By John Evans

EUGENE, OR - This Tuesday and Wednesday, Oregon Baseball will host the San Francisco Dons for a two-game midweek series at PK Park. After going into last weekend’s series against Oregon State riding a 10-game winning streak, the Ducks would win the first game of the series before suffering disappointing losses in games two and three at the hands of the Beavers. Oregon currently sits at a 20-9 overall record on the season, including a 7-5 record in Pac-12 play. San Francisco comes into the series with a 13-13 record on the season, having most recently lost two out of three at BYU. 

Oregon

After a 2-0 win in game one against Oregon State, the Ducks were looking to extend their 11-game winning streak through the rest of the series. Unfortunately, the Beavers’ bats would wake up over the next two games, as they defeated the Ducks 4-2 and 12-2. Over the course of the winning streak that helped propel Oregon back into the top 25, the pitching staff was able to limit opponents to only 4.2 runs per game, which is nearly a whole run lower than the 5.1 they have allowed in all other games this season. Consistency from the starting rotation has been something the Ducks have struggled to find this season, and Jace Stoffal and Logan Mercado combining to allow one run across 12 innings in the first two games was a promising start to the series. Unfortunately, Leo Uelmen would surrender five earned runs in the first inning of game three, stripping the Ducks of an opportunity to come away with a series win. Additionally, the offense wasn’t able to make up for the pitching’s shortcomings, slashing a measly .154/.222/.231 during the series.

The Ducks boast a strong offense overall, with a .862 team OPS. They are led on that side of the ball by third baseman, Sabin Ceballos and left fielder, Tanner Smith, who have put up OPSs of 1.014 and 1.050 respectively. Smith, a fifth-year senior, has been a star for the Ducks this season, as the first player in Oregon history to homer in five straight games, and recently becoming the all-time hits leader in program history. Ceballos and Smith are flanked in the lineup by other strong bats like Jacob Walsh, Drew Cowley, and Colby Shade, as well as the speedy leadoff hitter, Rikuu Nishida, who leads the team with 13 stolen bases on the season. As the season has gone along, the lineup has been able to find more consistency as players have settled into their roles, with the offense averaging 9.5 runs per game since the start of the win streak on March 18. 

There is no doubt that starting pitching consistency has been one of the main things holding the Ducks back this season, with Jace Stoffal being the only pitcher to have started at least half of his appearances and still have an ERA under six, with his currently sitting at a respectable 3.31 across seven starts this season, along with being named Pac-12 pitcher of the week last week. Despite the up-and-down nature of the starters, the bullpen has been consistently able to keep the team in a position to win games this season. The back-end trio of Josh Mollerus, Austin Anderson, and Matt Dallas have been absolutely electric, combining to throw 56 innings with a 1.29 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, and a 3.00 K/BB ratio. Additionally, while freshman, Matthew Grabman has struggled to find consistency in locating his pitches while bouncing between a starter and reliever role, walking just over seven batters per nine innings, he has excelled at limiting hits, especially hard contact, giving up just two home across his 25.2 innings this season, which has contributed to 2.45 ERA on the year.

San Francisco

It has been an up-and-down season for the Dons this year, who currently sit in eighth place in the WCC, including a win over a then-ranked Washington State team, but also a sweep at the hands of conference-rival Gonzaga. Overall their record sits at 13-13, including a 4-8 record against WCC opponents. Offensively, they are led by shortstop, Mario DeMera, who has been incredible in the leadoff role this season, hitting .402 while leading the team in doubles. He is joined in the lineup by catcher, Michael Campagna, who has a 1.002 OPS on the season, and first baseman Christian Stapleton, who leads the team with a 1.005 OPS and seven home runs. The pitching staff is led by the starting combination of Jesse Barron and Adam Shew, each of whom have ERAs sitting in the fours this year, at 4.10 and 4.95 respectively.

Final Overview

Overall, I think this should be a pretty easy series victory for the Ducks, and a nice chance to get back to the type of ball they were playing before the two losses to Oregon State. A generally weaker pitching staff from San Francisco should give guys like Ceballos and Smith an opportunity to help the Ducks jump out early, and if the starting pitching can give efforts that put the team in a position to win, Oregon’s strong bullpen should be able close the games out without much trouble.