Written by: Ben Schoenfield
Oregon Baseball takes on Oklahoma, Baylor, and #18 Texas Tech down in the Shriner’s Children College Showdown in Arlington, Texas. The Oregon Ducks went 41-22 (16-14) and won their first Pac-12 Championship. The Oregon Ducks are coming off of a Super Regional finish last year, where they fell to Oral Roberts in heartbreaking fashion. The Ducks lost five key pieces in the draft in Sabin Ceballos, Rikuu Nashida, Josh Mollerus, Colby Shade and Jace Stoffal. They also lost five 2023 commits to the draft which included Noble Meyer, a top 10 pick, and Eric Bionti. Oregon lost Tanner Smith and Drew Cowley to graduation and Andrew Mosiello and Josiah Cromwick to the transfer portal. The last loss to Oregon this season is star pitcher Isaac Ayon suffered a season ending injury for the second straight season. Even with all of those losses, heading into their final Pac-12 season, Oregon has kept Jacob Walsh, Bennett Thompson, and Logan Mercado as well as many others. Below is a little about all of Oregon’s opponents over this weekend.
Oklahoma:
Oklahoma is headed into their last season in the Big 12. Last year they went 32-28 (11-13) and lost in the Charlottesville Regional. The Big 12 was a loaded conference and had five teams make super regionals. The Sooners are returning three of their top five hitters and a lot of their bullpen. Although they do not have any returning starting pitchers. Out of all of their returning pitchers they made a combined nine starts last year. Last year Oklahoma scored on average over 6.5 runs a game while having almost two stolen bases a game.
Baylor:
The Baylor Bears are coming off of a disappointing season and are looking to get back on the right track. Last year they went 20-35 (6-18) and their season ended without going to the Big 12 tournament. They are bringing back five of their top seven hitters, and two of their top 4 starting pitchers. But pitching was Baylor’s downfall last year with their top two main starters both having an era above 7.50. Last year they averaged just under 5.5 runs a game on over 8.5 hits a game. They will be looking to keep up that offensive intensity to start the season.
Texas Tech:
The Texas Tech Red Raiders come into the season ranked #18 in the country and went 41-23 (12-12) last season and got booted in the Gainesville Regional. They were ranked as high as 14th in USA Today Coaches Poll and finished the year in 28th in terms of received votes. Texas Tech ended their regular season disappointingly by going 4-6 in their final 10 Big 12 games. The Red Raiders are returning six of their top nine hitters and four of their top six starting pitchers. They scored on average over eight runs a game on over 10.5 hits a game. Their offensive firepower is something to keep an eye on in their game against the Ducks.