The University of Oregon Baseball team had a fantastic opening-day game against Toledo. After an initially slow start to the game, the Ducks turned it on in the final three innings winning 9-2. 

This was the result of a fantastic team effort on all fronts. The hitters, pitchers and defense stepped up enormously in Friday’s game. 

Things that went right

Pitching: 

Grayson Grinsell put together a phenomenal demonstration of Division I college baseball pitching on Friday. In the five innings he pitched there was only one run and one hit each. 

When asked about his performance after the game he stated his goal was to “set the tone” for what should be expected out of the teams pitching for the rest of the series. 

Oregon used three pitchers in total for the game, as opposed to Toledo's five. This could affect the Rockets’ pitching for the rest of the series since Oregon has more rested pitchers. 

Risk-taking: 

Both Jack Brooks and Ryan Cooney recorded stolen bases during Friday’s game. While neither of these stolen bases directly led to a score they helped to establish Oregon control of gameplay. 

Hitting: 

The Ducks’ offense was on point for the vast majority of the nine innings. The team started off with three consecutive singles with the third from Jacob Walsh securing the first point of the game. Five innings later it was Walsh once again who secured the run-earning hit getting a double RBI giving Oregon a 3-1 lead going into the seventh inning. 

In the seventh and eighth innings, it was a baseball bonanza for the Ducks. Securing six runs including four RBI’s to which the Toledo Rockets had no answer. If the Ducks can keep the momentum going for the rest of the series they could give themselves a chance to sweep. 

What to work on

With all the success the team had today it can be hard to find things to tweak. The one thing the Ducks could change: it took a very long time for them to get into a rhythm and pull away. 

This was not a problem in the first game but it could be against future opponents. Highly ranked teams like Oregon State would no doubt take advantage of a slow start from their in-state rivals if the opportunity presented. 

Based on today's performance Oregon is looking very good to at a minimum win the series 3-1. And if it’s able to carry the momentum through the rest of the season, it could have another tournament appearance in the near future.