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Ducks continue road trip with four games in Hawaii
03/04/19 | Baseball
Series history vs. Hawaii
RPI and NCAA Rankings
Ducks sweep Saint Mary's and Loyola Marymount
Offense impressive in season-opening series at No. 8 Texas Tech
Ducks tie 70-year old school record in stolen bases
Ducks among national leaders
Oregon plays 14 games against top 10 teams
Ducks home schedule loaded with quality opponents
Ducks will play 14 TV games in 2019
Ducks roster features a blend of experience and youth
Experienced arms make up rotation
Yovan named to Golden Spikes Award watch list and three preseason All-America Teams
Nelson named preseason All-American
Kafka makes move into weekend rotation
Goldfarb returns to lead Ducks offense
Steer returns to give Ducks experience in the infield
Matthews has started 97 straight games
DeLuca sets freshman home run record at Oregon
Zavala making instant impact
Novitske excelling in leadoff spot
Young guns make big contribution
- Oregon leads the all-time series against Hawaii 17-13, including a 17-8 edge since baseball returned for the 2009 season.
- The Ducks and Rainbow Warriors met every season between 2009 and 2015 with Oregon playing at Hawaii from 2010 to 2015.
- The Ducks won 17 of the 24 games between 2010 and 2015 including a streak of 13 in a row at one point.
- Oregon won three of four during their last visit to UH.
- Oregon won its last four series at Hawaii including sweeps in 2013 and 2014.
- Hawaii won the series 3-1 in 2010 and the teams split the 2011 series.
RPI and NCAA Rankings
- Three weeks into the season, Oregon is ranked second in the RPI and its strength of schedule is 10th.
- The Ducks trail Texas Tech, their week one opponent, in RPI.
- Hawaii has a RPI of 129 entering their Tuesday game against Longwood as well as a strength of schedule of 80.
- Four Pac-12 teams (ORE, OSU, STAN, ASU) are in the top 20 of the RPI.
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)
- Four different players had three-hit games (Zavala - twice, Smith, DeLuca and Goldfarb).
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
- Oregon is ranked in the top 25 in the nation in four different team categories after three weeks of play.
- Oregon is 12th in fielding percentage (.985)
- The Ducks are 18th in stolen bases per game (2.33)
- UO is 21st in batting average (.308).
- The Ducks are 23rd in OBP (.415).
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 will play two midweek non-conference games in Corvallis.
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 14 TV games in 2019
- Oregon will play 13 games on the Pac-12 Network in 2019 and one game on BYUtv.
- 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 is 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.
- BYUtv will carry Oregon's game at BYU on March 26.
- 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 Beult, 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 19 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 and the Saturday game vs. LMU.
- , who redshirted last season after making three starts, has made 15 weekend starts.
- SO LHP Kolby Somers made 11 starts as a true freshman, all as a member of the weekend rotation.
- SO RHP Cullen Kafka has made nine starts in his career, including six as a member of the weekend rotation.
- Kafka also made a midweek start against Oregon State, holding the Beavers 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 three 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 four career starts including his three 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.
- 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 123 career starts with 106 in right field, nine at DH, five in left field and three at catcher.
- started 53 games last season, 44 as a freshman in 2015 and 19 as a sophomore in 2016.
- He has started seven games this season, four in right field and three at catcher.
- He redshirted in 2017.
- is Oregon's active leader in at bats (473), runs (73), hits (131), triples (4), home runs (9) and stolen bases (19).
- 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 116 games in the infield during his two-plus seasons at Oregon, with 107 starts coming at third base and nine at shortstop.
- The Long Beach, Calif., native is the Ducks' active leader in triples (4), RBI (80) and HBP (26).
- 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 26 and needs seven 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 97 straight games
- JR 1B Gabe Matthews heads into the Portland game with 97 straight starts, 56 more than any other active Duck.
- has started 90 of those games at first base with the other seven coming at designated hitter.
- The Salem, Ore., native has a career .281 batting average with nine home runs, 62 RBI, 21 doubles and 50 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 nine 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 leads the team in batting average (.424), hits (14) and is tied for the team lead in multi-hit games (4).
- All four of Zavala's multi-hit games are 3-hit games.
- The 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 nine games, including eight games where he has reached base multiple times.
- In four of the nine games he has reached base three times.
- has reached base via base on balls 10 times, hits eight times and hit by pitches twice.
- Novitske's stretch of nine 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.
Young guns make big contribution
- Six freshmen have started games for Oregon in 2019, including at least four in every game this season.
- 3B/2B Sam Novitske, RF/LF Tanner Smith and DH Aaron Zavala have started all nine games this season.
- 2B Max Foxcroft has started seven games (missed SMC doubleheader).
- LF Vinny Tosti started game three of the TTU series and 3B Kyle Froemke started the last two games of the SMC series.
- 1B/OF A.J. Miller made his Oregon debut as a pinch hitter in game two of the Saint Mary's series.
- Oregon's seven freshmen have combined to bat .294 (37-for-126) with four doubles, 21 runs scored, 19 RBI and eight stolen bases.
- They have eight multi-hit games, including five 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.
- Two freshman pitchers have seen action out of the bullpen and combined to allow two runs on two hits in 6.2 innings.
- RHP Christian Ciuffetelli has thrown 4.0 innings with six Ks, while RHP Keaton Chase has fanned three in 2.2 innings.
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