By Ryan Oppenheimer
No. 22 Oregon Baseball (28-12, 11-7 Pac-12) will face its toughest test yet this weekend as it heads to Corvallis to take on the No. 9 Oregon State Beavers (31-9, 10-7) starting Friday at 6:05 p.m.
The series technically spans three games in Corvallis, but it’s immediately followed by one more matchup in Eugene Tuesday evening. The quartet marks the final Ducks-Beavers meetup of the Pac-12 era, but the significance doesn’t stop there. Both teams are jockeying for Pac-12 tournament positioning, with the Ducks currently tied with Utah for second place in the conference and the Beavers sitting half a game behind. Both also have national title aspirations and are looking to boost their chances of hosting tournament games.
Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski isn’t typically one for drama or hyperbole. Still, even he couldn’t deny the gravity of the occasion, calling it “the biggest rivalry on the West Coast” in terms of both talent and atmosphere.
“There’s a few West Coast schools that really have really good environments, and this series just happens to be two of the schools that can pack the house,” Wasikowski said.
The national media is taking notice of the marquee matchup. ESPN2 will broadcast Saturday’s game at 6:05 p.m., marking the first time an Oregon regular season game has ever been featured there.
Let’s take a look at what to expect from each team heading into Friday’s showdown at Goss Stadium.
Oregon
The Ducks come off a trip to the Bay Area that saw them lose their first Pac-12 series of the year to a sub-.500 Stanford team before returning to form with a win over San Francisco. Oregon starters RJ Gordon and Kevin Seitter were roughed up for 15 combined earned runs in the two losses to the Cardinal. Gordon will likely start Friday and try to rebound.
Ian Umlandt, on the other hand, has been untouchable since he entered the starting rotation. He remained on the bump for the entirety of Monday’s 7-2 win over the Dons, striking out a batter per inning and avoiding any walks over his 111 pitches. His staggering 0.77 WHIP leads the team. If he can keep his 4-0 record unblemished against a dangerous Beavers lineup, it would cement him as one of college baseball’s most exciting up-and-comers.
The Ducks offense has been one of the country’s most potent all season. Despite their youth, they’ve shown a mature, level-headed approach that prepares them for big games like this. Jacob Walsh refuses to slow down, and he was rewarded for slashing a torrid .706/.750/1.647 last weekend with the NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy Co-Hitter of the Week award.
The success of Oregon’s all-time home run leader seems to be rubbing off on many of his younger teammates. Freshman infielders Maddox Molony and Ryan Cooney have already tied Walsh’s record for freshman season homers with six each.
Walsh said the two are “inseparable” friends, roommates, and exceptionally hard workers. They certainly form an exciting future for Oregon’s infield. This season, they have shared the load at short fairly evenly. Cooney has also traded reps at second base with sophomore Drew Smith, who has impressed in his own right with a .309/.419/.420 slashline. We’ll see how Wasikowski decides to get all three on the field this weekend, because they’ve all earned it.
Oregon State
The Beavers also come off a disappointing showing in the Bay Area, suffering a shocking sweep at the hands of Cal. It’s not like they lost to some nobody — the Bears are 25-14 — but losing in walk-off fashion in the series finale to seal the sweep was certainly a punch in the mouth.
Of course, it doesn’t change the fact that they possess arguably the country’s most impressive player in Travis Bazzana. The Sydney, Australia native put together a marvelous March with 10 homers in 16 games for a 1.676 OPS. He’s done mind-boggling things since the day he put on a Beaver uniform, winning two — soon to be three — All-Pac-12 First Team selections in as many seasons.
The rest of the lineup won’t provide much breathing room for Oregon pitchers. One of the many standouts for the .313-hitting Beavers is Dallas Macias, who is 30-for-96 with five homers and 21 RBI over his last 23 games.
Oregon State will likely start junior righty Aiden May for game 1. He has racked up strikeouts in limited innings, flourishing on his home turf with 14 Ks and a 3.46 ERA in 13 innings at Goss. The Ducks will also see Jacob Kmatz at some point, who has been a reliable ace with a team-low 0.96 WHIP in 10 starts.
Final Thoughts and Prediction
These are evenly matched teams in similar positions. Both are looking to gain back the momentum they had before being ambushed by unlikely opponents. Both have reasons to be fired up, whether that be the national spotlight, the storied rivalry, the conference tournament implications, or hot stretches from key players. Both are top-50 offenses in terms of long balls, and I expect to see that on display in the upcoming four games. Pitching may be at a premium because of all the offensive firepower. If Umlandt and Kmatz — the two hottest pitchers on either side — face each other, the winner of that game would receive a huge momentum boost.
The Beavers have only lost one game at Goss this season — Stanford won an 11-10 thriller on April 14 to avoid getting swept — but Wasikowski’s squad has the talent and poise to steal at least one on the road. I predict the Ducks to go 1-2 in Corvo before getting the last laugh in Eugene on Tuesday.