Photo by: Raph Baum
Four Ducks named to preseason All-Pac-12 Team
02/08/23 | Baseball
EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon placed four players on the Pac-12 Conference preseason all-league team while being picked to finish fifth in the conference by the league coaches.
Infielder Drew Cowley, catcher Josiah Cromwick, pitcher Logan Mercado and outfielder Tanner Smith were all named to the team. The four Ducks on the team tied for the third most among Pac-12 teams, trailing only Stanford and UCLA.
Cowley (Upland, Calif./Upland HS/Cal Poly Pomona) earned second-team ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region honors last season after hitting a team-best .424 (64-for-151) with three home runs, 29 RBI, 16 doubles, two triples and 38 runs scored. Cowley, who missed 21 games with a wrist injury, had at least one hit in 31 of 38 starts while finishing with 20 multi-hit games, including seven 3-hit games and three 4-hit games. Cowley became just the third player in modern-program history to have three 4-hit games in a season.
Cromwick (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde HS) started 31 games last season including a team-best 30 at catcher. He batted .266 (34-for-128) with four home runs, 23 RBI, 17 runs scored, eight doubles, nine walks and six hit-by-pitches. He hit two grand slams and had a pair of 3-run homers while delivering an extra-base hit on 12 of his 34 hits (35.3 percent). He finished the year with five multiple-RBI games including a 5-RBI game, a 4- RBI game and two 3-RBI games.
Mercado (Pasco, Wash./Tri-Cities Prep) led Oregon in wins and earned runs average going 6-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 25 appearances. The Ducks' righty fanned 41 while walking just 12 in 41.1 innings pitched while allowing 14 runs (12 earned) on 38 hits. He led the team in fewest base on balls per nine innings (.290), held opposing hitters to a .247 batting average and allowed just five of 22 (.227) inherited runners to score. Mercado was dominant in 13 appearances in Pac-12 games, finishing 4-1 with a 1.23 ERA while fanning 22 and walking just eight in 22 innings while giving up just four runs (3 earned) on 15 hits. He held Pac-12 hitters to a .200 batting average, allowed just four of 16 (.250) inherited runners to score, including just one of the last 11 (.091).
Smith (Newport Beach, Calif./Servite HS) enters his final season in Eugene as one of the most accomplished players in Oregon baseball history. A 2021 Collegiate Baseball and 2022 Senior CLASS Award® All-American, Smith heads into the season already among the top 10 in 15 career categories at Oregon, including holding the Ducks' career record for runs scored (155). He ranks second all-time in hits, multiple-RBI games, doubles and outfield assists, while ranking third in at-bats, fourth in games started and base on balls, fifth in RBI, slugging percentage and on-base percentage and ninth in home runs and hit-by-pitches. He also set the single-season records at Oregon for hits, multiple-hit games, doubles and at-bats during his career.
As a team, the Pac-12 coaches picked Oregon fifth in the preseason poll with 64 points. During the two full seasons of the Mark Wasikowski era the Ducks' were picked seventh in 2021 and finished second and were selected fifth in 2022 and finished fourth.
Infielder Drew Cowley, catcher Josiah Cromwick, pitcher Logan Mercado and outfielder Tanner Smith were all named to the team. The four Ducks on the team tied for the third most among Pac-12 teams, trailing only Stanford and UCLA.
Cowley (Upland, Calif./Upland HS/Cal Poly Pomona) earned second-team ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region honors last season after hitting a team-best .424 (64-for-151) with three home runs, 29 RBI, 16 doubles, two triples and 38 runs scored. Cowley, who missed 21 games with a wrist injury, had at least one hit in 31 of 38 starts while finishing with 20 multi-hit games, including seven 3-hit games and three 4-hit games. Cowley became just the third player in modern-program history to have three 4-hit games in a season.
Cromwick (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde HS) started 31 games last season including a team-best 30 at catcher. He batted .266 (34-for-128) with four home runs, 23 RBI, 17 runs scored, eight doubles, nine walks and six hit-by-pitches. He hit two grand slams and had a pair of 3-run homers while delivering an extra-base hit on 12 of his 34 hits (35.3 percent). He finished the year with five multiple-RBI games including a 5-RBI game, a 4- RBI game and two 3-RBI games.
Mercado (Pasco, Wash./Tri-Cities Prep) led Oregon in wins and earned runs average going 6-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 25 appearances. The Ducks' righty fanned 41 while walking just 12 in 41.1 innings pitched while allowing 14 runs (12 earned) on 38 hits. He led the team in fewest base on balls per nine innings (.290), held opposing hitters to a .247 batting average and allowed just five of 22 (.227) inherited runners to score. Mercado was dominant in 13 appearances in Pac-12 games, finishing 4-1 with a 1.23 ERA while fanning 22 and walking just eight in 22 innings while giving up just four runs (3 earned) on 15 hits. He held Pac-12 hitters to a .200 batting average, allowed just four of 16 (.250) inherited runners to score, including just one of the last 11 (.091).
Smith (Newport Beach, Calif./Servite HS) enters his final season in Eugene as one of the most accomplished players in Oregon baseball history. A 2021 Collegiate Baseball and 2022 Senior CLASS Award® All-American, Smith heads into the season already among the top 10 in 15 career categories at Oregon, including holding the Ducks' career record for runs scored (155). He ranks second all-time in hits, multiple-RBI games, doubles and outfield assists, while ranking third in at-bats, fourth in games started and base on balls, fifth in RBI, slugging percentage and on-base percentage and ninth in home runs and hit-by-pitches. He also set the single-season records at Oregon for hits, multiple-hit games, doubles and at-bats during his career.
As a team, the Pac-12 coaches picked Oregon fifth in the preseason poll with 64 points. During the two full seasons of the Mark Wasikowski era the Ducks' were picked seventh in 2021 and finished second and were selected fifth in 2022 and finished fourth.
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