Sports

EUGENE, Ore. — Duck fans packed Jane Sanders Stadium for Day 2 of the NCAA Regionals as the No. 14 Oregon Ducks clashed with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Both teams advanced after thrilling Day 1 comebacks. Mississippi State (40-18) outlasted Saint Mary’s with an eighth-inning walk-off win, while Oregon (41-14) rode a spectacular fourth-inning grand slam from Ayanna Shaw to power past Idaho State. 

Mississippi State ultimately claimed a historic 4-0 victory, forcing the Ducks into a turnaround. They dropped into the elimination bracket to face the winner of the Saint Mary’s and Idaho State matchup, needing three consecutive wins to save their season. The Ducks faced off against the Saint Mary’s Gaels but fell to them in a 5-4 battle as Oregon’s season ended. 

“We gave everything we got,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “This group, when you talk about love and support, they had it all. They all wanted to work hard for each other, and I really appreciate…

The lights have come on. This was a day game. The PK Park faithful is still bigger than normal. The Big Ten regular season has extended five innings longer than we thought.

Coming off two hard-fought games against each other, the No.16 Oregon Ducks (38-15, 20-10) and No.17 USC Trojans (42-14, 20-10) expected nothing different. And that’s exactly what they got. Another extra-innings affair led to a 6-5 walk-off win for the Ducks.

In the bottom of the first, a leadoff single by junior second baseman Ryan Cooney and a hit by pitch to freshman outfielder Angel Laya created a chance for the Ducks to strike first. Senior third baseman Drew Smith brought home Cooney on an RBI groundout, and just seven pitches later, the lead doubled thanks to a single off the bat of freshman utilityman Brayden Jaksa, bringing home Laya.

In the second, junior shortstop Maddox Molony kept the momentum, delivering a solo home run into the USC bullpen. His seventh longball of the…

EUGENE, Ore. — The postseason atmosphere was electric at Jane Sanders Stadium as a sea of green and yellow welcomed the No. 4 Oregon Ducks at the opening round of the NCAA Regionals. The Ducks (40-12) faced the Idaho State Bengals (37-18) Friday night to start Oregon’s weekend off in an anticipated rematch. The previous encounter at the Oregon Classic saw the Ducks force extra innings, which ended with a walk-off by Elon Butler in the bottom of the eighth to secure a 4-3 victory. The game had a similar outcome — even with an early lead, the Bengals were unable to hold on, as the Ducks took the win 5-1. 

“We’ve had to take on strain at different times of the year,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said of ace Lyndsey Grein being out for the game. “We watch these guys take it on for her, and they're ready to go. We always talk about putting on strain, and it’s not negative, so that’s a blessing to have the opportunity to take on strain for each other.” 

Idaho State…

EUGENE, Ore. — The No. 16 Oregon Ducks returned to PK Park on Friday after a 2-1 loss on Thursday to the No. 17 USC Trojans. After Thursday night's game went into extra innings and ended with USC (42-12, 20-8) defeating the Ducks (36-15, 18-10), both teams hoped to win in the last series of the regular season, which is now even after a 4-3 win over the Trojans.

Oregon's defense started the day strong, with RHP Will Sanford striking out the first three batters. In the bottom of the first, the Ducks were unable to put up any runs, ending the inning 0-0. 

USC became the first on the board at the top of the second after a triple by Jack Basser, who was then brought home after a groundout to shortstop by Augie Lopez.  After being walked, Andrew Lamb advanced to second after a single by Dean Carpentier, and came home after a single by Walter Urbon. After a groundout to third, the Ducks ended the inning for the Trojans with a score of 2-0. 

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EUGENE, Ore. — In the opening game of a high-stakes final regular-season series at PK Park, No. 16 Oregon Ducks hosted the No. 17 USC Trojans on Thursday night. After a tough series loss against UCLA last weekend and dropping in the rankings, the Ducks (36-14, 18-9) needed a series victory to lock down a top-four seed before heading to Omaha for the Big Ten Tournament. The Trojans (41-12, 19-8) currently trail Oregon by one game in the standings, so the series is crucial for both teams. After a tough game that led into extra innings, USC took the win 2-1 in the eleventh inning.

USC struck first in the second inning. Following a sacrifice bunt by Jack Basseer, Drew Smith elected to take the out at first base, allowing a Trojan runner to cross the plate. With another runner advancing into scoring position, Smith escaped further damage and caught a line drive to get the final out. The inning ended with USC in the lead after the Ducks couldn’t score in the bottom of the inning.…

SEATTLE, WA.- After a weekend of comebacks against Washington (20-26, 9-14), No. 13 Oregon was looking to complete the sweep ahead of their final away series of the season against UCLA. After Ohio State beat Nebraska, Oregon (35-11, 17-6) moved into the number two spot in the Big Ten rankings. 

The Huskies came out of the inning putting two on the board after a two-run home run by Sam DeCarlo that also brought in Jackson Hotchkiss. The Ducks ended the inning 2-0 with no runners left on base. 

The Ducks started the second with bases loaded after a single by Drew Smith and back-to-back walks from Angel Laya and Maddox Molony. Smith came home after a sacrifice fly by Gabe Miranda, which also moved Laya into scoring position. The Ducks were unable to bring any more runners home, but neither did the Huskies, as the inning ended 2-1. 

Both Oregon and Washington went scoreless in the third through fifth innings. Oregon had a pitching change in the bottom…

SEATTLE, WA.- The No. 13 Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies (20-25, 9-14) returned to the ballpark Saturday evening after the Ducks (34-11, 16-6) had a comeback in game one of the series with a 4-3 win. 

The Ducks went scoreless in the top of the first and second, and only allowed the Huskies one run per inning after a solo home run by Jackson Hotchkiss and a double by Ethan Swidler. In the third, a triple by Burke-Lee Mabeus moved him into scoring position, which he reached home after a sacrifice fly by Maddox Molony. The Ducks ended the inning trailing by two after an unearned run by Washington, 3-1. 

After getting two runners on base in the top of the fourth, Oregon was unable to put them on the board. The Ducks came into the fifth swinging after a double brought Swidler home again to increase the Huskies' lead. Oregon followed up by putting two on the board, after a two-run home run by Molony as Mabeus came home to follow. After a pitching change…

SEATTLE, WA.- The No.13  Oregon Ducks came into the weekend with a six-game win streak, after facing off against Gonzaga on Tuesday with a 4-3 win, while Washington (20-24, 9-13) had been on a two-game win streak. Both teams are attempting to secure their spots for the Big Ten Tournament, with Washington looking to stay in the double-elimination bracket, and Oregon (33-11, 15-6) wanting to maintain its place in the single-elimination bracket. 

Brayden Jaksa was the first runner on base for Oregon after a hit by pitch. Ryan Cooney was second on base, due to an error by Washington, allowing Jaksa into scoring position. Drew Smith had a sacrifice bunt which brought Jaksa home, but due to a fly out by Angel Laya, the first ended for the Ducks with them in the lead 1-0. 

After falling to the Huskies 3-1 at the bottom of the first, the Ducks were unable to score in the top of the second. In the bottom of the second, the Ducks only allowed one score off a wild…

EUGENE, Ore. — Fresh off a weekend sweep of Penn State, No. 13 Oregon baseball returned for a midweek clash against the Gonzaga Bulldogs (27-14, 15-3). Following their dominant weekend performance, the Ducks (32-11, 15-6) climbed six spots in the D1Baseball rankings, currently third in the Big Ten as the regular season nears its conclusion. The Ducks won the game 4-3.

Gonzaga seized early momentum as its lead-off hitter tripled following a missed diving attempt by Jack Brooks in center field. A wild pitch from starting pitcher Michael Meckna allowed the Bulldogs to get the first run on the board for an early lead. 

“There’s a reason why they won 14 straight games before this, it wasn’t luck,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “They’re an old club, they’ve got some dangerous hitters in that group.”

The Ducks answered back immediately. Brooks hit a double to start off Oregon’s momentum, and Brayden Jaksa reached on a throwing error that advanced both runners…

EUGENE, Ore. — PK Park was filled with young fans for Little League Day as No.19 Oregon baseball faced Penn State (12-26, 5-13) in the series finale. Following Saturday’s dramatic 10-inning walk-off by Jack Brooks, Oregon (29-11, 12-6) swept the series, winning 5-0 against the Nittany Lions.

“We had a lot of young ladies on the field this morning,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “I encourage them to go out and play with the boys, show them what you’ve got, and beat them. I was thrilled to see them with the other Little Leaguers—whether they’re chasing dreams of playing baseball or just having fun. That’s what it’s all about.”

Starting pitcher Miles Gosztola struggled to find his footing early on as the first two batters were able to get singles off of him and put a runner in scoring position. But Gosztola quickly adjusted, recording back-to-back strikeouts, and the inning ended with Penn State failing to score any runs. 

“He didn’t give in,” Wasikowski said…