Ducks host UW in Pac-12 opening series

The Oregon Ducks take on the Loyola Marymount Lions at PK Park in Eugene, Oregon on March, 01 2019 (Eric Evans Photography)

Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto

03/13/19 | Baseball

Series Notes - Washington

What you need to know

JR 1B Gabe Matthews enters the Washington series leading the Pac-12 in batting average at .469, while ranking eighth in the country. In the last nine games, he is 16-for-28 (.571) with a homer and three doubles, raising his average .136 points.
Matthews also ranks fourth in the country with a .594 on base percentage.
The Ducks' first baseman has seven multi-hit games in 2019, including a four-hit game at Hawaii on March 10.
Heading into the fifth weekend of the season, Oregon is ranked third in the RPI and its strength of schedule is fourth.
The only two teams Oregon trails are two teams it has already played.
Oregon State is first and Texas Tech is second.
The Ducks are one of four teams from the Pac-12 Conference ranked in the top 10.
In addition to UO and OSU, Stanford is ranked fifth and Arizona State is seventh.

Series history vs. Washington

Oregon leads the all-time series, 148-135-1.
The home team has won the series each of the last seven years.
Oregon holds a 40-20 advantage in games played in Eugene, and leads 9-8 in games played at PK Park.
The Ducks lost game one of last year's series in Seattle, before splitting a Sunday doubleheader.

Comeback falls short at No. 6 Oregon State

Oregon had the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first Tuesday night at No. 6 Oregon State but couldn't score.
The Ducks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take a 4-2 lead and then cut a 7-4 OSU lead to one run.
SR RF Jakob Goldfarb had three hits and scored two runs for Oregon, while JR 1B Gabe Matthews finished with two hits and two runs scored.

Matthews leads Ducks to series win at Hawaii

Oregon won three of four games at Hawaii to claim their first road series of the season.
JR 1B Gabe Matthews batted .571 (8-for-14) to lead the Ducks to the series win.
JR SS Spencer Steer hit .400 (6-for-15) while FR DH/RF Aaron Zavala batted .353 and FR 3B Sam Novitske hit .300.

Ducks sweep Saint Mary's and Loyola Marymount

Oregon won all six games against Saint Mary's and Loyola Marymount over the last two weekends.
The Ducks batted .287 in the SMC series with two home runs.
FR DH Aaron Zavala led Oregon batting .636 with a pair of 3-hit games.
SO CF Jonny DeLuca hit .400 and swiped two bases.
Ducks' pitchers held SMC to a .168 batting average and finished with a 2.33 ERA.
Oregon's three starters -- JR LHP Cole Stringer, JR RHP Ryne Nelson and SO RHP Cullen Kafka -- combined to allow just four earned runs in 18 innings (2.00 ERA) against Saint Mary's.
JR 1B Gabe Matthews and FR LF/RF Tanner Smith led the Ducks against LMU with both batting .500.
Matthews went 4-for-8 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored, while Smith was 3-for-6 with three RBI and two runs scored.
JR SS Spencer Steer batted .455 with two home runs, 4 RBI and four runs scored against LMU
JR LHP Cole Stringer threw 6.1 scoreless innings allowing just two hits in Oregon's Saturday shutout of LMU.
JR LHP Nico Tellache picked up his first two career saves in game one and three vs. LMU.

Offense impressive in season-opening series at No. 8 Texas Tech

Despite losing two of three games at Texas Tech to open the season, Oregon's offensive output was impressive scoring 24 runs.
Oregon's 24 runs are the most in a series against a top 10 team in school history.
The Ducks had 15 hits in game one, 14 hits in game two and 13 hits in game three.
The 42 combined hits were the most in a series against a top-10 team in program history and the second-most hits against any ranked team (45 at Arizona State in 2013).
It was the most hits in a three-game stretch since 2013 against Arizona State.
The Ducks' hit .372 (42-for-113) against TTU.
Six starters hit over .370 for the weekend (Zavala .462, Matthews .455, DeLuca .438, Steer .417, Smith .417, Adams .375).

Ducks tie 70-year old school record in stolen bases

Oregon stole nine bases in the season opener at Texas Tech to tie a school record that was set on March 30, 1949 against Linfield.
Oregon swiped 15 bags in the series, the most in three consecutive games since baseball returned in 2009.
The Ducks stole 13 bases over three straight games twice since 2009 (vs. Nevada March 20-21, 2010 and at Arizona State April 4-7, 2013).
Six of the 10 Pac-12 players that had multiple SBs during the first weekend were Oregon players.

Ducks among national leaders (as of 3/13/19)

Oregon is ranked in the top 25 in the nation in two team categories after four weeks of play.
Oregon is ninth in fielding percentage (.984).
The Ducks are 19th in stolen bases (19).
JR 1B Gabe Matthews is eighth in batting average (.469) and fourth in on base percentage (.594).

Oregon plays 14 games against top 10 teams

Oregon will play 14 games against teams ranked in the preseason top 10 of the Baseball America poll with nine of those being played at PK Park.
The Ducks opened the season with three games at No. 8 Texas Tech (a fourth game was cancelled because of cold).
Oregon plays three games, all at PK Park, against No. 3 UCLA.
UO will host No. 8 Stanford in a three-game series.
The Ducks play five Civil War games against No. 10 Oregon State with the three Pac-12 Conference games taking place at PK Park.
UO and OSU play two midweek non-conference games in Corvallis (OSU won game one 7-6 no Tuesday).

Ducks home schedule loaded with quality opponents

Oregon hosts 27 games at PK Park during the 2019 season, including five Pac-12 Conference series.
The Ducks opened their home season with back-to-back sweeps of Saint Mary's (Feb. 22-24) and Loyola Marymount (March 1-3), teams from the West Coast Conference.
Oregon's five Pac-12 series are against Washington (March 15-17), Arizona State (March 22-24), Stanford (April 18-20), Oregon State (May 10-12) and UCLA (May 23-25).
The Ducks also host a four-game series against Fresno State (April 4-7).
Oregon plays a pair of single midweek games against WCC teams.
UO hosts Portland on May 7 and Gonzaga on May 14. The Zags finished the 2018 season 33-24 with a 16-11 WCC record.

Ducks will play 13 TV games in 2019

Oregon will play 13 games on the Pac-12 Network in 2019.
All five of Oregon's games against Oregon State will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
The Ducks' midweek game at OSU on March 12 was their first televised game.
Oregon's second midweek game in Corvallis on April 9 is its second game broadcast by the Pac-12 Network.
All three games of Oregon's Pac-12 Conference series against Oregon State (May 10-12), at USC (May 17-19) and vs. UCLA (May 23-25) will be on the Pac-12 Network.
The first two games of Oregon's series against Stanford at PK Park (April 18-19) will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
Oregon's remaining home games will be available through the Oregon live stream at GoDucks.com.

Ducks roster features a blend of experience and youth

Oregon returns 18 players from the 2018 team, including six position player starters (counting DH) and two starting pitchers from the weekend rotation.
The Ducks returned their starters at first base (Gabe Matthews), shortstop (Ryne Nelson -- pitcher only in 2019), third base (Spencer Steer) center field (Jonny DeLuca), right field (Jakob Goldfarb) and designated hitter (Kenyon Yovan).
Two other Ducks (Evan Williams, Jason Drees) were part-time starters in the outfield last season, while two redshirts (Taylor Adams, Cameron Campbell) should contribute in 2019.
Oregon returns its Friday (Yovan) and Sunday (Kolby Somers) starters, as well as its closer (Nelson).
In addition to Nelson, the Ducks also return five members of the 2018 bullpen (Hunter Breault, Peyton Fuller, Cullen Kafka, Nico Tellache, Brett Walker) and their Sunday starter from 2017 (Cole Stringer), who redshirted in 2018 after making three appearances.
The Ducks added 16 newcomers, including 13 freshmen. Five of the newcomers are pitchers, while 11 are position players.

Experienced arms make up rotation

Oregon has options on the mound to start games.
The Ducks have seven pitchers on the staff that have started games, with three of those boasting double-digit starts.
Friday night starter JR RHP Kenyon Yovan started 10 games last season, all series openers, and compiled a 6-3 record with a 2.77 ERA in those starts. He has one start this season at Texas Tech.
JR LHP Cole Stringer has started 20 games during his two-plus seasons at Oregon, with 11 of those starts coming in 2017. He started the Friday night game against Saint Mary's, the Saturday game vs. LMU and the Sunday game at Hawaii.
, who redshirted last season after making three starts, has made 16 weekend starts.
SO LHP Kolby Somers made 11 starts as a true freshman, all as a member of the weekend rotation, and has made two Tuesday starts this season.
SO RHP Cullen Kafka has made 10 starts in his career, including seven as a member of the weekend rotation.
Kafka also made a midweek start against Oregon State, holding the eventual National Champs to one run on four hits in 4.2 innings with a season-high five Ks.
JR RHP Ryne Nelson, who was Oregon's starting shortstop and closer last season, made one midweek start as a freshman and has four weekend starts this season.
SO RHP Hunter Breault started a midweek game as a freshman.

Yovan named to Golden Spikes Award watch list and three preseason All-America Teams

JR RHP Kenyon Yovan earned a number of preseason honors heading into the 2019 season.
Yovan is one of 55 players on the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list.
He was named second-team preseason All-America by both D1Baseball and Collegiate Baseball and third-team preseason All-America by the NCBWA.
entered his junior season with a 7-5 career record and a 2.70 ERA with 20 saves.
His 98 strikeouts last season were the fourth most in school history, trailing only two Major League Baseball first-round draft picks (David Peterson, Tyler Anderson-twice).
15 saves during his freshman season are the fourth most in school history.
ranks second all-time in career saves at Oregon with 20 and is sixth in games finished with 30.
has 135 career strikeouts with just 45 base on balls, while holding opposing hitters to a .206 batting average.
is one of just five Ducks to be named first-team All-Pac-12 Conference in back-to-back seasons since baseball returned to Eugene.
He was named an All-American following his freshman season by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Collegiate Baseball.
Named a freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, D1Baseball, the NCBWA and Perfect Game after 2017 season.

Nelson named preseason All-American

JR RHP Ryne Nelson was named third-team preseason All-America by Baseball America in a vote of MLB scouting directors.
Baseball America ranks Nelson as the No. 11 overall collegiate prospect and Kenyon Yovan as the No. 25 prospect.
has made five career starts including his four starts this season.
In his first start, he threw one inning as a freshman in 2017 in a midweek game at Oregon State.
other 24 appearances have come out of the bullpen.
picked up saves in both games of a doubleheader against Washington State on April 6, 2018.
In both games of the doubleheader, Nelson touched 99 miles per hour on the radar gun.
fanned a career-high six hitters in each of his two three-inning relief outings.

Kafka makes move into weekend rotation

After spending most of his freshman season pitching out of the bullpen, SO RHP Cullen Kafka is a part of Oregon's rotation this season.
allowed four runs on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks in his first start of the season.
He went six innings allowing three runs on five hits with three walks and seven Ks in a win over Saint Mary's in his second start.
made his first Friday night start vs. LMU allowing one run on four hits with 7 Ks and four walks.
In his second Friday night start at Hawaii, he got the win after allowing just one run on six hits in seven innings with five Ks.
was 3-2 as a true freshman appearing in 16 games while making six starts.

Goldfarb returns to lead Ducks offense

C/OF Jakob Goldfarb returns for his senior season after leading the Ducks in hitting in 2018.
The Ducks' three-year letterman batted .308 with six home runs, 29 RBI and a team-high 14 stolen bases as a junior.
has made 129 career starts with 111 in right field, nine at DH, five in left field and four at catcher.
started 53 games last season, 44 as a freshman in 2015 and 19 as a sophomore in 2016.
He has started 13 games this season, nine in right field and four at catcher.
He redshirted in 2017.
is Oregon's active leader in at bats (495), runs (79), hits (138), home runs (9) and stolen bases (20).
He earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 Conference honors last season.
14 stolen bases in 2018 tied for the ninth most in a single season at Oregon, and he needs five more to crack the career top 10 at Oregon.

Steer returns to give Ducks experience in the infield

JR INF Spencer Steer has started 129 games in the infield during his two-plus seasons at Oregon, with 107 starts coming at third base and 15 at shortstop.
The Long Beach, Calif., native is the Ducks' active leader in triples (5), RBI (80) and HBP (29).
ranks fifth all-time at Oregon in multiple-RBI games with 23 and needs two more to pass A.J. Balta (2014-17) for fourth.
His 11 multi-RBI games last season ranks in a tie for sixth all time, while his 10 in 2017 is tied for 10th. He has two this season.
He is fourth all-time in HBP with 29 and needs 10 more to pass Jack Marder (2010-11) for third.
moved into a tie for 10th in career RBI in the LMU series with 80.

Matthews has started 103 straight games

JR 1B Gabe Matthews heads into the Washington series with 103 straight starts, 56 more than any other active Duck.
has started 96 of those games at first base with the other seven coming at designated hitter.
The Salem, Ore., native has a career .296 batting average with nine home runs, 64 RBI, 24 doubles and 54 runs scored.
As a freshman he batted .282 with three home runs.
As a sophomore, he hit .265 with four homers.

DeLuca sets freshman home run record at Oregon

SO CF Jonny DeLuca set an Oregon freshman record for home runs last season with six.
started 54 of Oregon's 55 games in center field last season, including the last 32. He has started all 15 games in 2019 in CF.
He tied for the team lead with six home runs, while finishing second with 32 RBI last season.

Zavala making instant impact

The Salem, Ore., native is second on the team in batting average (.368), hits (21), doubles (4), RBI (9) and multi-hit games (6).
Five of Zavala's multi-hit games are 3-hit games.
His first four 3-hit games came in Oregon's first six games, marking the first time in modern Oregon history that a Duck player has had four 3-hit games in any 6-game stretch.

Novitske excelling in leadoff spot

True FR 3B/2B Sam Novitske has provided a spark at the top of the Oregon lineup.
has reached base in all 15 games, including 13 games where he has reached base multiple times.
In five of the 15 games he has reached base three times.
Novitske reached base by hit, walk, HBP in 10 games before reaching on an error in game 11. He followed reaching via H/BB/HBP in the next four.
Novitske's stretch of 10 straight games of reaching base (H, BB, HBP) to start a season is the third longest by a leadoff hitter since baseball returned in 2009.
Austin Grebeck reached base safely (H, BB, HBP) in 18 straight games to start the season in 2016 and Matt Eureste did it in 13 straight in 2015.

Smith delivers in the clutch

Just a handful of games into his career, FR OF Tanner Smith has already shown he has the clutch gene.
The Ducks' lefty delivered a walk-off sacrifice fly in a 3-2 win in game one of the series against Saint Mary's.
Ten games later, Smith broke a 7-7 tie in the top of the ninth inning with a RBI base hit in an 8-7 win.

Young guns make big contribution

Seven freshmen have started games for Oregon in 2019, including at least four in every game this season.
3B/2B Sam Novitske and DH Aaron Zavala have started all 15 games this season.
RF/LF Tanner Smith has started 13 games split between two outfield spots.
2B Max Foxcroft has started 11 games.
3B/2B Kyle Froemke has started four games, LF Vinny Tosti and DH A.J. Miller has one start.
Oregon's seven freshmen have combined to bat .269 (60-for-223) with nine doubles, one triple, 29 runs scored, 33 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
They have 13 multi-hit games, including seven 3-hit games.
Since baseball returned in 2009, 24 freshmen have been in the opening day lineup for the Ducks.
The 2019 team's four opening day starters tied the 2011 team for the most, while both 2009 and 2010 teams had three freshmen starters.