Ducks Battery Keys Sweep-Clinching Win EUGENE, Ore. — Five Oregon pitchers led by starter Miles Gosztola combined to toss a five-hit shutout leading No. 19 Oregon to a 5-0 win and a series sweep over Penn State on Sunday at PK Park in front of 3,044 fans. The Ducks' battery was excellent in leading Oregon (32-11, 16-5 Big Ten) to the win. Gosztola (2-2), Gabe Howard, Cooper Markham, Cooper Strawn and Leo Uelmen combined for 11 strikeouts with just a pair of walks. Catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus finished 3-for-4 at the plate with three extra-base hits (HR, 2 2B), while also throwing a runner out attempting to steal second base in the second inning. The win allowed Oregon to keep pace with both Nebraska and USC in the Big Ten standings with both winning on Sunday. First-place UCLA was playing a nonconference series this weekend. How It Happened: For the first 22 innings of the series the Ducks struggled offensively, scoring as many as two runs in an inning just twice. Oregon finally put up a three-run inning in the fourth to take a three-run lead. Drew Smith led it off belting the first pitch he saw over the left-field wall for a 1-0 lead. Angel Laya followed with a base hit through the left side before moving to second on a Maddox Molony base on balls. Mabeus made it 2-0 with a double into the right-field corner scoring Laya while moving Molony to third. Naulivou Lauaki drove in Molony with a sacrifice fly to right field. The Ducks tacked on another run in the fifth inning. Smith doubled inside the first-base bag and came around to score on a Laya base hit up the middle. Mabeus continued to swing a hot back in the sixth inning. The Ducks' catcher belted a solo home run 400 feet over the right-field wall for his third extra-base hit of the game and a 5-0 Oregon lead. After giving up base hits to the first two Penn State (12-29, 5-16 Big Ten) batters of the game, Gosztola was in control through his 6.1 innings of work. After the two first inning base hits, he only allowed one more hit during the rest of his outing and that came in the second inning on a batter who eventually was thrown out stealing. Box Score Notes: Oregon has won nine of 10 weekend series this year with four sweeps … The shutout was the seventh of the season for the Ducks … Smith moved into a tie with teammate Dominic Hellman for seventh on Oregon's career home run list with 26 … He also moved into a tie with Ryon Healy (2011-13) for seventh on the career RBI list … His 3-for-4 game gave him 65 career multiple-hit games. On Deck: The Ducks host Gonzaga in nonconference action at PK Park on Tuesday (2:05 p.m.; B1G+) Quotes: Head Coach Mark Wasikowski On completing the series sweep... "Anytime you can sweep. It's fantastic. Miles Gosztola threw the ball very, very well. It's great to see, you know, him passing the ball off to the guys down there in the bullpen. All the way from Gabe to Markham. I thought threw the ball exceptionally well. And being able to have some of your key bullpen guys not need to get into the game is really important. And so we were able to accomplish a lot of goals outside of the sweep as well." Miles Gosztola On Miles Gosztola's first inning and how he settled into the game today... "Yeah. I mean, he made big pitches all day, right? He just didn't give in. It felt like they got a couple of things going there in the first inning, but then he was able to really lock in with his mentality. He started throwing with his best velocity. think he was throwing 88 to 90, his first few pitches of the game. Then he just said, the heck with it. He started ripping low to mid-90s. I just felt like that intent was what he carried through his outing, and that was the difference between maybe him getting bounced in the first and him having the performance that he had today was just that mentality piece that I thought he brought." On Miles only allowing one hit after the first inning... "Well, if you've ever hit against the lefty that's throwing 90 to 94, 95 miles an hour, that's hard already from a lower slot. That's even harder; it's a different look. He's just got really good pitches, and he can command his fastball and his off-speed pitches. When you're doing that, you get it going. That's what you see on TV when you're watching ESPN, Major League Baseball. So, you know, he's got that kind of ability to be pitching on TV, and it's nice to see him improving every outing that he's had." On relying on some young guys in the bullpen and the trust he has in them... "Well, they all have great arms. They're all throwing the ball in the low to mid 90s, and they all have great off-speed pitches. It's just about getting them out in the games and experience. Cooper Strawn, he was dinged up at the start of the year, and so we couldn't get him out there, couldn't get him the experience that we wanted to get him. And Leo Uelmen, he had an arm injury a couple of years back, and he's just getting back on it. Cooper Markham, obviously, is a very talented freshman. When you throw the ball in the high 90s, that's hard to do; that's very rare. And he's just a very talented freshman." On Burke-Lee Mabeus taking over as the primary catcher and the mentality he has to be able to be an everyday catcher... "Yeah, he's strong as an ox. He's ready. He wants to play every single day. He's strong as an ox, and I'll be in the weight room with him probably tomorrow at some point. It's probably an off day, but he'll show up. That kid is as strong as an ox. As far as wear and tear and stuff like that, that doesn't factor for Burke. He's a tough kid." On Burke-Lee Mabeus and his plate approach in today's game... "Well, he probably got lucky on one, and he got swung off on the other, truth be told. But he's using the whole field. Early in the game, the guy was sinking the ball and running away from him, so he stayed on the ball, and he did what he needed to do. And they're over-shifted, and he's been able to do that a few times against opponents. And then later in the game, a guy was going to challenge him with a fastball middle in. And he took the first one down the right field line. That was a big hit for us." On new renovations to PK Park and what the atmosphere means to Oregon Baseball... "Yeah, beautiful weather. I mean, it's a sports bar, hanging out at a college baseball field. Who's got that? Another awesome Oregon thing. I think if you're a fan of baseball and you're here, a fan of the Ducks, you need to get involved with that deal. If I weren't coaching baseball and I were living in Eugene, Oregon. I'd love to watch this team and be a part of that experience. Joe and Kathleen Karcher, Tim and Shelby Kerr, Joe Giansante, Mark and Carla Byrum, of course, Pat Kilkenny, all of these people are the ones who have gotten this thing rolling now. And that's a high-end deal in there with high-end food, great drinks, great food, great environment. I don't know why you wouldn't want to be in there. We never get any bad weather around here, but if you ever did, it's got a roof over its head too, and I think it'd be a nice place to sit if you ever had weather in Oregon." On Little League Day today at PK Park, and what it means to inspire so many young baseball players... "Yeah, the young girls and guys, we had a lot of young ladies on the field this morning when we were at the anthem, and they were all lined up with us. It was awesome to see and to be able to have the little leaguers here. I remember when my sister played boys baseball when she was growing up, and she was one of the better ones. She was on the all-star team. For these girls who come out, I encourage them to go out and play with the boys, show them what you've got. Beat them. I think it's great, you know. For me, when I saw those girls come out, I was really excited with all the other Little Leaguers, whether it be just fulfilling their dreams and getting better at baseball and having fun, right? That's what it's all about. And they're all here today, which is really great." On the series sweep and what it means for B10 positioning... "I don't know. We'll get to that. It's a win today. We got one in a row for three days in a row, and that's what we wanted to do. Good day off tomorrow, and then we're back on it on Tuesday with a really good game against Gonzaga, who's a Hot Club. I think they've won a bunch of games in a row. I don't know how they did today, but I think they've won a bunch of games in a row, and their RPI is really good. We scheduled them. We need fan support. It's a 2 p.m. game, so skip work and come to the ballpark." Miles Gosztola On how he felt in his long outing… "It felt great. I think after that first inning of not having the best command of all my pitches, I think I really settled in. Burke and I talked a lot in those first two innings in the dugout about throwing the slider with a little more conviction and getting the change-up down. Then things clicked." On how his first inning set him up to only allow one hit through the following five and a third… "I think all the longer outings, you're going to have bumps and bruises along the way, whether runs score or not. I think the higher pitch count in the first was a little more time to kind of massage in all the rest of the pitches. Then, after that was really just to settle in and get the ball to Burke's goal as much as possible. Ryan Cooney got injured earlier in the game, and he just put his head down and ground through that game. That was awesome. Seeing that guy still make plays behind me, even after that big-time roll of his ankle and not being able to finish the game, still being out there for a couple of innings was amazing." On Burke-Lee Mabeus behind the plate… "That guy is crazy back there. He's framing balls left and right. Throws a guy out, which was huge. I think that was the end of the third or fourth. You can't speak enough about him. That's our MVP for the day, if not the weekend." Drew Smith On his thoughts on the series sweep… "We didn't crush the ball all weekend, but I thought we just had gritty at-bats. It was just a great weekend. I don't think we scored more than five in all three games. So, the pitching staff did a great job, and the hitters did enough to get the sweep." On his home run... "They were flipping me a lot of breaking balls this weekend. So, I kind of just sat on it that at-bat and came right in my barrel and did enough to get it out here." On the teams' identity… "Just tough. I think everybody, one through nine, all the guys on the bench, and the staff, it's just a bunch of tough guys that just want to win at the end of the day." Burke-Lee Mabeus On how he thought the pitchers performed today… "They killed it. I think we did a really good job of staying with each pitch and being present. One thing we've been working on, if you know you make a mistake, let's be present enough to overcorrect, even if it means we miss drastically on the other side of the plate or whatnot. I saw that from our pitchers today. They went for it, kind of executed the plan that we were going for, and just competed the right way on the mound. I think that really led us, even on the offensive side. We feed off that. Their leadership that they took on the mound today helped the team win, for sure." On his ability at the plate to use the entire field… "Yeah, just, just trying to free it up and let the head work a little bit. We talked about good rhythm, good timing, and stuff like that, and being freed up to the middle of the field, that was my approach. I felt like maybe the day before, I was getting away from my game plan, not ambushing the pitch that I want, and being a little passive. I was just trying to fix that today, and it worked out better for me." On how he is handling being the everyday catcher now… "Perfectly fine. Ultimately, I'm just trying to do anything I can to help the team win. If that means catching every game on the weekend, two games on the weekend, midweeks, whatever it is, I'm up for the challenge. Brayden is doing a good job at first base and obviously swinging. We need his bat in the lineup, so if that requires me to catch all three games on the weekend, so be it. Ultimately, I want to play pro ball. Those guys play a lot of games up there. So, what they're asking me to do isn't too crazy right now, just making sure I take care of my body off the field, seeing the trainer, stuff like that. The guys we have on staff here do a great job of making sure we're all prepared physically."
Oregon's Biggest Question After Spring FootballThe Oregon Ducks still have questions remaining after the spring game. Oregon Ducks On SIOregon's Biggest Question After Spring FootballThe Oregon Ducks are one of the highly anticipated programs when it comes to their potential ahead of the 2026 college football season. Although there have been
I'm surprised NO ONE was returning punts! 😝
Wait Until Next Year! On32027 NFL Draft: CBS Sports ranks 32 future stars that cou....
6' 6" 340 lbs interior lineman; plus lots of excitement at the spring game! Oregon Ducks On SIOregon Ducks Gaining Ground With Five-Star Recruit After...On Saturday, the Oregon Ducks spring football game wasn't just a friendly fire game between the Combat Ducks and the Fighting Ducks, it was an opportunity for p
“This past season he shot 43.6 percent from the field, 23.5 percent on threes,” Oregon gambling on another Power 4 SG that struggles to shoot the ball? This has not worked very well for Oregon in the past. Let’s hope Easter can make a big jump in production and efficiency next season on offense.
While this obviously does not mean much it speaks to the work Dana and his staff have done this portal window with less resources than they have previously had access to. We still have work to do with some recruits that were in town this weekend hopefully we see a couple more commits in the coming days but as of right now this is how I would line us up PG: Jasper Johnson SG: Tyrone Riley IV / Seven Spurlock / Jerry Easter II SF: Tajh Ariza PF: Taylor Bol Bowen / Andrew Meadow C: Sean Stewart / Pharaoh Compton The targets that remain on the board for Dana including some of whom were here this weekend PG Fred Payne (Boston College) 15.8 PPG | 4.2 RPG | 2.7 APG | 39.9% FG - Sophomore PG Divine Ugochukwu (Michigan State) 5.1 PPG | 1.5 RPG | 1.5 APG | 50.6% FG - Sophomore SF Dwayne Aristode (Arizona) 3.8 PPG | 1.7 RPG | 0.7 APG | 49.0% FG - Freshman SG Vyctorius Miller (Oklahoma State) 10.8 PPG | 2.7 RPG | 1.8 APG | 41.8% FG - Sophomore To close out, Dana would ideally land 3 of the 4 guys I just listed. Insiders think Oregon has a good chance to land both Fred Payne and Divine Ugochukwu however Dwayne Aristode and Vyctorius Miller are more unclear. The Ducks are also still waiting on a possible commitment from #1 high school recruit SF Tyran Stokes who is deciding between Kansas, Kentucky and Oregon. The potential with this roster is very clear but a lot of it has yet to be seen. This season will be a real test of both Danas recruiting abilities and coaching abilities. https://www.on3.com/news/espn-debuts-2027-bracketology-projections-after-transfer-portal-closes/
One great thing when they go into fall camp... Our reconstructed O-Line will be going against one of the absolute best D-Lines in college football. That alone should forge them into a very good O-Line.
Nice to see the drawing of the new practice facility wall on MLK Blvd using the old imported Chinese block basalt wall as a base for the ‘eye-popping O’ wall under consideration. Can’t remember a speculated cost for Knight to bring those tons of rock across the Pacific, but it certainly pales by comparison to the on-going construction. But, it was big for those times.thumb.jpg.d47a58b06587aa2c32d15f9d2cf29c87.jpg)
One of the latest proposals before construction indicated 40,000 sq ft of building(s) in addition to the covered field. The original east end proposal doesn't have enough space for 40,000 sq ft; so, that description must also include the north side which I referenced in my earlier comment that appears to have been added since. Athletic dept info says: Weight rooms, locker rooms, student-athlete lounges overlooking the field and multi-purpose event spaces in that 40,000. I assume somewhere in that is also storage for practice related equipment. Or, space for other equipment if the "dome" is used as a multi-use facility. Oh, and then there is this proposal too: https://lookouteugene-springfield.com/story/ducks/2026/01/29/how-big-is-that-o-uo-football-plan-calls-for-eye-popping-o-sign/
