UO heads to WSU for big series
Ducks travel to Pullman for must win series: Oregon returns to conference play this weekend when the Ducks visit Washington State at Bailey-Brayton Field. Oregon heads into the weekend needing to win the series to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Ducks have won six straight against the Cougars including sweeping WSU on the Palouse in 2013. Washington State leads the all-time series 148-122-1, including a 29-15 edge in Pullman. Oregon holds a 10-8 edge in the series since 2009 when baseball returned to Eugene.
WSU series starts nine game in 12-day stretch that could determine Ducks’ postseason fate: The Washington State three-game series is just the first third of a nine-game schedule over the next 12 days that could determine if the Ducks are going to play in the postseason. After wrapping up the series in Pullman, the Ducks fly home where they will play Gonzaga in a two-game series on Tuesday and Wednesday at PK Park. After finishing with the Zags, the Ducks travel to Salt Lake Thursday where they will open a three-game Pac-12 series against Utah on Friday. Once that series is over on Sunday, UO heads back to Oregon for another game in Corvallis against Oregon State on Tuesday, May 19.
Cleavinger closing in on 100th career appearance: JR LHP Garrett Cleavinger became the school’s all-time leader in appearances when he took the mound in a March 6 win over St. John’s. Cleavinger pitched in his 77th career game moving past Jimmie Sherfy, who appeared in 76 games from 2009 to 2011. Cleavinger added appearance numbers 96, 97 and 98 against Stanford last weekend. Cleavinger ranks eighth in the nation in career appearances and is the only junior in the top 13.
All three games at Washington State will be televised by Pac-12 Networks: The Ducks will make 20 appearances on television during the 2015 regular season including all three games this weekend. Eight of the team’s 31 games at PK Park will be broadcast by the Pac-12 Networks with one televised by ESPNU. In all, six of the Ducks’ 10 Pac-12 series will have all three games televised. The Pac-12 Networks will broadcast all three games at Arizona (March 27-29), the three-game series against Washington (April 24-26) in Eugene, the three-game set at Washington State (May 8-10), the three-game series at Utah (May15-17) and the final series of the season against UCLA (May 22-24) at PK Park. Oregon’s three-game conference series against Oregon State (April 10-12) will also be broadcast with ESPNU televising the Friday series opener and the Pac-12 Networks carrying the final two games. In all, five Civil War games against Oregon State will be televised with the Pac-12 Networks broadcasting non-conference games in Corvallis on May 5 and May 19.
Ducks coming off loss at Oregon State: Oregon’s quest to make the postseason took another hit Tuesday, as the Ducks dropped a nonconference game at Oregon State, 10-2. The Beavers touched UO starter Josh Graham for five runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth. Oregon finally got on the board in the fifth when Tim Susnara reached and scored on an RBI double by Jakob Goldfarb, one of Goldfarb’s four hits on the day. The Ducks added another run in the sixth when Susnara’s two-out single scored Phil Craig-St. Louis. But the Beavers responded in the bottom of the sixth, and tacked on two more in the eighth.
Oregon one of only eight teams to win 40 or more games in each of previous three seasons; Ducks fifth among those teams in total wins: Oregon is one of just eight teams in the country with a chance for a fourth consecutive 40-win season. The Ducks’ 44 wins in 2014 came after UO won a school-record 48 games in 2013 season after winning a then school-record 46 games in 2012. Oregon’s 165 wins since the beginning of the 2012 season are the fifth most during that time and trails only LSU, Louisville, Florida State and Oregon State on the total wins list.Harber named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week: JR RHP Conor Harber was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 16-22. Harber threw six no-hit innings of relief to help Oregon post its third come-from-behind victory of the season, 3-1 over New Mexico State in the Ducks’ home opener at PK Park on Feb. 19. It was the second time in two weeks the Ducks threw Harber in relief of Cole Irvin, who remained on a pitch count as he built up his arm strength. After five two-hit innings in a shutout of Hawaii to open the season, Harber upped the ante by going six against NMSU and not allowing a hit.Irvin’s has been tough at home while struggling away from PK Park: The return from Tommy John surgery has been one of highs and lows for SO LHP Cole Irvin with most of the lows coming away from PK Park. Irvin gets the start in game one at Washington State Friday and he will need to stop a trend that has seen him struggle on the road of late. The Ducks lefty is 0-3 on the road this season with a 9.37 ERA in five starts. In 16.1 innings he has allowed 22 runs (17 earned) on 22 hits with nine strikeouts and four walks. A bulk of Irvin’s road problems came in his last two outings. He allowed 8 runs on seven hits in 1.2 innings at Arizona and gave up seven earned runs on six hits in 3.2 innings at USC. Irvin has been much better at home this season. The junior has a 2-1 record at PK Park with a 2.43 ERA. He has put together quality starts in two of his last three outings picking up wins over Oregon State and Stanford.
Graham named to John Olerud Award watch list: Pulling double duty has landed JR C/RHP Josh Graham on the watch list for the John Olerud Award, which honors the nation’s top player both on the mound and at the plate. Graham, who spent his first two seasons at Oregon as only a catcher, has been impressive in his move to the pitching mound. The Roseburg native was a key cog in the back end of the Ducks bullpen with a 2-0 record and a 1.84 ERA with a save before moving into the starting rotation for the Washington series. He has appeared in 14 games as a pitcher and struck out 36 batters in 34.1 innings pitched while allowing just seven earned runs on 23 hits with 12 walks. In his first career start on the mound, Graham picked up a no-decision allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts in five innings. Graham has also started 15 games, including 13 of the last 23, in the field with six starts coming at catcher and nine at designated hitter. He is batting .224 with six extra base hits and 12 RBI.
Chase named to watch lists: Oregon SR C Shaun Chase is one of 50 players on the watch list for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award. The senior is also one of 75 catchers named to the watch list for the Johnny Bench Award. Chase, a first-team All-Pac-12 pick as a junior, was named to the list after putting together one of the top power seasons in college baseball in 2014. The Ducks catcher finished second in the country in home runs per at bat hitting a homer every 10.36 at bats, while tying an Oregon single-season record with 14 dingers. Chase, who led the Pac-12 in homers, ranked seventh nationally in home runs and home runs per game (0.26) while leading the Pac-12 in long balls. He batted .283, third on the Ducks’ team, while finishing with nine doubles and 37 RBI. His .634 slugging percentage set a new single-season record at Oregon.
Cleavinger sets Oregon career record for appearances: JR LHP Garrett Cleavinger became the school’s all-time leader in appearances when he took the mound in a March 6 win over St. John’s. Cleavinger pitched in his 77th career game moving past Jimmie Sherfy, who appeared in 76 games from 2009 to 2011. Cleavinger added appearance numbers 96, 97 and 98 against Stanford last weekend.
Tolman needs three more RBI and four more doubles to set new school records: JR 2B Mitchell Tolman became just the third player in school history to drive in 100 runs in his career when the Ducks three-year starter reached the milestone during a three-RBI game at UC Riverside on March 24. Tolman added five RBI last week to run his career total to 116 where he sits in second all-time behind Ryon Healy (2011-13), who is the all-time leader with 118. Tolman also added one double last week to move closer to the all-time doubles lead at UO. Tolman has 40 career doubles and sits three behind Ryon Healy (2011-13) who is the all-time leader with 43. In all, Tolman ranks in the career top 10 at Oregon in 12 different categories -- at bats, games started, runs, hits, doubles, triples, RBI, walks, hit-by-pitches, intentional walks, multiple-RBI games and multiple-hit games.
Tolman’s consecutive start streak snapped at 128; the longest streak since return of baseball: It had been a long time since JR 2B Mitchell Tolman wasn’t in the Ducks’ starting lineup before he sat out the March 14 game at California. The Ducks second baseman had a 128-game start streak snapped when he didn’t play in the Ducks’ loss. The last time he wasn’t in the starting lineup was on March 13, 2013 when he sat out against Texas State. Tolman’s streak began two days later when he started at third base at USC in Oregon’s Pac-12 opener. Tolman’s versatility was extraordinary during the streak starting games at four different positions. His 17 starts at second base and one start at first base to open this season come after he started 72 games at third base in his first two seasons, as well as 20 at designated hitter and 18 at first base.
Ducks on the tube: The Ducks will make 20 appearances on television during the 2015 regular season. Eight of the team’s 31 games at PK Park will be broadcast by the Pac-12 Networks with one televised by ESPNU. In all, six of the Ducks’ 10 Pac-12 series will have all three games televised. The Pac-12 Networks will broadcast all three games at Arizona (March 27-29), the three-game series against Washington (April 24-26) in Eugene, the three-game set at Washington State (May 8-10), the three-game series at Utah (May15-17) and the final series of the season against UCLA (May 22-24) at PK Park. Oregon’s three-game conference series against Oregon State (April 10-12) will also be broadcast with ESPNU televising the Friday series opener and the Pac-12 Networks carrying the final two games. In all, five Civil War games against Oregon State will be televised with the Pac-12 Networks broadcasting non-conference games in Corvallis on May 5 and May 19.
Ducks schedule features 15 games against five teams ranked in preseason polls: Oregon will play 15 games against teams ranked in one or more of the preseason polls, with 12 of those games played at PK Park. The Ducks will meet their first ranked team on the road when UO travels to play at UC Santa Barbara during the season’s third weekend (Feb. 27-March 1). The Gauchos are ranked 16th in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll. The Ducks return home from UCSB to face St. John’s (Collegiate Baseball No. 29) in a three-game series (March 6-8) to make it six straight games played against teams in the polls. The Ducks host Arizona State (March 20-22) in a crucial early season Pac-12 series. The Sun Devils are ranked in every preseason poll and check in as high as No. 18 in the Baseball America poll. Stanford appears in three polls and will visit PK Park on May 1-3 with the Cardinal ranked as high as number 18 in Baseball America. The Ducks finish the season at home against Pac-12 preseason favorite UCLA with the Bruins boasting a top 10 ranking in four of the polls including a No. 4 ranking by D1Baseball.com, No. 5 Perfect Game, No. 9 USA Today Coaches Poll, No. 10 Collegiate Baseball and No. 11 Baseball America.
Ducks 21-14 all-time against ranked teams at PK Park: Oregon is no stranger to hosting ranked teams at PK Park. During the program’s five seasons playing in the park, the Ducks had played 32 games against teams ranked in the Baseball America top 25 and compiled an impressive 20-12 record in those games. In their first games of the 2015 season at PK Park, Oregon won the series finale against No. 16 Arizona State.
Ducks picked second in preseason Pac-12 Coaches Poll: The Oregon Ducks are picked to finish second in the 2015 Pac-12 Preseason Baseball Coaches’ Poll. UO received 84 points behind only preseason favorite UCLA. The Ducks won 44 games in 2014 before ending their season with a loss to eventual National Champion Vanderbilt in the Nashville Regional. UO returns five position player starters this season plus a starter from the 2013 season that redshirted last season. Offensively, the Ducks will be led by 2014 first-team All-Pac-12 players Shaun Chase and Mitchell Tolman who combined for 16 home runs, 48 extra base hits and 86 RBI. The Ducks will feature a young pitching staff with only one player having more than 10 Division I starts on the mound. Cole Irvin, a 2013 freshman All-American, returns from a redshirt season and should develop into the team’s ace as he returns to full strength around the beginning of Pac-12 play.
Three Ducks named to preseason All-America Teams: Three Ducks were named to preseason All-America Teams heading into the 2015 season. SR C Shaun Chase, JR INF Mitchell Tolman and SO LHP Cole Irvin each earned a spot on at least one of the preseason teams.
Chase was named to two preseason All-America Teams earning Louisville Slugger second-team honors from Collegiate Baseball and third-team recognition from D1Baseball.com. Chase, a first-team All-Pac-12 pick as a junior, was named to the teams after putting together one of the top power seasons in college baseball in 2014. The Ducks catcher finished second in the country in home runs per at bat hitting a homer every 10.36 at bats, while tying an Oregon single-season record with 14 dingers. Chase, who led the Pac-12 in homers, ranked seventh nationally in home runs and home runs per game (0.26) while leading the Pac-12 in long balls. He batted .283, third on the Ducks’ team, while finishing with nine doubles and 37 RBI. His .634 slugging percentage set a new single-season record at Oregon.
Irvin also was named to a pair of preseason All-American teams. He joined Chase as a second-team pick on the Louisville Slugger team, while also being named third-team by the National Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Irvin was named to the teams despite missing the entire 2014 season after suffering an elbow injury and having Tommy John surgery. The 6-foot-3 left-handed pitcher was Oregon’s Saturday starter during the 2013 season and finished with a school-record 12 wins while wrapping up his freshman season with a 2.48 ERA, a 12-3 record and four complete games. He claimed freshman All-America honors by both the NCBWA and Louisville Slugger, while earning honorable mention all-league recognition. Irvin claimed Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors twice, while being named the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week once. He won both the national and conference award after throwing his first career complete game, a 6-0 shutout of Washington where he struck out a season-high 11. His second Pac-12 award came after he shut out Ohio State in a 4-0 win with seven strikeouts. Irvin was also named to the Eugene Regional All-Tournament Team after holding San Francisco to just one run on six hits with nine strikeouts. The Yorba Linda, Calif., native started the 2013 season as Oregon’s Sunday starter but moved to Saturday’s in early April. After the change, Irvin went 6-2 with a 1.92 ERA and three complete games in eight starts. He finished the season with seven straight quality starts, while tying teammate Tommy Thorpe with a team-high 12 quality starts during the season.
Tolman was named third-team preseason All-America by Perfect Game. The Ducks junior was named as a third baseman, the position he played for a bulk of his sophomore season. He batted .315 with two home runs and 49 RBI. Tolman also had a .438 on-base percentage and a .470 slugging percentage with 18 doubles and five triples.
Seven Ducks on D1Baseball.com’s list of Pac-12 top prospects: D1Baseball.com released its list of the Pac-12 Conference’s top 20 prospects per class in February and seven Ducks made the list. LHPs Garrett Cleavinger and Cole Irvin ranked among the prospects eligible for the 2015 MLB Draft. Cleavinger, Oregon’s closer, was the top ranked UO player at No. 5, while Irvin, who is battling back from Tommy John surgery, ranks 10th. Three Ducks who are eligible for the 2015 Draft made the list. Former first-round draft pick LHP Matt Krook, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery and may miss the season, is ranked second while RHP Stephen Nogosek is ranked 12th in the class and SS Mark Karaviotis is 17th. D1Baseball also ranks the impact freshmen with UO LHP David Peterson checking in at No. 2 on the list and C/RHP Tim Susnara ranking 18th.
