Ducks And Dawgs Renew Rivalry At PK Park
THIS WEEK
Oregon returns to PK Park for a three-game weekend series with Pac-10 Conference and Northwest rival Washington. The Ducks are returning to Eugene after their longest road trip of the season, spending five days on the road in California.
TV/RADIO
The Oregon Sports Network will offer live television broadcasts on Saturday and Sunday on KEVU (channel 4) and Comcast SportsNet Northwest (channel 37). Both games are set to start at 1 p.m., with Joe Giansante and Rob Closs as the on-air talent.
Over the radio airwaves, all three games this weekend will be broadcast on KUGN 590 in Eugene. Jerry Allen and Brian Prawitz will make the call.
VIDEO/AUDIO/LIVE STATS
The O-Zone will offer a live video and audio broadcast of all three games this week available on www.GoDucks.com. Live stats will also be offered on www.GoDucks.com for all three upcoming games.
O-ZONE
Oregon baseball fans can now watch all home games live on the O-Zone at www.GoDucks.com. All home games will offer live video and audio. Live stats will also be available for all home games at www.GoDucks.com.
WASHINGTON
The Huskies return to Eugene for baseball for the first time since 1981. The last time the two teams squared off in Eugene, Washington swept the Ducks in a doubleheader on the final day of the 1981 regular season to win the Pac-10 Northern Division Title. The Dawgs and Ducks have played four times already this season in non-conference action, with UW winning three of those contests. The Huskies pitching staff has held the Ducks to a .211 average in those games. The Dawgs (15-22, 4-8) come into this weekend after a 6-5 win over Portland on Tuesday, and after being swept by UCLA in Los Angeles last weekend. Kyle Conley leads the Dawgs at the plate batting .341 with 14 home runs and 39 RBIs.
UC IRVINE RECAP
Crucial innings from top-ranked UC Irvine proved to be the difference in both Anteater wins earlier this week. In Monday’s 9-6 win over Oregon, the No. 1 Anteaters put up four runs in the bottom of the seventh to break a 5-5 tie, and in Tuesday’s 7-4 win, scored three in the eighth on their way to another victory. Curtis Raulinaitis led the Ducks at the plate batting .556.
CALIFORNIA SERIES RECAP
Oregon dropped its fourth straight conference series at California last weekend, 2-1. The Ducks fell 14-1, allowing the most runs this season, last Friday, but regrouped the next day. Erik Stavert pitched a gem, tossing eight shutout innings, before allowing a two-run homer on his final pitch of the game in the ninth. In his longest outing of the year, Stavert allowed just five hits and struck out eight in the Ducks 5-3 win. In Sunday’s rubber game, Cal brought out the bats again, hitting three home runs in an 11-1 victory.
500 AND COUNTING
Oregon’s exhilarating 3-2 comeback victory in the 10th inning over Oregon State on March 28 at PGE Park not only served as the Ducks first Pac-10 victory in 28 years, but was also the 500th Division I victory for head coach George Horton.
WHO’S HOT?
Junior Curtis Raulinaitis led Oregon on its California road trip batting .476 (10-of-21) in games against California and No.1 UC Irvine. The native of Sacramento, Calif., had two doubles and one triple with two RBIs in those five games. Also in the outfield was Jett Hart, who returned to the starting lineup on Saturday at California and remained in right field for the rest of the road trip. Hart hit .417 with a two-run double, two sacrifice hits and a perfect 3-for-3 performance in stolen bases. Junior Erik Stavert’s pitching performance at California last Saturday earned him his fourth victory of the year. In his longest outing of the year, Stavert allowed only two runs on five hits in eight innings while dealing eight strikeouts.
STANDARD STAVERT
Junior right-hander Erik Stavert (4-2) is currently the only Oregon starter with a winning record. He is maintaining a 3.04 ERA and has pitched a team-leading 59.1 innings this season. The transfer from Chabot Junior College has dealt a staff-best 50 strikeouts and leads Oregon holding opponents to a .222 batting average. Last week, Real Baseball Intelligence, ranked Stavert as the 140th overall MLB Draft Prospect. In his start at California last Saturday, it was Stavert’s effort on the mound that led the Ducks to victory. He pitched eight shutout innings, before allowing a two-run homer in the ninth on his final toss of the game. In his longest outing of the season, Stavert allowed just five hits and dealt eight strikeouts.
HOME RUN TALLY
Oregon hit two more home runs last weekend, bringing its season total to 16. The freshman class was responsible for both, as Darrell Hunter hit his first collegiate round-tripper to give Oregon a 2-0 lead on Saturday vs. Cal. KC Serna also hit his team-leading third homer of the year in Saturday’s win as well. Of the Ducks 16 home runs this year, 10 belong to freshmen; Serna (3), Paul Eshleman (2), Antony Kreitz (2), John Adamson (1), Hunter (1) and Colby Sokol (1). Caleb Tommasini and Jett Hart have two apiece, while Mitch Karraker and Eddy Rodriguez have also hit home runs.
SPEEDY TOMMASINI
Oregon senior center fielder Caleb Tommasini moved from the gridiron to the baseball diamond in 2009, and the Tenmile, Ore., native hasn’t missed a step. His 15 stolen bases on the year tie for tops in the Pac-10. The former defensive back turned outfielder is second for the Ducks in batting average (.306), while leading the team in slugging percentage (.387), on-base percentage (.389), runs scored (20), total bases (55) and walks (14).
IN THE CORNERS
While Tommasini patrols center field, Curtis Raulinaitis and Jett Hart spend their time patrolling the outfield corners. Batting .476 during the team’s five-game road trip to California, Raulinaitis now leads the team in batting average (.306), hits (44) and multiple-hit games (13). Over in right, Hart enters the Washington series on a five-game hitting streak, while also tied for the team lead with four multiple-RBI games. Although not having played in all 12 Pac-10 games, Hart actually leads the Ducks with a .294 batting average in conference games only.
ON THE CORNERS
Oregon has used 30 different position lineups this season. Most of the changes have been made trying to find Oregon’s best four in the infield. The Ducks have used have used five different starters at first base with Andrew Schmidt (16), Eddy Rodriguez (11) and Darrell Hunter (7) getting most of the reps. Danny Pulfer started the first 14 games of the year at second base before making the move to third. On the year, Pulfer has started 19 games at second, 16 at third and three at shortstop. KC Serna started 28 out of 29 games at shortstop to start his collegiate career before making a brief three-game stint at third base at Cal last weekend. He returned to shortstop for both games at UC Irvine. Third base seems to now be occupied fulltime by Pulfer, who has started 16 games on the hot corner with Josh Hogan filling in at second base for 19 games.
WALKING OFF
John Adamson’s walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th during a 3-2 victory over Oregon State on March 28 was the third game to end in dramatic fashion this season. In addition to Adamson’s game-winner scoring Caleb Tommasini against OSU, senior Andrew Schmidt’s ninth-inning walk-off single gave the Ducks a historic 1-0 victory over the defending College World Series champion Fresno State Bulldogs on Feb. 27 - to christen PK Park. Freshman KC Serna has the honor of Oregon’s second game-winning hit, coming in the bottom of the 13th inning in a 3-2 victory over Santa Clara on March 8.
FIRST OF MANY
Oregon began its modern era on Friday, Feb. 20 at Saint Mary’s, and the 2009 Ducks began to log some firsts for the program in 28 years...freshman left-hander Tyler Anderson will go down in the record books with the first pitch, first strikeout and first win on the mound...Senior Caleb Tommasini led off the game with the first at-bat and hit of the season, as well as the first walk drawn and the first run scored...The first RBI and double of the new era belong to freshman shortstop KC Serna...The first defensive assist and putout belong to freshman Danny Pulfer and Mitch Karraker....Jett Hart’s two-run triple in the fifth was the first triple of the modern era on Feb. 20, and in the first game of the Feb. 21 doubleheader, Hart slugged a two-run homer to left field in the fourth to go down in the record books...With the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh on Feb. 20, junior left-hander Ryan Fleckenstein, junior catcher Eddy Rodriguez and freshman first baseman Darrell Hunter turned the first double play, 1-2-3, of 2009.
HOME OPENER
Oregon played its first home baseball game in 28 years on Friday, Feb. 27, christening PK Park and a sold out crown of 2,777 with a dramatic 1-0 victory over the defending College World Series champion Fresno State Bulldogs. A pitching duel between Oregon freshman left-hander Tyler Anderson and Fresno State’s Holden Sprague left the game scoreless headed into the ninth. Oregon junior left-hander Ryan Fleckenstein retired the side in the ninth to set up the Ducks victory. Junior catcher Eddy Rodriguez started the rally in the bottom of the ninth with a two-out single, and junior Jett Hart continued with another single that advanced Rodriguez to third. Senior Andrew Schmidt, pinch-hitting, secured the victory with a walk-off single to score the game-winning run.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Trailing Fresno State by eight runs entering the ninth on March 1, redshirt freshman Antony Kreitz entered the game as a defensive replacement in right field. In the bottom of the inning, the Eugene native received his first at-bat of the season and promptly made history. Kreitz hit the first-ever Oregon home run out of PK Park over the left field wall.
2008-09 ACCOLADES
The 2008-09 Oregon baseball recruiting class received two top-10 rankings during the fall. First, Collegiate Baseball’s annual evaluation ranked the Ducks’ recruiting class second in the nation, while Baseball America put Oregon’s class at No. 10.
The 2008-09 class includes nine players that were taken in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, but chose to instead attend the UO.
STANDING ROOM ONLY
Standing Room Only tickets for University of Oregon home baseball games are still available through the UO Athletic Ticket Office announced today.
Tickets can be purchased on www.GoDucks.com, via telephone (541-346-4461 or 1-800-WEBFOOT) and in person at the Casanova Center Ticket Building.
Standing Room Only tickets for all home contests will cost $8 each. Standing Room Only tickets for the matchups against Sacramento State and Portland will cost $6. There is a limit of four Standing Room Only tickets per customer per game.
For more information, please visit www.GoDucks.com or call 541-346-4461 or 1-800-WEBFOOT.
DUCKS ON CSNNW
The Oregon Sports Network announced that it will broadcast 13 games during the season.
“My staff, the student-athletes and the program are delighted about the news that OSN will be producing a 13-game schedule this season,” head coach George Horton said. “The University and the Athletics Department has made a great step to reach out to all of our fans.”
All 13 games broadcast during the year will be aired on Comcast SportsNet Northwest (37) as well as CSN’s new HD channel (737).
OSN will cover the entire season from March through May, broadcasting three non-conference games and 10 conference games, including the Civil War Series from PK Park and PGE Park.
Two Oregon opponents on the television schedule competed in the 2008 College World Series; Fresno State (March 1) and Stanford (April 4), with the Bulldogs winning the championship.
The first broadcast of the season will be March 1, when Oregon hosts Fresno State, the defending CWS champions, at PK Park.
OSN will also broadcast three games against opponents that competed in last year’s Regionals and Super Regionals; UCLA (May 3) and Arizona (May 23-24).
OSN’s first Pac-10 broadcast of the year will be the conference opener and first Civil War baseball game in 28 years, when the Beavers visit PK Park on March 27. Oregon will also broadcast the third game of that series, Sunday, March 29, from PGE Park in Portland.
Oregon returns to PK Park for a three-game weekend series with Pac-10 Conference and Northwest rival Washington. The Ducks are returning to Eugene after their longest road trip of the season, spending five days on the road in California.
TV/RADIO
The Oregon Sports Network will offer live television broadcasts on Saturday and Sunday on KEVU (channel 4) and Comcast SportsNet Northwest (channel 37). Both games are set to start at 1 p.m., with Joe Giansante and Rob Closs as the on-air talent.
Over the radio airwaves, all three games this weekend will be broadcast on KUGN 590 in Eugene. Jerry Allen and Brian Prawitz will make the call.
VIDEO/AUDIO/LIVE STATS
The O-Zone will offer a live video and audio broadcast of all three games this week available on www.GoDucks.com. Live stats will also be offered on www.GoDucks.com for all three upcoming games.
O-ZONE
Oregon baseball fans can now watch all home games live on the O-Zone at www.GoDucks.com. All home games will offer live video and audio. Live stats will also be available for all home games at www.GoDucks.com.
WASHINGTON
The Huskies return to Eugene for baseball for the first time since 1981. The last time the two teams squared off in Eugene, Washington swept the Ducks in a doubleheader on the final day of the 1981 regular season to win the Pac-10 Northern Division Title. The Dawgs and Ducks have played four times already this season in non-conference action, with UW winning three of those contests. The Huskies pitching staff has held the Ducks to a .211 average in those games. The Dawgs (15-22, 4-8) come into this weekend after a 6-5 win over Portland on Tuesday, and after being swept by UCLA in Los Angeles last weekend. Kyle Conley leads the Dawgs at the plate batting .341 with 14 home runs and 39 RBIs.
UC IRVINE RECAP
Crucial innings from top-ranked UC Irvine proved to be the difference in both Anteater wins earlier this week. In Monday’s 9-6 win over Oregon, the No. 1 Anteaters put up four runs in the bottom of the seventh to break a 5-5 tie, and in Tuesday’s 7-4 win, scored three in the eighth on their way to another victory. Curtis Raulinaitis led the Ducks at the plate batting .556.
CALIFORNIA SERIES RECAP
Oregon dropped its fourth straight conference series at California last weekend, 2-1. The Ducks fell 14-1, allowing the most runs this season, last Friday, but regrouped the next day. Erik Stavert pitched a gem, tossing eight shutout innings, before allowing a two-run homer on his final pitch of the game in the ninth. In his longest outing of the year, Stavert allowed just five hits and struck out eight in the Ducks 5-3 win. In Sunday’s rubber game, Cal brought out the bats again, hitting three home runs in an 11-1 victory.
500 AND COUNTING
Oregon’s exhilarating 3-2 comeback victory in the 10th inning over Oregon State on March 28 at PGE Park not only served as the Ducks first Pac-10 victory in 28 years, but was also the 500th Division I victory for head coach George Horton.
WHO’S HOT?
Junior Curtis Raulinaitis led Oregon on its California road trip batting .476 (10-of-21) in games against California and No.1 UC Irvine. The native of Sacramento, Calif., had two doubles and one triple with two RBIs in those five games. Also in the outfield was Jett Hart, who returned to the starting lineup on Saturday at California and remained in right field for the rest of the road trip. Hart hit .417 with a two-run double, two sacrifice hits and a perfect 3-for-3 performance in stolen bases. Junior Erik Stavert’s pitching performance at California last Saturday earned him his fourth victory of the year. In his longest outing of the year, Stavert allowed only two runs on five hits in eight innings while dealing eight strikeouts.
STANDARD STAVERT
Junior right-hander Erik Stavert (4-2) is currently the only Oregon starter with a winning record. He is maintaining a 3.04 ERA and has pitched a team-leading 59.1 innings this season. The transfer from Chabot Junior College has dealt a staff-best 50 strikeouts and leads Oregon holding opponents to a .222 batting average. Last week, Real Baseball Intelligence, ranked Stavert as the 140th overall MLB Draft Prospect. In his start at California last Saturday, it was Stavert’s effort on the mound that led the Ducks to victory. He pitched eight shutout innings, before allowing a two-run homer in the ninth on his final toss of the game. In his longest outing of the season, Stavert allowed just five hits and dealt eight strikeouts.
HOME RUN TALLY
Oregon hit two more home runs last weekend, bringing its season total to 16. The freshman class was responsible for both, as Darrell Hunter hit his first collegiate round-tripper to give Oregon a 2-0 lead on Saturday vs. Cal. KC Serna also hit his team-leading third homer of the year in Saturday’s win as well. Of the Ducks 16 home runs this year, 10 belong to freshmen; Serna (3), Paul Eshleman (2), Antony Kreitz (2), John Adamson (1), Hunter (1) and Colby Sokol (1). Caleb Tommasini and Jett Hart have two apiece, while Mitch Karraker and Eddy Rodriguez have also hit home runs.
SPEEDY TOMMASINI
Oregon senior center fielder Caleb Tommasini moved from the gridiron to the baseball diamond in 2009, and the Tenmile, Ore., native hasn’t missed a step. His 15 stolen bases on the year tie for tops in the Pac-10. The former defensive back turned outfielder is second for the Ducks in batting average (.306), while leading the team in slugging percentage (.387), on-base percentage (.389), runs scored (20), total bases (55) and walks (14).
IN THE CORNERS
While Tommasini patrols center field, Curtis Raulinaitis and Jett Hart spend their time patrolling the outfield corners. Batting .476 during the team’s five-game road trip to California, Raulinaitis now leads the team in batting average (.306), hits (44) and multiple-hit games (13). Over in right, Hart enters the Washington series on a five-game hitting streak, while also tied for the team lead with four multiple-RBI games. Although not having played in all 12 Pac-10 games, Hart actually leads the Ducks with a .294 batting average in conference games only.
ON THE CORNERS
Oregon has used 30 different position lineups this season. Most of the changes have been made trying to find Oregon’s best four in the infield. The Ducks have used have used five different starters at first base with Andrew Schmidt (16), Eddy Rodriguez (11) and Darrell Hunter (7) getting most of the reps. Danny Pulfer started the first 14 games of the year at second base before making the move to third. On the year, Pulfer has started 19 games at second, 16 at third and three at shortstop. KC Serna started 28 out of 29 games at shortstop to start his collegiate career before making a brief three-game stint at third base at Cal last weekend. He returned to shortstop for both games at UC Irvine. Third base seems to now be occupied fulltime by Pulfer, who has started 16 games on the hot corner with Josh Hogan filling in at second base for 19 games.
WALKING OFF
John Adamson’s walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th during a 3-2 victory over Oregon State on March 28 was the third game to end in dramatic fashion this season. In addition to Adamson’s game-winner scoring Caleb Tommasini against OSU, senior Andrew Schmidt’s ninth-inning walk-off single gave the Ducks a historic 1-0 victory over the defending College World Series champion Fresno State Bulldogs on Feb. 27 - to christen PK Park. Freshman KC Serna has the honor of Oregon’s second game-winning hit, coming in the bottom of the 13th inning in a 3-2 victory over Santa Clara on March 8.
FIRST OF MANY
Oregon began its modern era on Friday, Feb. 20 at Saint Mary’s, and the 2009 Ducks began to log some firsts for the program in 28 years...freshman left-hander Tyler Anderson will go down in the record books with the first pitch, first strikeout and first win on the mound...Senior Caleb Tommasini led off the game with the first at-bat and hit of the season, as well as the first walk drawn and the first run scored...The first RBI and double of the new era belong to freshman shortstop KC Serna...The first defensive assist and putout belong to freshman Danny Pulfer and Mitch Karraker....Jett Hart’s two-run triple in the fifth was the first triple of the modern era on Feb. 20, and in the first game of the Feb. 21 doubleheader, Hart slugged a two-run homer to left field in the fourth to go down in the record books...With the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh on Feb. 20, junior left-hander Ryan Fleckenstein, junior catcher Eddy Rodriguez and freshman first baseman Darrell Hunter turned the first double play, 1-2-3, of 2009.
HOME OPENER
Oregon played its first home baseball game in 28 years on Friday, Feb. 27, christening PK Park and a sold out crown of 2,777 with a dramatic 1-0 victory over the defending College World Series champion Fresno State Bulldogs. A pitching duel between Oregon freshman left-hander Tyler Anderson and Fresno State’s Holden Sprague left the game scoreless headed into the ninth. Oregon junior left-hander Ryan Fleckenstein retired the side in the ninth to set up the Ducks victory. Junior catcher Eddy Rodriguez started the rally in the bottom of the ninth with a two-out single, and junior Jett Hart continued with another single that advanced Rodriguez to third. Senior Andrew Schmidt, pinch-hitting, secured the victory with a walk-off single to score the game-winning run.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Trailing Fresno State by eight runs entering the ninth on March 1, redshirt freshman Antony Kreitz entered the game as a defensive replacement in right field. In the bottom of the inning, the Eugene native received his first at-bat of the season and promptly made history. Kreitz hit the first-ever Oregon home run out of PK Park over the left field wall.
2008-09 ACCOLADES
The 2008-09 Oregon baseball recruiting class received two top-10 rankings during the fall. First, Collegiate Baseball’s annual evaluation ranked the Ducks’ recruiting class second in the nation, while Baseball America put Oregon’s class at No. 10.
The 2008-09 class includes nine players that were taken in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, but chose to instead attend the UO.
STANDING ROOM ONLY
Standing Room Only tickets for University of Oregon home baseball games are still available through the UO Athletic Ticket Office announced today.
Tickets can be purchased on www.GoDucks.com, via telephone (541-346-4461 or 1-800-WEBFOOT) and in person at the Casanova Center Ticket Building.
Standing Room Only tickets for all home contests will cost $8 each. Standing Room Only tickets for the matchups against Sacramento State and Portland will cost $6. There is a limit of four Standing Room Only tickets per customer per game.
For more information, please visit www.GoDucks.com or call 541-346-4461 or 1-800-WEBFOOT.
DUCKS ON CSNNW
The Oregon Sports Network announced that it will broadcast 13 games during the season.
“My staff, the student-athletes and the program are delighted about the news that OSN will be producing a 13-game schedule this season,” head coach George Horton said. “The University and the Athletics Department has made a great step to reach out to all of our fans.”
All 13 games broadcast during the year will be aired on Comcast SportsNet Northwest (37) as well as CSN’s new HD channel (737).
OSN will cover the entire season from March through May, broadcasting three non-conference games and 10 conference games, including the Civil War Series from PK Park and PGE Park.
Two Oregon opponents on the television schedule competed in the 2008 College World Series; Fresno State (March 1) and Stanford (April 4), with the Bulldogs winning the championship.
The first broadcast of the season will be March 1, when Oregon hosts Fresno State, the defending CWS champions, at PK Park.
OSN will also broadcast three games against opponents that competed in last year’s Regionals and Super Regionals; UCLA (May 3) and Arizona (May 23-24).
OSN’s first Pac-10 broadcast of the year will be the conference opener and first Civil War baseball game in 28 years, when the Beavers visit PK Park on March 27. Oregon will also broadcast the third game of that series, Sunday, March 29, from PGE Park in Portland.
