Ducks Resume Conference Play at Washington State; Play at Gonzaga Monday

Loyola Marymount @ Oregon March 01, 2019 Eugene, OR.

Photo by: Deborah Mundorff

Ducks Resume Conference Play at Washington State; Play at Gonzaga Monday

04/08/19 | Baseball

Oregon Notes - Washington State and Gonzaga

Series history vs. Washington State

Washington State leads the all-time series against Oregon 153-129-1, with Oregon holding a 17-13 lead in games played since baseball returned to Eugene in 2009.
WSU holds a 32-18 all-time edge in games played in Pullman, with the Cougars holding a one-game edge, 8-7, since the 2009 season.
The Ducks have won six of the last nine on the Palouse, while also winning five of the last six series between the teams.

Series history vs. Gonzaga

Oregon holds a 17-2 series advantage between the two teams including a 13-2 edge since baseball returned to Oregon in 2009.
The Ducks snapped Gonzaga's two-game series winning streak with a 6-3 victory in Eugene last season.
Oregon is 6-0 all-time in Spokane with two wins each in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
Gonzaga's roster features a pair of ex-Ducks in graduate transfers Carson Breshears and Slade Heggen.

Ducks split first two Civil War games with Oregon State

Oregon scored four runs in the top of the eighth to break an 8-8 tie and went on to beat No. 7 Oregon State 12-8 on Tuesday. The win evened the season series at 1-1.
FR 3B Sam Novitske broke the eighth-inning tie with a 2-out RBI single, before FR RF Tanner Smith followed with a 2-RBI single and JR SS Spencer Steer capped the rally with a RBI base hit.
Five Ducks -- Smith, Steer, SO LF Evan Williams, FR DH Aaron Zavala and JR C Cameron Campbell -- had two hits vs. the Beavers in UO's 13-hit attack.
Oregon was 9-for-11 with RISP in the win.
In the first meeting on March 12, Oregon had the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first 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.
In the two games, Oregon is out-hitting Oregon State .319 to .230 and has nine more hits, including four more extra-base hits.

Ducks salvage series split against Fresno State with doubleheader sweep

Oregon swept a doubleheader on Saturday, April 6, to earn a series split with Fresno State.
The Bulldogs won game one 14-2 and game two 5-1, before the Ducks came back to win game three 5-3 and the series finale 8-7.
FR DH Aaron Zavala and FR 2B Max Foxcroft led the Ducks in the series with Zavala hitting .455 with a .647 OBP and Foxcroft batting .417 with three RBI.
JR 1B Gabe Matthews had a 2-RBI walk-off single in the series finale and finished with four RBI in the series.
SO CF Jonny DeLuca broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning of game three of the series and had two RBI in the finale with a game-tying home run in the sixth and a game-tying ground out in the eighth.

Ducks sweep Utah

Oregon swept Utah to cap a five-game spring break road trip to the Beehive State.
The Ducks' sweep was the third of the season with Oregon taking all three games earlier this season against Saint Mary's and Loyola Marymount.
The road sweep was the first for UO since it opened the 2016 season with three straight wins at San Diego State.
It was the first Pac-12 road sweep since a three-game sweep at Utah in May 2015.
Oregon's last sweep of a Pac-12 series at PK Park was also against Utah in May 2018.

Ducks split midweek games with BYU and Utah Valley

Oregon split a pair of midweek games losing 7-3 at BYU and beating Utah Valley 12-9 in Orem.
The Ducks led the BYU game 3-2 late, but BYU scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth to win the game.
Oregon bounced back with a 12-9 win over Utah Valley.
JR 1B Gabe Matthews led the Ducks in the two games with five RBI, including a career-high four at UVU, while going 3-for-7 with a home run, two runs scored and two walks.
Oregon's 3-4-5 hitters -- Matthews, JR SS Spencer Steer and JR LF Taylor Adams -- combined to go 6-for-12 with two home runs, nine RBI five runs scored three walks and a HBP in the win over Utah Valley.
and Adams both hit three-run homers, with Adams' shot the first of his career.

Ducks get walk-off win Saturday vs. ASU

Oregon won game two of the series with Arizona State.
SO OF Evan Williams hit a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the 12th to give Oregon a 5-4 win.
SO LHP Robert Ahlstrom (8) and JR RHP Ryne Nelson (10) combined to strike out 18 Sun Devils.
The win is one of only two over Arizona State this season, which enters the weekend with a 25-2 record.

Cardiac kids

Oregon has made a habit of playing close games with 16 of its 31 games decided by one or two runs.
In the one-run games, Oregon is 9-3 with a four walk-off wins and another ninth inning come-from-behind road win.
The Ducks won game one of the Saint Mary's series with a walk-off sacrifice fly while winning the Washington finale with a 10th-inning walk-off single.
The Ducks won game two of the Arizona State series with a walk-off homer.
Oregon clinched a series split with Fresno State on two-run walk-off single by JR 1B Gabe Matthews.
In the Hawaii finale, UO scored three ninth-inning runs to win 8-7.
Overall, Oregon has come from behind to win nine games.
In Oregon's 12-8 win at Oregon State, the game was tied entering the eighth inning but the Ducks scored four in the eighth to break it open.
Oregon has eight wins in games they have been tied in or trailed after the seventh inning.
Ducks win game three vs. Washington in walk-off fashion
Oregon won game three of the series with Washington with its second walk-off of the season.
SO CF Jonny DeLuca delivered an RBI single into right field with two outs on a 3-ball, 2-strike pitch to give Oregon a 1-0 win in 10 innings.
The walk-off was the second of the season for Oregon.
FR LF Tanner Smith gave Oregon a 3-2 win against Saint Mary's on Feb. 22 with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly.

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 earlier this season.
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, four 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.

Rotation has some options

Oregon has options on the mound to start games.
The Ducks have nine pitchers on the staff that have started games, with three of those boasting double-digit starts.
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, but hasn't pitched since.
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. He missed his starts vs. Washington, Arizona State and Utah but pitched an inning out of the pen vs. the Utes and three innings against Fresno State in the series finale on Saturday.
, 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 14 starts in his career, including 11 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 LHP Robert Ahlstrom has been a nice addition to Oregon's rotations starting games each of the last six series against Hawaii, Washington, Arizona State, Utah and Fresno State.
He started game one of the Utah and Fresno State series and will make a Friday night start at Washington State.
SO RHP Brett Walker has started the last four series finales picking up his first win at Utah. He also started two midweek games as a true freshman.
FR RHP Tyler Frazier made his first career start at BYU allowing one run in 4.2 innings and then started game one of the Fresno State series allowing just one earned run in 5.1 innings.
SO RHP Hunter Breault started a midweek game as a freshman, as well as the midweek game at Utah Valley this season.

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 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 ranked 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 31 appearances have come out of the bullpen, including a scoreless 5.2 inning stint against Washington on March 17 where he allowed just three hits while fanning eight and walking one.
He has two saves this season, getting one at Utah Valley and another in the first game of the doubleheader against Fresno State on April 6.
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.

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.
gave up seven runs (four earned) on 11 hits in 4.2 innings against Washington.
Against Arizona State, Kafka allowed seven runs (six earned) in 3.1 innings while striking out three and walking four.
Against Utah, he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings with five Ks.
Kafka made his fourth quality start against Fresno State allowing three runs on six hits in 7.0 innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.
was 3-2 as a true freshman appearing in 16 games while making six starts.

Ahlstrom dominant in first "Friday" night start vs. Utah;

SO LHP Robert Ahlstrom made his first "Friday" night start at Utah allowing no earned runs on five hits in a season-best 7.1 innings pitched while matching a season high with 8 Ks.
The junior college transfer earned the Friday spot after dominating Arizona State, the nation's second-best hitting team.
held the Sun Devils scoreless over six innings allowing just five hits while fanning a career-best eight and walking just one.
has not allowed an earned run in three of his five starts (5.0 scoreless innings at Hawaii).

Goldfarb returns to lead Ducks offense

C/OF Jakob Goldfarb returned 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 132 career starts with 111 in right field, nine at DH, seven at catcher and five in left field.
started 53 games last season, 44 as a freshman in 2015 and 19 as a sophomore in 2016.
He has started 16 games this season, nine in right field and seven at catcher.
He redshirted in 2017.
is Oregon's active leader in at bats (503), runs (79), hits (140) 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 137 games in the infield during his two-plus seasons at Oregon, with 107 starts coming at third base and 30 at shortstop.
The Long Beach, Calif., native is the Ducks' active leader in doubles (30), triples (5), RBI (92), HBP (34), multi-hit games (35) and multi-RBI games (27).
moved into fourth all-time at Oregon in multiple-RBI games at Utah with 27.
His 11 multi-RBI games last season ranks in a tie for sixth all time, while his 10 in 2017 tied for 10th. He has a team-high six multi-RBI games this season.
He is fourth all-time in HBP with 34 and needs five more to pass Jack Marder (2010-11) and tie Mitchell Tolman (2013-15) for second.
moved into fourth in career RBI passing J.J. Altobelli (2010-13) in the Fresno State series with 91.
is tied with Steven Packard for ninth all-time in career doubles with 30 and needs one more to tie Scott Heineman (2012-15) and Danny Pulfer (2009-11) for fifth.

Matthews has started 118 straight games

JR 1B Gabe Matthews heads into the Oregon State game with 118 straight starts, 56 more than any other active Duck.
has started 111 of those games at first base with the other seven coming at designated hitter.
The Salem, Ore., native has a career .287 batting average with 10 home runs, 76 RBI, 29 doubles and 59 runs scored.
He's Oregon's active career leader in batting average, home runs and base on balls (72).
He moved into a tie for seventh with Bob Anderson (1972-75) in all-time walks, passing J.J. Altobelli (2010-13) and Daniel Patzlaff (2015-18) in the Fresno State series.
moved into a tie for ninth with Jakob Goldfarb (2015-pr.) and Kyle Garlick (2011-14) in career doubles in the Fresno State series.

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 26 games in 2019 in CF.
He tied for the team lead with six home runs, while finishing second with 32 RBI last season.
hit his first home run of the 2019 season against Fresno State in game two of the doubleheader on Saturday.

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 28 of 30, including 23 games where he has reached base multiple times.
In nine of the 30 games, he has reached base three times.
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.
After not reaching base in the Washington series opener, he got three hits in game two and reached three times (hit, 2 walks) in game three.
Against ASU, he reached in all three games including twice in games one and three.
In the midweek games in Utah, he reached twice at BYU and three times at Utah Valley.
Against Utah, he was on twice in games one and three, and once in game two.
In the Fresno State series, he reached three times in game three, twice in game four and once in game one. Game two was just the second game all year he did not reach base.
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.
has a .392 on base percentage.

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 in game four of the Hawaii series.
Smith is third on the team with a .304 batting average, while reaching base at a .400 clip.

Zavala making instant impact

The Salem, Ore., native is tied for third on the team in both multi-RBI games (4) and multi-hit games (8).
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.
In Oregon's doubleheader sweep of Fresno State, he reached base in all nine plate appearances (4 H, 4 BB, 1 E).

Young guns make big contribution

Seven freshmen have started games for Oregon in 2019, including four who have started at least 26 games.
3B/2B Sam Novitske has started all 30 games this season, while DH Aaron Zavala has started 28.
RF/LF Tanner Smith and 2B Max Foxcroft has started 26 games.
3B/2B Kyle Froemke and LF Vinny Tosti have started four games, while DH A.J. Miller has two starts.
C James Bell saw his first action of the season against Washington playing in all three games.
C Heath Pickhardt saw his first action of the season in game three of the ASU series and he played in a game at Utah and a game against Fresno State.
Oregon's eight freshmen position players have combined for 109 hits with 19 doubles, 1 triple, 60 runs scored, 55 RBI and 19 stolen bases.
They have 24 multi-hit games, including 10 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.

Oregon plays 14 games against preseason 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 hosted 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.