As the rain came down at PK Park, Oregon Ducks sophomore closer Cole Stokes was on the mound in the top of the ninth and had two outs, with a chance to seal a 6-1 Ducks win. This was a big spot for Stokes, as this win would give Oregon the opening series win and avoid what would have been a disappointing split against Toledo.
Stokes got ahead 1-2 on Toledo catcher Brayden Smith and the Ducks could taste it. On the next pitch, Stokes dotted a slider in the top-left part of the zone. Smith whiffed and Oregon came out on top to put it at a solid 3-1 record coming out of the cold opening day weekend.
That strong showing from Stokes was one of many from the Oregon pitching staff this weekend. Great pitching is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Oregon Ducks baseball program. The last two seasons, poor pitching and defense have arguably kept Oregon out of the College World Series, so this is a nice sign for skipper Mark Wasikowski and his crew.
“Dust will settle on how we use all of our pieces,” Wasikowski said. “Stokes is obviously a talented kid. He’s developed really well in the last year with Coach Hawk, and obviously he’s electric.”
The tone was set for the pitching this weekend after the Friday performance from opening day starter Grayson Grinsell. As expected, Grinsell confused batters with his low speed fastball and found a strong backup pitch by relying on his curveball at the end of his start. When he was pulled, Grinsell finished five innings of work with seven strikeouts, one hit, one run and two walks, a start most pitchers would be pleased with for their first of the season.
Grinsell’s work was contagious in the pitching staff that day. Sophomore relief pitcher Ryan Featherston replaced Grinsell and struck out three more Toledo batters in only two innings of action. In that appearance, he only gave up two hits and let one run come across, unearned.
Seth Mattox closed out the opener, pitching the eighth and ninth while striking out two and having his only baserunner be from a walk.
The first game of the doubleheader on Saturday became the only blemish from the pitchers this weekend, ultimately costing Oregon a series sweep. Things seemed steady at first as sophomore starter Collin Clarke put up almost identical numbers to Grinsell the day before, going five innings and striking out seven. One thing Clarke did that Grinsell didn’t was hold the Rockets to a zero in his stint.
Senior reliever Julian Hernandez was the culprit for the sore spot in the stat sheet, giving up four runs, three of which were earned off of one hit and two walks before he could record an out. This shouldn’t be a worry for Ducks fans, though. Early-season reliever struggles often are thrown out the window as Hernandez looks to the next series to bounce back.
Junior reliever Sam Boyle and freshman reliever Gabe Howard managed the rest of the game for Oregon, only letting up one run in the last four innings of the game despite only striking out one.
Game 3 was the most efficient Ducks pitching showcase, as Wasikowski only had to use two pitchers. Junior starting pitcher Jason Reitz took the first three innings and struck out five, but the story of the day was junior long reliever Ian Umlandt. He took the Ducks the rest of the way to the finish line in that game, striking out eight while only giving up two hits and no walks.
The lefty buckled the knees of Toledo hitters and left them questioning their choice of sport. In one moment, Umblandt struck out Rockets catcher Josh Cote looking to send it to the bottom of the eighth. Following the strikeout, Umblandt let out a roar to further fire up the PK Park crowd.
To sound like a broken record, the final day of the series was another shutdown performance from the squad. Freshman starter Will Sanford, in his first collegiate outing, went four innings and struck out six batters, again, nearly identical to Grinsell and Clarke in the days before. His only run scored on him came from a wild pitch that let a runner in from third. Other than that, two hits and three walks were all Toledo could manage.
“Walking up to the mound in the first innings, get on the mound, see all the fans, you get a little nervous,” Sanford said about first-start jitters. “But as soon as you throw the first pitch, get it out of the way, it feels good.”
The freshmen takeover continued when reliever Kellan Knox came in for two innings and faced the minimum of six batters, striking out one of them. Batters got a hold of his pitches, but outs are outs and he put up a zero.
“He gave up a hard ground ball in the five-six hole, a couple of fly ball outs,” Wasikowski said. “He pitches to contact. He got in there and challenged guys. He goes two innings his first outing as a Duck in a live game. I’m happy for him.”
Sophomore lefty Santiago Garcia also shined in his Oregon debut, replacing Knox and striking out two in the seventh. In the eighth, he picked up another strikeout and only gave up two hits and a walk in his appearance.
That set the table for the electric finish from Stokes. He came out wild, hitting the first batter he saw, but settled down and flew out his next batter. He pumped up his dugout by striking out the next, and another electric strikeout after that put the Rockets to bed and capped off what most would call a successful start to the Oregon Ducks baseball 2025 season.
The stellar pitchers and the team look to keep it rolling for the Ducks on Friday, Feb. 21 against the Rhode Island Rams at 3:05 p.m.