowed just four earned runs on 21 hits with 25 strikeouts and just six walks.

Mercer named Most Outstanding Pitcher at Tony Gwynn Classic, Matthews earns a spot on all-tournament team: A couple of Ducks earned some accolades in February's Tony Gwynn Classic. SO RHP Matt Mercer was named the tournament's most outstanding pitcher after holding Seton Hall scoreless through seven innings in an eventual 1-0 win. In addition to setting a new career high in innings pitched, Mercer fanned a career-best seven while picking up the win. FR DH Gabe Matthews was named to the all-tournament team after batting .571 with a .667 on-base percentage.

Yovan continuing 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 five seasons. With JR RHP Brac Warren working his way back from an injury, FR RHP Kenyon Yovan took advantage of the opportunity as the team's closer with a series of strong outings with the game on the line to lock down the job. Yovan follows four closers who combined for a 19-8 record with 78 saves and a 1.85 ERA in the last 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 latest 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.

Yovan streak of not allowing an unearned run ends: It took until his 14th appearance for FR RHP Kenyon Yovan to finally give up an earned run. The Ducks' closer threw 19.1 innings in his first 13 appearances this season without giving up an earned run. Stanford snapped the streak in the series finale on April 23 when the Cardinal got two earned runs off Yovan in the one inning he pitched. He needs to toss one more inning without allowing an earned run to move into a tie for fifth with Tommy Thorpe (2012) and Madison Boer (2011). Alex Keudell (2012) holds the record for most innings without allowing an earned run.

Yovan already in the top 10 in single-season and career saves at Oregon: He's only appeared in 19 games, but FR RHP Kenyon Yovan has already put his name in Oregon's single-season and career record books with 13 saves. Yovan is tied for third on the all-time saves list and needs three more to tie Stephen Nogosek (2014-16) for second. Jimmie Sherfy (2011-13) is the all-time leader with 40 saves, 24 more than any other Duck. On the singles-season list, Yovan ranks in a tie for fourth with Jake Reed (2014) and needs three more to tie Nogosek (2016) for third. Sherfy is first (2013) and second (2012) on the list with 21 and 19. Yovan also moved into a tie for ninth with Scott McGough (2011) in games finished on Sunday against Arizona State. He needs four more to tie Kellen Moen (2011), Drew Gagnier (2010) and Gagnier (2009) for sixth.

Yovan second in Pac-12, seventh in the nation in saves; on Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List: Heading into this weekend's series at USC, FR RHP Kenyon Yovan is second in the Pac-12 with 13 saves while ranking in a tie for seventh in the country. Yovan has picked up saves in 13 of his 19 outings, while getting a win in another appearance. The Ducks' freshman, who didn't give up an earned run in his first 19.1 innings pitched, sits just three saves behind the national leader.

Kasser continues to be "Mr. Consistency" for Ducks: It doesn't seem to matter what position he plays, where he bats in the order or who the Ducks play. JR INF Kyle Kasser continues to lead Oregon with his steady play both at the plate and in the field. The Ducks' leading hitter (.330) put together another big series against No. 1 Oregon State last weekend. Batting leadoff, Kasser batted .455 with a .500 on-base percentage and a .545 slugging percentage against the nation's top pitching staff. He had a hit in all three games of the series, including going 3-for-3 in the opener (2-for-2 vs. OSU ace Luke Heimlich). Kasser, who is batting .347 in Pac-12 games, has started games at all four infield positions during the 2017 season while splitting the year between batting first and second. Heading into this weekend's series at USC, he has made 24 starts at first, 22 starts at shortstop, with one start at both second and third. Batting leadoff in 42 games, Kasser is hitting .335 with a home run and 18 RBI. In the two hole, he hit .292 with 14 RBI in six games.

Freshmen make huge impact: A young and talented crop of freshmen are already making their mark on the Oregon baseball program. Ten freshmen, nine true and one redshirt, have seen action for the Ducks this season. Eight different freshmen have made starts with FR 3B Spencer Steer having started 47 of 48 games, while FR 2B Morgan McCullough has 45 starts. FR 1B/DH Gabe Matthews has 41 starts and FR C/OF Matthew Dyer (26 in RF, 5 at catcher, 3 at DH) has made 34 starts. FR DH/RHP Kenyon Yovan has six starts while serving as the team's closer (1-1, 13 saves). FR INF/RHP Ryne Nelson, who has six starts, made his first two starts at DH in the Arizona series, while also starting the Ducks last two games against Arizona State and first two games at Washington State at DH. He has also made seven appearances (1 start), including a pair of crucial scoreless eighth innings in one-run wins over Fresno State and Seton Hall, on the mound. He pitched three innings of scoreless relief against No. 1 Oregon State striking out six while allowing just one hit. RFR OF Braden Stutzman has started 14 games, 13 in right field and one as the designated hitter. On the mound, five true freshmen have seen action. In addition to RHP Yovan and RHP Nelson, FR LHP Zach Noll and FR RHP James Acuna made their first career starts earlier this year with Noll picking up a win in one of his three starts, and Acuna leaving after four innings with a 6-0 lead in his first start. Acuna did get his first career win in relief in the Fresno State series finale. FR LHP Nico Tellache has made seven appearances.

Warren named to 2017 Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List: Oregon JR RHP Brac Warren was one of sixty players named to the 2017 Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Warren (Rosebud, Mont. / Custer County District HS) spent last season in a set-up role for All-American Stephen Nogosek and finished his sophomore season with a 3.16 ERA in 25 appearances while striking out 34 in 25.2 innings pitched. During his career at Oregon, Warren has a 2-2 record with a 3.48 ERA in 42 appearances. He has come out of the bullpen in 41 of those appearances, while fanning 56 in 51.2 innings pitched. He has made three appearances this season and hasn't given up a run in four innings.

Susnara on Johnny Bench Award Watch List: JR C Tim Susnara is one of 85 catchers to be named to the initial list, announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. Susnara was also on the watch list during his sophomore season.

Balta chasing career records: In his third season on the field, JR OF/1B A.J. Balta already ranks in the top 10 in five career categories, while closing in on a number of others. Balta is fourth all-time in multiple-RBI games with 24, and needs six more to pass Kyle Garlick (2011-14) for third. He is seventh in RBI (88) and needs two more to pass Don Reynolds (1972-75) for sixth. He is also tied for 10th in career triples (7), is fifth in hit-by-pitches (21) and just moved into 10th in games started (132) in the Oregon State series finale. Balta needs one more triple to move into a tie for eighth with Mitchell Tolman (2013-15) and Earl Averill, Jr. (1951-53), while needing four more HBP to pass Mark Karaviotis (2014-16) for fourth. Balta is also closing in on the top 10 in doubles and at bats.

Ducks have 16th-most wins since beginning of 2012 season: Oregon has put together a five-year stretch of wins that is among the best in the nation. Since the 2012 season, when the Ducks advanced to the Super Regionals, Oregon is tied for the 16th-most wins (231) in the nation while qualifying for postseason four of the last five years. UO won at least 38 games from 2012 to 2015 before finishing 2016 with 29 wins. The Ducks trail only LSU, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Florida State, Florida, TCU, Oregon State, Texas A&M, North Carolina, South Carolina, Miami, Louisiana, Dallas Baptist and Mississippi State in total wins.

Pitching staff ranks among nation's best on the mound, including four top 30 rankings: Oregon's pitching staff has put up good numbers compiling a 3.62 ERA through 48 games with 412 strikeouts and just 123 walks in 423 innings pitched, while compiling seven shutouts. The Ducks rank among the national leaders in shutouts (7th), ERA (34th), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2nd), strikeouts per nine innings (35th), WHIP (22rd) and walks allowed per nine innings (9th). The Ducks' staff is second or higher in five of those seven categories in the Pac-12 Conference, including leading the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.40), strikeouts per nine innings (8.8) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.59).

Ducks' pitching staff's 27-scoreless innings streak ends at Cal, as does 45-inning streak without an earned run: Oregon's pitching staff had back-to-back shutouts against Santa Clara to wrap up the four-game series, and then held California scoreless for the first seven innings of game one of their series to run the scoreless streak to 27 innings. Cal finally snapped the streak with a run in the eighth inning, which also snapped Oregon's 45-inning streak without allowing an earned run. The Ducks started that streak with two innings against UC Davis on March 6, before holding Santa Clara without an earned run in all four games (36 innings) of that series and Cal to no earned runs in the first seven innings of game one. In all, 12 different pitchers (Carranza, Acuna, Kelly, Stiles, Warren, Peterson, Yovan, Mercer, Hobaica, Tellache, Stringer, Zwetsch) contributed to the earned run streak, with Warren, Yovan, Peterson and Zwetsch making two appearances.

Ducks 28-21 all-time against ranked teams at PK Park: Despite getting swept by No. 1 Oregon State in early May, Oregon has been successful against ranked teams at PK Park. Earlier this season they won two of three games against No. 22 Washington. In eight-plus seasons, 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 will play 16 TV games: Oregon has 16 games scheduled to be broadcast on television with 15 of those on the Pac-12 Network and one on BYUtv. Four of the Ducks' Pac-12 series will be televised (Washington, at Utah, Oregon State, at USC), while four of their non-league games will be carried (BYU, Portland-April 11, at Oregon State-May 2 and May 11). All of Oregon's home games will be streamed on-line as will a number of the Ducks' road games.

Ducks play 20 games against teams in one of the preseason polls: Once again, Oregon headed into the 2017 season with a tough schedule. The Ducks will play 20 games against teams ranked in one of the preseason polls with 15 of those coming in Pac-12 Conference play. UO gets its first test against a ranked team when SEC power Mississippi State visits Eugene for the Ducks home-opening series (March 3-5). Oregon's next games against a team ranked in the preseason polls comes in its Pac-12 home opening series against Washington (March 24-26). Between April 13 and May 2, the Ducks play 11 games against preseason ranked teams in a 12-game span. The Ducks travel to Arizona, last year's national runner-up and ranked as high as seventh in the polls, for a Pac-12 series (April 13-15), before hosting Stanford (April 21-23) and Arizona State (April 28-30) in back-to-back series. Between the Stanford and ASU series', the Ducks travel to Oregon State (April 25) for the first of two non-league games against the Beavers. Game two of the Civil War is the Tuesday (May 2) after the ASU series. Oregon wraps up its games against preseason ranked teams with a three-game set vs. OSU (May 11-13) at PK Park.

Horton wins number 800 as Division I head coach: George Horton hit another career milestone on April 8 against UC Irvine when he won his 800th career game as a Division I head coach. The Ducks' skipper has compiled an 806-429-2 record in 19-plus seasons as a Division I head coach at Cal State Fullerton (11 seasons) and Oregon. On March 11, Horton won his 300th career game at Oregon when the Ducks beat Santa Clara 10-0. He moved his record at UO to 316-217-1 in his first eight-plus years in Eugene. Horton now has a 1,032-482-2 career record counting his time as a junior college coach.

Horton named USA Baseball Coach of the Year: USA Baseball announced in December that Oregon head coach George Horton was the recipient of the Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year award after leading the College National Team on a successful tour of three countries that included Team USA's first ever series win in Cuba.
"George Horton is very deserving of being named the USA Baseball Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year," said Eric Campbell, USA Baseball's General Manager of National Teams. "His ability to handle the unique challenges of the summer tour while creating positive developmental and personal interactions with the players was first-class; and leading that group of young men to a series win in Cuba for the first time in our history was remarkable."

In addition to winning USA Baseball's coach of the year honor, the Collegiate National Team, led by Horton, was named USA Baseball's Team of the Year after winning the first ever series on Cuban soil. 2016 marked the first time a visiting team has ever won the international friendship series between Cuba and the U.S. The team traveled over 20,000 miles during the course of its summer tour, participating in friendship series in Chinese Taipei, Japan and Cuba. The team finished with an 11-7-1 record and its success led to Horton, being named the USA Baseball Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year.

Horton will be honored at the Golden Spikes Award and Rod Dedeaux Award Dinner, which is expected to be held June 29 at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles.
Dietrich, 2016 Collegiate Baseball Pitching Coach of the Year, joins Ducks staff: Shortly after joining George Horton's staff at Oregon, pitching coach Jason Dietrich was named the 2016 Pitching Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball. The current Duck earned the honor for the coaching job he did with Cal State Fullerton's pitching staff last season. Dietrich led a Titan staff that was dominant leading the nation in both ERA (2.22) and WHIP (1.04), while also ranking third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.32) and 26th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.5). Dietrich's pitching staff led the Titans to a 36-23 record, a Big West championship and a spot in the NCAA Regionals. During his four seasons at CSF, the Titans led the nation in one of four major pitching categories nine times. In addition to have to having the country's best ERA in 2016, Dietrich's pitching staffs led the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio three times (2013, 2014 and 2015), WHIP twice (2013 and 2016) and fewest base on balls per nine innings three times (2013, 2014 and 2015). In his four seasons with the Titans, Dietrich's pitching staff never finished with a team ERA higher than 2.89 or ranked lower than 11th in the country. In addition to the Titan's Division I leading 2.22 ERA in 2016, Dietrich's teams posted ERAs that ranked fourth in the country in 2013 (2.47), third in 2014 (2.24) and 11th in 2015 (2.89). Dietrich's pitching staffs at Cal State Fullerton also ranked no lower than third in strikeouts-to-walk ratio during his four seasons, while also ranking no worse than sixth in WHIP and seventh in base on balls per nine innings.

Ten Ducks on D1Baseball.com's list of the Pac-12's top prospects/freshmen: Four Duck juniors and three sophomores made D1Baseball.com's list of top Pac-12 Conference draft prospects heading into the 2017 season, while three UO freshman made the website's list of impact freshmen. JR LHP David Peterson is the fourth ranked prospect in the 2017 draft class, while JR C Tim Susnara ranks 19th, JR RHP Brac Warren is 21st and JR OF Jakob Goldfarb is 31st. Among the 2018 draft class, SO RHP Matt Mercer is the seventh-ranked prospect, while SO RHP Isaiah Carranza is 13th and SO RHP Jacob Bennett is 21st. Bennett will redshirt in 2017 after suffering a season-ending injury midway through his freshman season. Among the Ducks' freshman, 3B Spencer Steer is D1Baseball's 14th-ranked impact freshmen, while RHP/1B Kenyon Yovan is 24th and INF Morgan McCullough is 39th.