by Olivia Arciniega

This weekend, the Oregon baseball team will look to build off their recent success against a Pac-12 opponent, the University of Southern California Trojans. The Ducks will host the Trojans inside PK Park in a three game series from Friday to Sunday, after Sacramento State split a series with the Ducks, 1-1. With the race to the top of the Pac-12 on the line, Oregon needs to utilize their weapons to stay ahead of USC.

Oregon’s Previous Success

Oregon first baseman Jacob Walsh was on a hot streak last game against Sacramento State, hitting two of Oregon’s four home runs to help the Ducks win 11-4. Walsh already broke the Oregon career home run record against UCLA, and the Ducks are counting on him to continue this recent success. Home runs from Dominic Hellman and Bennett Thompson also contributed to the team’s win.

Against the Hornets, Ian Umlandt made his first career start after 21 appearances out of the bullpen. He threw seven innings, finishing with nine strikeouts, his career high, while pitching for the longest he has during his time as a Duck.

RJ Gordon, Grayson Grinsell and Kevin Seitter will appear on the mound for Oregon this weekend, and will look to continue the consistency Umlandt had. Gordon recently had a career high ten strikeouts against UCLA in his last start, and has appeared in eight games this season with an ERA of 4.07. The left handed pitcher Grinsell has come off an impressive 2023 season, which consisted of a 4.47 ERA and was named Nashville Regional All-Tournament Team and the Pac-12 Conference All-Tournament Team. He pitched a total of five innings against UCLA, however, he had moments of struggle, giving up five runs. Overall, he was a bit scattered throughout his single game appearance in this series, but nonetheless effective. Finally, Seitter will close this series, a transfer from Quinnipiac, had eleven strikeouts against Lafayette, and has an ERA of 5.02.

The Ducks will also look to rely on bullpen pitchers Bradley Mullan, Logan Mercado and Ryan Featherson to provide relief to these three starters.

What USC is bringing to Eugene

The Trojans are currently ranked fourth in the Pac-12, trailing behind the Ducks by just one game. This team seems to have found their momentum, with a current win streak of five games and an away record of 7-2. They have won 13 of their last 17 games, against some notable opponents, including a recent win against No. 12 UC Irvine. Ryan Jackson and Ethan Hedges were strong at the plate for USC. Hedges went 4-for-5, had three RBIs, three runs, a homerun, and a double, while Jackson went 2-for-4, racked up three RBI, two runs, and a homer of his own.

USC will put senior Tyler Stromsborg, Eric Hammond and William Watson on the mound for this series in hopes to put pressure on the Duck’s strong offense. Stromsborg is coming in with a 5.35, and a season high of seven strikeouts in early March against Texas A&M. Hammond has 6.94 ERA, and Watson has a 3.21 ERA. Watson recently racked up a season high of six strikeouts against Washington early April, and has pitched in nine games so far this season.

Oregon has had success at the plate, and has done a great job building off of momentum early in the game. However, as much as momentum can help the Ducks, it can also hurt them. When Sacramento State began to build off their points in the first and later innings, the Ducks fell short. The two teams will play at 5 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday.