The No. 11 Oregon Ducks (9-2) were searching for a doubleheader sweep and a 3-0 series lead in the second game of Saturday’s duals against the unranked Columbia Lions (1-5). 

In the bottom of the second, the game already seemed much more mellow than Oregon’s 35-1 victory earlier in the day. With both teams knotted at zero, freshman catcher Coen Niclai stepped up to the plate with a runner on first.

Niclai worked the count full, then on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, crushed an outside pitch and watched it fly over the fence in dead center field. Niclai rounded the bases and flashed his Ducks logo on his chest as he stomped on home plate. This was Niclai’s first homer of the season and the first of his Oregon career. 

“Oddly, in the fall and spring scrimmages for us, he’d been one of the team leaders in RBI, so we’ve really seen him hit very well for us in scrimmages,” said Ducks head coach Mark Wasikowski. “Coen is really good, he comes from a…

The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team (21-8, 10-8 Big Ten) hosted the USC Trojans (14-15, 6-12 Big Ten) on Saturday for a late season Big Ten clash. Second half 3-pointers were the key to success in the matchup, leading Oregon to a dominant 82-61 win. The lopsided score did not reflect the entirety of the game, as the Ducks started down by 11, but were able to overcome by 21. 

The Ducks stepped onto the court fresh off a 77-73 overtime win against No. 11 Wisconsin last Saturday. After a four-game losing streak, the Ducks were able to regain their momentum, and have now achieved five consecutive victories in Big Ten play. 

Key contributions from center Nate Bittle played a crucial role in the Oregon victory, as he put up 15 points and remained aggressive on defense. 

“I thought our activity was good and Nate was phenomenal,” head coach Dana Altman said. “Second half, he owned the paint. He blocked five shots and just did a great job. That’s a really…

A 15-4 run by the USC Trojans (21-8, 10-8 Big Ten) in the first 3:44 against the Oregon Ducks (14-15, 6-12 Big Ten) forced Dana Altman to call a quick timeout. 

“I just didn’t like our activity at all defensively,” Altman said of his message at that timeout. 

They heard him loud and clear, only allowing 46 points from that point on. The Ducks played terrific on-ball defense, stealing the ball 13 times and forcing 16 total turnovers. 

“People always say we’re smaller than everybody, but we use our quickness and we get after people,” Keeshawn Barthelemy said.

In their last two games, the Ducks went on extended runs to either put themselves back in the game, or take the other team out of it. In the Wisconsin game, it was a 16-2 run over the final 6:15 of regulation to send the game to overtime. Against USC on Saturday, it was a 16-0 run late in the second half to push their lead from seven to 23 and put the final nail in the coffin. 

…

In the bottom of the third inning of Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, the No. 11 Oregon Ducks (8-2) were already up big on the unranked Columbia Lions (1-4), leading 12-1 early. Sophomore second baseman Ryan Cooney was at the plate with two runners on. He had been struggling up to this point of the season, being one of the few Ducks hitters that hadn't broken out yet.

Cooney got ahead in the count 1-0, then took advantage of the Lions pitcher hanging one over the plate by demolishing it to left-center field for his first homer of the season.

This made it 15-1 Oregon, and it wasn’t even half of what the Ducks would end up with. The final tallied up to a 35-1 victory in favor of Oregon, making it five in a row and win number eight on the year.

The offense was headlined by Cooney that game, going 4-for-4 with a double, the homer and six RBI.

Junior starting pitcher Jason Reitz also had his best outing of the season, going four innings while giving up three…

EUGENE, Ore – It was only the bottom of the second inning at PK Park, but the score was even at three and Oregon was looking to blow the game wide open.

The bases were loaded, and designated hitter Dominic Hellman stepped up to bat. It had been a quiet season for him, as he only had two RBI and no home runs, but Hellman wanted that to change. On the very first pitch with the bases loaded, he swung and connected. Hellman smashed it over the left field wall –a grand slam. This burst of energy got the Ducks (7-2) to rally and fueled them for the rest of the game.

Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said things like this were nothing new for Hellman. “Two grand slams for a guy like Dom,” Wasikowski said, “I’m not surprised, because of what we’ve been seeing in practice.”

Those four runs were just one-fifth of Oregon's twenty total and only half of Hellman's RBI, as he connected for another grand slam in the seventh inning. 

“My whole goal is to be on time to…

Junior designated hitter Dominic Hellman stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded in the Oregon Ducks’ Friday series opener against the Columbia Lions. Any bases loaded situation is important, but this one was extra special for Hellman. Earlier in the second inning, Hellman blasted a first pitch grand slam to make it 7-3 Oregon. This was his chance to recreate that magic he found earlier and do what few have done: hit two grand slams in one game.

He duplicated it exactly.

On the first pitch again, Hellman crushed it to left-center field. He watched it fly as he slowly crept up the first baseline with the bat in his hand, before tossing it and beginning his trot once the ball sailed over the fence.

“We saw this week in practice, he was making some really big strides,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “Two grand slams for a guy like Dom, I’m not surprised because of what we’ve been seeing in practice.”

The amount of…

A 9-1 in-state battle between Oregon and Portland State ensued after a drawn-out battle between the Ducks and the University of San Diego. A quick turn around carried the late momentum from the previous game. 

A single run summed up the entire first inning in favor of the Ducks. Kai Luschar struck out looking to lead off the bottom of the first, but Dezianna Patmon gained leverage on base with a walk from pitcher Grace Kimball. She soon scored off an RBI groundout from Paige Sinicki.

Luschar came back with vengeance in the bottom of the second, doubling and then adding a base off the throw to find herself at third. After that, an easy groundout to right field from Braiesey Rosa sent her home for the second run. Two more followed for the Ducks shortly after, as Kaylynn Jones made her way around the bases off a walk, steal, and wild pitch.

It was Luschar’s turn to bring someone home, and she introduced Jones to home plate for her first RBI in the game. Patmon…

Oregon softball made its return to Jane Sanders stadium today, opening the Oregon Classic with a 9-5 victory against the San Diego Toreros. Coming into the game with a 15-1 record, the Ducks looked to keep momentum rolling.

Bats were hot in the first inning for Oregon, with Kai Luschar leading off the team. Following bringing up a quick 1-1 count, she held her own, ending a full count show with a lead off single, stealing second shortly after. With help from an error made by the San Diego infield, Luschar found herself in scoring position and Dezianna Patmon advanced to first. 

This sent Rylee McCoy up to bat, who was tied for second on the team in RBIs. Naturally, she set up Patmon and Luschar to score with a deep single to right field. A pair of outs and a single brought Oregon to the top of its batting order, allowing Luschar to earn her second hit of the inning. This resulted in an early 3-0 lead for the Ducks, as Stefini Ma’ake was able to find her way home…

In the bottom of the seventh of the Sunday, Feb. 23 series finale against Rhode Island, the Oregon Ducks were coasting and looking to put the nail in the coffin, and junior left fielder Anson Aroz had the chance to do it.

With the bases loaded, Aroz and the Ducks would’ve been happy with any base hit, but Aroz wanted it all. He was patient at the plate, going down 1-for-2 before fouling two pitches and taking back-to-back balls. Rhode Island pitcher Parker Aikens left the next pitch over the plate and Aroz didn’t miss it. He crushed it to left-center field and left the yard with some help from the wind. This grand slam put the Ducks up 15-2 and enacted the run rule, winning the game and series for Oregon.

“It was a good way to cap off the day,” Aroz said. “Got us out of here a little quick, made up for some lost time. It always feels good.”

This was the Ducks second grand slam in the game. The first came from freshman catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus back in the fourth…

In the bottom of the eighth in Game 2 of the Oregon Ducks doubleheader against the Rhode Island Rams, the Ducks were sitting pretty with a 17-12 lead on their way to a 2–1 series lead.

Somehow, Oregon wasn’t satisfied with the already monstrous day from the offense. Third baseman Carter Garate doubled to lead off the inning, setting up for red-hot center fielder Mason Neville. He got ahead in the count 2-0, and on the next pitch, his eyes lit up when he saw the ball soaring right into his sweet spot. Neville swung and got all of it. He sat in the batter's box for a second to watch it fly into the PK Park parking lot, then took his trot as he put the dagger into the double-header sweep for Oregon. This was Neville’s second homer of the game.

“He got me on a changeup that I rolled over on the at-bat before that, so I was just focusing on letting it get deep,” Neville said. “I tried to put a good swing on it and let the ball travel.”

While that game was an offensive…