Ducks open four-game series with Northwestern State Friday

Back At Home

After heading on the road for the first time last weekend, the Ducks return to PK Park for a four-game series against Northwestern State. Oregon opened the season with its first 15 games in the friendly confines, before heading to Washington State.
The Ducks will play 13 of their next 16 games in Eugene bringing the total to 28 of the first 34 games at home.

International Flavor

Oregon's roster has a distinct international look. In addition to featuring players from eight states, Oregon has players from four different countries.
JR OF Owen Diodati and FR RHPs Matthew Grabmann and Turner Spoljaric hail from Canada, while JR INF/C Sabin Ceballos is from Puerto Rico and JR UTL Rikuu Nishida grew up in Osaka, Japan.

Dallas Earns Pac-12 Honor

After tossing seven scoreless innings over three appearances last week, SR RHP Matt Dallas was named the Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week.
The Ducks reliever picked up the win in Oregon's series-clinching victory on Sunday tossing four scoreless innings while helping the Ducks rally from a six-run deficit to win the game.
He allowed just one run while matching a career high with five Ks in the win.

Series History - Northwestern State

This weekend's series between Oregon and Northwestern State will be the first games ever played between the two programs.
The games will also be the first between Oregon and a team from the Southland Conference.
Northwestern State is 2-2 all-time vs. Pac-12 teams (1-1 vs. Arizona, 0-1 vs. Oregon State, 1-0 vs. UCLA).

Ducks add Pac-12 series win over last remaining opponent in Wasikowski era

Oregon's series win at Washington State over the weekend allowed Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski to check the last box in regards to winning a series vs. the other teams in the Pac-12 Conference.
The Ducks had at least one series win over the other nine Pac-12 teams during his first two seasons at the helm of the Ducks.
Oregon has two series wins over Arizona State, California, Oregon State, USC, Utah and Washington during the Wasikowski era.
The Ducks are 45-30 (.600) in games vs. Pac-12 teams under Wasikowski including nonconference games vs. Oregon State and Pac-12 Conference Tournament games vs. Arizona and Arizona State.

Rewriting the record book

During head coach Mark Wasikowski's two full seasons at Oregon, the Ducks have rewritten the program's record book on offense.
Oregon's record-breaking offensive season came to an end in 2022 with the Ducks setting records in eight major statistical categories.
Oregon set school bests in batting average, hits, runs, home runs, RBI, doubles, total bases and at-bats.
The Ducks also finished in the top 10 in walks (6th) and stolen bases (T6th).
Of the eight new records, three broke school records set in 2021 when the team broke long-time records for runs (376 in 2010), home runs (48 in 1974) and RBI (332 in 2010).
While increasing the home run record by 27 during the Wasikowski era, the Ducks have increased the runs scored record by 76 and the RBI record by 84.

Three years running?

Oregon has set a new school record for home runs in each of the last two seasons.
The Ducks have increased the home run record by 27 long balls during the first two full seasons of the Mark Wasikowski era.
Oregon set a new school record with 75 home runs during the 2022 season, a year after hitting 56 to break the old record of 48 that was set in 1974.
The Ducks have hit 24 home runs heading into the Northwestern State series with long balls in 11 of the team's 18 games.
Oregon hit six in the Xavier series (4 games), none vs. UC Santa Barbara, seven vs. San Diego (4 games), five vs. UCLA (3 games) and five at Washington State (3 games) while hitting one in its only midweek game vs. Niagara.
The Ducks are averaging 1.33 home runs per game and if they maintain that pace will finish with 73 in their 55-game regular-season schedule.
Oregon hit 71 in the 56-game regular season last year.

Hit King

Heading into the Northwestern State series, OF Tanner Smith already holds six school records (3 career; 3 single season).
He tied the career hits record with five hits at Washington State last weekend, matching Gabe Matthews' (2017-21) career mark of 246 hits, and with one this weekend will own the record outright.
The Ducks' first career record to fall to Smith came during the 2022 season when he broke the runs scored record during game one of the Washington series (April 14).
The Ducks' left fielder broke the career multi-hit games record vs. San Diego on March 3 in game two of the series against the Toreros.
In 2021, Smith broke the single-season school record for doubles when he finished with 24 (breaking the old record of 20 held by Gabe Matthews, Mitchell Tolman and Ryon Healy).
Last season, Smith added the single-season hits and multi-hit games records to his resume, finishing with 85 base knocks (KC Serna - 81) and 27 multiple-hit games (tied Serna).
In all, Smith could add as many as eight more career records during the 2023 season.
Heading into the NSU series, he needs just 14 RBI to add that marquee record to his list.
He already ranks in the top five in career at-bats, games started, runs, hits, home runs, doubles, RBI, base on balls, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, multi-hit games and outfield assists; while ranking in the top 10 in multiple-RBI games.

Smith setting PK Park records

It is not just overall career records OF Tanner Smith is threatening.
The Ducks left fielder already owns the runs scored, hits total bases and at-bats records at PK Park (which opened in 2009) and has a chance to set a number of others during his final season in Eugene.
He set the runs record during the 2022 season, added the hits record in game two of the UCSB doubleheader on Feb. 25, set the new total bases record with a home run in game three of the USD series and added the at-bats record in the UCLA series finale.
With four games against Northwestern State this weekend, there is a good chance Smith will add some records.
Heading into the series, he needs one double and six RBI to set new PK Park records.

Nishida hard to ignore

Leading off or batting second 17 times while starting all 18 games this season, 2B Rikuu Nishida has made his presence felt on the base paths.
The Osaka, Japan native has already swiped nine bags, including two in two separate games.
If Nishida maintains his current pace of 1.80 stolen bases per series he will easily set a new Oregon single-season record.
The Ducks play 14 series during the season as well as 10 midweek games.
The Oregon record for stolen bases in a season is 18 set by Don Banderas in 1965.

The most stolen bases in the modern era of Oregon baseball came when Aaron Payne swiped 17 in 2014.

Cromwick earns Collegiate Baseball Players of the Week recognition

It was a big first weekend against Xavier for C Josiah Cromwick.
The Ducks' backstop slashed .444/.500/1.556 while hitting three home runs and doubling once.
In game one, Cromwick doubled in Oregon's 3-2 win.
In game two, Cromwick hit a pair of home runs (the first multi-home run game of his career) and matched a career best with 5 RBI.
In that win, he hit a 3-run homer in the first to give Oregon a 3-0 lead and then blasted a 2-run shot in the third in a 9-2, 7-inning win.
In that Sunday game, with Oregon trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Cromwick ripped a leadoff home run to tie the game. Oregon added two runs in the eighth for the win.
He also had one of Oregon's three stolen bases in the series

Stoffal returns to rotation

When Oregon took the field on Feb. 24 against UC Santa Barbara, JR RHP Jace Stoffal was on the mound after missing the Xavier series.
Last year's Sunday starter for the final half of the season, Stoffal put together his best outing in his last regular-season start of 2022.
On May 21 vs. No. 25 Arizona, Stoffal recorded both his first career win and first official quality start in a dominating performance against the Wildcats.
He allowed just one run on three hits in 7.0 innings while striking out three and walking just one. He Retired 16 straight batters at one point.
Oregon is hoping Stoffal, who was scratched from his start in the season-opening series, has the success the previous pitchers experienced who have taken the mound on "Friday nights" for the Ducks.
Of the 11 pitchers who have entered the season as the team's No. 1 starter, four have played Major League Baseball, nine were selected in the MLB Draft (2 - 1st Rounders) and one claimed Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year honors.

Trio of freshman open season in rotation

When FR RHPs Leo Uelmen, Matthew Grabmann and Jackson Pace made starts in the season-opening series vs. Xavier, they became just the eighth, ninth and 10th Oregon pitchers in the modern era to crack the weekend rotation during the opening weekend.
The list of freshmen to start during opening weekend is impressive with six of the previous seven getting drafted and four of the seven making it to the big leagues.
Before starting a freshman during the opening weekend last year, the last freshman to start a game in the season-opening series was David Peterson, who eventually was selected in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the New York Mets with pick No. 20.

Mollerus steps into closer role

Oregon boasts a proud tradition of fantastic closers who have locked up wins for the Ducks with clutch performances late in games.
San Francisco transfer RHP Josh Mollerus has stepped in as Oregon's stopper after two-time All-Pac-12 first-team selection Kolby Somers graduated.
He found immediate success in the role, earning his first win as a Duck in the season opener and his first save at Oregon in the series finale against Xavier.
Heading into the Northwestern State series, Mollerus has yet to allow a run in 10.0 inning pitched covering eight appearances.
In four seasons at USF, Mollerus worked in a variety of rolls before settling into a bullpen role in 2022 when he finished with a 4-2 record and a career-low 3.96 ERA with five saves and a career-high 52 strikeouts.
He also had a 1.07 WHIP and held opponents to a .221 batting average last season.