Charles Fischer

3-3 after two innings. Maddox Molony blasted the first pitch for a solo homer. Illinois did the same thing to Will Sanford. The Illini stranded two on base from a hit and a walk.

2-2 after one inning. It is 80 degrees and has wind gusts up to 30 mph which could blow homers out of the park easier--and we already see that. There is a big storm coming in later today, and thus why the game being moved up. Portland's Ryan Cooney got a hit up the middle, and then Drew Smith launched a massive swing low-to-high to blast the ball over the LF wall for a 2-run homer! Great start on offense! Will Sanford gave up a double, and then a 2-run homer that I think was wind-aided...but that is the way the park plays today. In for a dilly!

Jon...great article, and as always--great research. A B1G Draft indeed!

Moved from 4;00 PM to 1:30 PM...Damn. That shoots my day... Will Sanford will be on the hill with a 2.60 ERA, and we don't know who he faces, and the choices are: --Hall at 3.83 ERA (Probable) Regan Hall is the starter today... --Gannon at 2.08 ERA --Flinn at 3.33 ERA --Remington at 3.67 ERA The difference in the teams appears to be hitting, as Illinois at 19-16 has only three batters over .300 and Oregon has five, with a bunch knocking on the door... As a side note, Oregon is averaging 7.41 runs per game which is more than enough to win them. It illustrates our problems with pitching, primarily from relievers. We need more Home-Run Huddles...and Pitching

How Close? "What these numbers do not necessarily account for is the quality of the coaching in the two conferences." GREAT point Jon, as the coaching in this conference is now unbelievable, and it will be brutally tough to win games. By all measures, we have closed the gap on many metrics to the SEC, and exceeded in others. We have only just begun!

Creating a schedule five years out with all the changes that occur within the conference between NIL, coaching changes, etc.? It is nuts, and thus why I like this format suggested. As he noted--gaining two more teams to the conference for a clean 9-game conference schedule would be an upgrade to this convoluted way of deciding schedules, IMHO.

I look for Illinois to be a candidate to crack that....

MEDIA ADVISORY | Oregon vs. Oregon State Game Postponed Tonight’s Oregon game vs. Oregon State at Hops Ballpark in Hillsboro, Ore., has been postponed. Tickets for the game will be valid on the date the game is rescheduled.

This time it is not Angel Laya, or Brayden Jaksa...but Nauvilou Lauaki Jr.! OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2026 BASEBALL | @OregonBaseball Lauaki earns Big Ten Freshman of the Week Honors EUGENE, Ore. – Heading into the week, Naulivou Lauaki had made just two career starts but that did not stop him from leading Oregon to a series win over No. 19 Nebraska and in turn being named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week. In four starts during the week, the redshirt freshman slashed .471/.471/1.176 with a 1.647 OPS, while going 8-for-15 at the plate with six extra-base hits (3 HR, 3 2B), six RBI and five runs scored. In a midweek start at Portland, Lauaki homered and had two doubles while going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. In the Nebraska series, he slashed .385/.385/.923 with two home runs, a double, five RBI and three runs scored. In a 7-6 win on Friday, Lauaki drove in a pair of runs with a two-out double in the fourth inning to give Oregon a 2-1 lead. On Saturday, the Ducks' DH belted a pair of home runs while also delivering a run-scoring single before finishing 3-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored. In Sunday's series-clinching win he added a hit and run scored. Lauaki is the fourth Oregon player to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors in the Ducks’ two seasons in the conference. Angel Laya earned the honor twice earlier this season, while Burke-Lee Mabeus claimed the honor last season. Oregon All-Time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Honors Naulivou Lauaki Jr. (4/13/26) Angel Laya (2/16/26; 3/9/26) Burke-Lee Mabeus (2/24/25) D1Baseball Rankings for Monday April 13th, 2026 of the Big-10, and Others... No. 1 UCLA No. 6 Beavis (We could get a bump in RPI as we play them Tuesday night in Portland) No. 12 USC No. 19 Oregon Dropped out? Nebraska at 27-9 dropped out of the top 25 by losing the series at Oregon by one run? They are a good team...

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2026 BASEBALL | @OregonBaseball Laya Sets Record As Ducks Win Rubber Match Angel Laya's two homers Sunday broke the UO record for a freshman and helped the Ducks win a top-25 series over Nebraska. EUGENE, Ore. — A record-breaking day from a freshman kept Oregon in the game early, and a shutdown bullpen sealed it for the Ducks late. Angel Laya homered twice to break the UO single-season record by a freshman, and the Oregon bullpen threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings as the No. 21 Ducks won the rubber match of a series with No. 19 Nebraska on Sunday at PK Park, 5-4. Laya hit a two-run shot that gave the Ducks (26-10, 10-5 Big Ten) an early lead in the second, tying teammate Maddox Molony’s two-year-old record for homers by a UO freshman with 10. Laya broke the record with a solo shot that sparked a three-run rally in the sixth, bringing Oregon back from a 4-2 deficit. “It feels good,” Laya said. “(But) it wasn't a goal of mine at all; I came into the season just trying to help the team win and make it to Omaha.” Wins like Sunday’s can help fuel those aspirations. The Ducks won the rubber match against a conference rival and fellow top-25 team, bouncing back from defeat to build some momentum before a match-up with rival Oregon State on Tuesday and then a weekend road trip to Illinois. “It definitely feels good — pops us up going into this midweek and for the next weekend,” said Tanner Bradley (3-0), who got seven outs in middle relief to start the shutout effort by the UO bullpen. “But we also like to keep it flat-line, not get too high, not get too low.” Miles Gosztola took the ball from Bradley and pitched a scoreless seventh inning, keeping his cool despite tempers flaring after a hard slide at second by the Huskers on one of Oregon’s season-high three double plays. Devin Bell then earned his ninth save of the season by getting the last six outs. “Just amazing — awesome,” Bell said of the overall relief effort. “I mean, I want to say I think we do have the best bullpen in the country when we free ourselves up. … We just keep going forward, I think we'll keep getting better.” How It Happened: After Nebraska took a 1-0 lead on a solo homer in the first, Laya gave Oregon a 2-1 lead in the second by following Drew Smith’s leadoff double with the homer to tie Molony’s UO freshman record. The first four Huskers in the third all reached, a three-run inning that put them back in front 4-2. Bradley came on in relief of Cal Scolari to get the last out of the fourth, and he threw two more scoreless innings to keep it 4-2 until Oregon’s bats got going again. That happened in the sixth, sparked by Laya’s record-setting solo shot with one out. Molony followed with a single and Burke-Lee Mabeus doubled him in to tie the score, 4-4. Two batters later, Jack Brooks singled and Oregon had the lead. Gosztola walked the leadoff batter in the seventh but then coaxed a double-play ball. A hard slide into second caused a brief confrontation between UO second baseman Ryan Cooney and the baserunner, but cooler heads prevailed and Gosztola finished off a scoreless inning after allowing a two-out single. Laya was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the seventh, after launching a deep drive to left that curled outside the foul pole. Bell then came in and pitched around a two-out single in the eighth and a one-out double in the ninth, slamming the door on the Huskers to end a game in which tensions were high due to the pregame implications and the seventh-inning confrontation. “I think as a team, when we free ourselves up, we play our best,” Bell said. “Just putting those extra stressors on us just doesn't really help you. So when we free ourselves up, we play our best.” Up Next: The Ducks face Oregon State at Hops Stadium in Hillsboro on Tuesday (6 p.m., KOIN.com).

I agree; they are not an overrated Big-10 team...they deserve their ranking and more. They will be tough to overcome the rest of the season!

Josiah Molden is a Rivals 4-Star, and besides Oregon was offered by Ohio State, Washington, (Ha!) USC, Notre Dame, Miami and Texas. He is 6'0" and 175 pounds, and could play the "Star" position at Oregon, of which is our fifth defensive back--the Nickel position.

Ducks win 5-4! Whoa...Devin Bell surprised the batters with an inside curve/drop-ball, and although he gave up a bloop-double...got it done for his ninth save. Win goes to Tanner Bradley!

5-4 Ducks after eight innings. Devin Bell came in and retired the side with a 94 mph fastball, and nasty slider. Oregon strands two on base!

5-4 Ducks after seven innings. Miles Gosztola came in for relief, and retired the side--but not without some drama. In a sweet double-play...the Nebraska second baseman slid hard into second base, and Oregon second baseman Ryan Cooney got the throw off, but did not like the hit on his legs and said so. Both guys got chest-to-chest blustering banal utterings to each other, and the umpires broke it up and gave both teams warnings.