By Charles Martindale

The 2023 season has been another solid one in Eugene, with coach Mark Wasikowski leading the Ducks to a 30-win season for the third consecutive year. With the Pac-12 tournament on the horizon, the rival Washington Huskies come to town for a three game set. On the bump for Oregon Friday night is junior righty Logan Mercado. It’s been a mixed bag for Mercado so far this season, putting up respectable innings totals and strikeout numbers while struggling to keep runs off the board. In game two, Jackson Pace takes the ball. Similar to Mercado, Pace has struggled at times this year, but he lacks the swing and miss stuff to go deep into games. Oregon has beaten Washington in all seven of the team’s most recent meetings, but will have to play this series without Jace Stoffal, who’s presence on the mound has been a steady one for the Ducks. Without Stoffal, freshman Matthew Grabmann slides into the Sunday starter role. This will be Grabmann’s eighth start in college, and he’s put up an impressive sub four ERA between the bullpen and rotation so far. Oregon’s starter’s aren’t their strong suit in this one, with the Huskies ranking third in the Pac-12 in runs allowed. Stu Flesland is nearing the 70 inning mark, and Kiefer Lord has a sub 3.5 ERA despite tossing 62 innings already this season. The Ducks will be looking for some steps forward from all three of their starters this series, hoping they do enough to keep Oregon’s offense in games.

That offense has been the strength for Oregon all season. Sabin Ceballos has garnered draft buzz after a dominant 2023 at the plate. Tanner Smith and Drew Cowley both have OPS marks near 1.000, and the table has been set all year by freshman Rikku Nishida, who’s a big part of why Oregon is third in the conference in steals. With such a deep lineup, the game plan for the Ducks this series will likely be to stay as close to Washington as they can early, before the bats get through the lineup a few times and can start putting runs on the board. Washington’s biggest threat offensively is Will Simpson, who leads the team in OPS, home runs, and steals.

Despite a decent amount of adversity, Oregon’s 2023 season has been an encouraging one, and with one of their most bitter rivals coming to town as home games for the year close out, they’ll have more to play for than just their spot in the Pac-12.