Charles Fischer

1-0 Michigan State after three innings. I am having spammer problems on my desktop, so I will be posting from my mobile phone, and will be unable to provide the usual items I’ve done before.

1-0 Michigan State after two innings as Anson Aroz dropped a fly-ball as he was running to get it, and thus a runner scored on it. A great throw to third base to pick off the runner trying to extend his bases...but the score occurred before. We have some puzzling defensive lineup changes, as Anson Aroz moves to center field, and Mason Neville is the Designated Hitter. Dominic Hellman is playing first base, which I expected to see next year, and they moved Jacob Walsh to left field? I do not get this at all...Waz has a great reason, but I be darned if I can figure it out.

0-0 after one inning as it appears the umpire behind the plate is not giving the outside edge to the pitchers. Michigan State's lefty is tough, and our batters are finding that the ball does not carry as far in their park. (Heavy, cold air?) Not only is Oregon's Grayson Grinsell on point, but he is SO GOOD at pick-off moves at first and second base.

Oregon's RPI has climbed to No. 27, the best all season. Even with that...the Ducks are a Regional No. 2 seed and projected to go to Corvallis--again. Our Quad 1 wins are great, but our Quad 2 & 3 losses are not. A No. 2 Regional seed means that Oregon is NOT in the top 16 in the nation? I hope this lights a fire under the team to go on a winning streak that makes a Regional hosting impossible to deny. PK Park Needs to Host!

I think that is an excellent observation, as an ERA won't always tell the full story. While it is 2.51....if he pitches as he did against those aforementioned two teams--it would help offset the home field advantage!

🤮 "I never said I was noble..."

It is incredible to think of how the bullpen only gave up two runs during the Oregon State series, when there were games in the season where the bullpen gave up more than that in one inning!

My Duck-Buddies...our beloved Diamond Ducks are at a major crossroads in the season, and the next three weeks will be highly entertaining, as well as nail-biting time. Coach Waz has said all season that we have much more upside, and yours-truly has written the same. For the four games against No. 7 Beavis...everybody, and especially the team saw that upside. When they pitch like that? Oregon can play with anyone, as we have great fielding, great hitting, but our pitching has been "uneven" prior to the Oregon State series. This team has been inconsistent this season losing a half-dozen games that they should NOT have lost; will they return to that lower level, or continue playing as they did against the Beavers? I would like to think the latter because the rewards are right in front of them. With 11 games left--if the Ducks win say, nine of them? Oregon has a real shot at hosting a regional. But if they do better AND win the B1G Tournament? They have a shot at hosting a Super-Regional...and it not like they have to maintain form for next two months. Nope, the next couple of weeks decide the season... We have three at Michigan State, two mid-weeks against St. Marys, host the Bastard-Huskies next weekend, and then travel to Iowa City to play the Hawkeyes. (Then the B1G Tournament) Can our guys get over the mental hump to win the B1G and get NCAA recognition? Jason Reitz As always, this comes down to pitching, and we have been fortunate to have a couple of pitchers get over slump and return to form in time for the UCLA and the Oregon State series. We have a few others who need to return to form, (I'm looking at YOU, Will Sanford) as we need all-hands-on-deck for this stretch run. I like how our pitching coach "Hawk," (Blake Hawksworth) has really figured out our pitchers and knows when to pull them or let them continue. Recent examples were with Jason Reitz and Will Sanford, as both ran into trouble in an inning,....but would the return for the next inning? They both did, and in the case of Reitz, he got over his issues in the prior inning and pitched well for 2.3 more innings which meant SO MUCH in the game. But Sanford returned, walked a couple guys and still showed the lack of control of his pitches, and thus got pulled. In fact Hawk will pull pitchers right away if he does not like what he sees. Dream-on Beavis! (Ryan Cooney gets a double-play!) In the Tuesday night game in Corvallis--the Ducks went through SEVEN pitchers, as Hawk was looking for who was good on that evening. Santiago Garcia has been superb as a closer in other games, but came out flat in Corvallis, and thus was pulled immediately for Seth Mattox who closed out the game. Heck, Cole Stokes was originally brought in to close the game...and he looked shaky, thus the Garcia entrance. Hawk knows his pitchers, and a big element in all this is that Oregon could not do these quick replacements last year, because we did not have enough healthy pitchers in 2024. Waz went out with some NIL money got a boatload of pitchers, and it is paying off. The Ducks have had some GREAT infields since bringing back Baseball in 2009, but I believe this infield is the best I've seen. What do you think about all these points I've brought up?

Interesting discussion topic, as it would be COOL for both to host Regionals. I WANT Oregon State to win the rest of their games, as I want Oregon to accomplish the same. It would bring more honor to the Ducks, and how the seeding would materialize? Too hard to figure, and too early. I'm thinking about starting another thread about Oregon Baseball, as I have some thoughts going forward.. We'll have runs coming and going....

Oh this is going to be JUICY with the local affiliates, ScoopDuck and Duck Sports Authority, as both forums have guys who dictate who-can-say-what, and the clash of when those two communities get together?

Oh, what they come up with!

Added notes from 247 Coverage.... "The Oregon bullpen allowed only one run over seven innings in this game in Corvallis, and for the fourth straight game, Oregon's bullpen was effective against a potent offense. Over the four-game series, Oregon's bullpen allowed only two earned runs." (!!!) "For the first time since the program was reinstated and began playing games in 2009, Oregon has swept the season series over Oregon State."

Fourth Straight Win Over OSU Propels Ducks Into May CORVALLIS — Freshly back in the top 10 of the national rankings, the Oregon baseball team is playing up to its potential with increasing frequency. The No. 6 Ducks won their fourth game in five days over rival Oregon State on Tuesday, dispatching of the No. 7 Beavers 8-4 at Goss Stadium. Oregon has won eight of its last 10 entering May, when the UO baseball team has a chance to fight its way to the top of the Big Ten Conference. The Ducks (31-12) will take momentum on the road to Michigan State this weekend, after coming from behind to beat the Beavers on Tuesday. "There's a lot of energy that goes into this series; it means a lot on both sides," said UO first baseman Jacob Walsh, who homered in all four games against OSU. "And the guys just kind of came together and said, you know, we haven't done well against them since I've been here. And it was like, we're done with that. We needed to get him this time." Jacob Walsh is safe stealing third... Oregon entered a weekend series against OSU last week having played .500 baseball over the previous 14 games. It's a much different energy that the team will take to the Midwest when the trip to Michigan State begins Wednesday. "It's kind of a cliché, but it's not about how you start," Walsh said. "The teams in Omaha, they play their best at the end of the year, and that's just been our focus. We know we have an outstanding lineup, we know our bullpen is lights out, our starters are great, our defense is awesome. It's just about building — getting better every single day — and I think we've been doing that and it's showing on the field." How It Happened: Walsh hit his program-record 55th career home run in the top of the first, giving the Ducks an early lead. But OSU tied it with a solo homer in the bottom of the first, then capitalized on three walks to take a 3-1 lead in the second. Ryan Cooney, Oregon's sophomore second baseball from Portland, made it 3-2 with a solo homer in the third. The Beavers put three runners on base in the bottom of the inning and again in the fourth, but they only managed to push one run across against UO reliever Ryan Featherston, whose ability to limit damage proved hugely consequential later in the game. "(UO coach Mark Wasikowski) always talks about being old, and I think that we've really taken that to heart,'" Cooney said. "Guys are taking old at-bats, being old on the mound. Really taking your breath and relaxing is what's been really important for us." Ryan Cooney enjoying his homer... Jaxon Jordan (1-0) relieved Featherston and pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth. That set the stage for him to be the winning pitcher after the Ducks dominated the late innings to come from behind. It was 4-2 entering the sixth, when Oregon loaded the bases with one out. A fielder's choice off the bat of pinch-hitter Jeffrey Heard pushed one run across, and a two-run single by Cooney gave the Ducks a 5-4 lead. "They battled back, they didn't quit," Wasikowski said. "They showed a lot of toughness with that. This is a hard place to play. It's a very good program and our guys, I was happiest with just the personality of our team, to be able to fight through some adversity and be able to play their best when they needed to tonight." After Sam Boyle got the first two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Cole Stokes came on to end the inning. An RBI double by Walsh and a run-scoring single from Drew Smith made it 7-4 at the seventh-inning stretch, and Stokes then continued his recent resurgence with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh. Ryan Featherston is getting his control back... Mason Neville walked with one out in the ninth, took third on a single by Dominic Hellman and scored on a groundout by Walsh. Seth Mattox then came on with two on and none out in the bottom of the ninth and ended the threat, earning his third save of the year and second in the last five days. Notable: Oregon's last four-game win streak over Oregon State in a single season was in May 2011. … The Ducks tied their longest win streak in the series history at six games, set twice before across the 1971-72 and 1973-74 seasons. … Oregon has won consecutive games played in Corvallis for the first time since 2021. Up Next: The Ducks kick off a three-game series at Michigan State on Friday (3 p.m., B1G+).

If we were to sweep Michigan State this weekend? We could move up in the polls even further, and begin our bid for a Super-Regional. But winning three in East Lansing is NOT going to be easy... I know, Jacob...there is nothing like a sweep!

Yep, it was posted here last Friday... Very sad for his loss...

8-4 Oregon wins! Mason Neville walked, then Dominic Hellman drills a hit through the left infield, and the speedy Neville gets to third base. Jacob Walsh then grounds out to sacrifice, thus a score by Neville from third! Santiago Garcia walked two to start, and Seth Mattox comes in with a 2-0 count against him and throws strikes that are sliders--very hard to hit. He creates a ground ball that goes to Carter Garate at third, who steps on the bag for one out, and fires across the field to first base for a double-play! Mattox then creates another ground ball to shortstop Maddox Molony, who flips it to Ryan Cooney at second for the final out. A four-game sweep over the No. 7 team? Six straight wins over Oregon State going to back to last year...that's gotta sting Beavis.

7-4 Ducks after eight innings, as Cole Stokes walked a Beavis, than generated a grounder that turned into the third 6-4-3 double play of the game for Oregon! Santiago Garcia came in as a lefty pitcher, and covered first base for the out on the throw from Ryan Cooney. (Walsh was moving to field it, but it got past him, and scooped up by Cooney) THREE MORE OUTS FOR A FOUR GAME SWEEP!

7-4 Ducks after seven innings. Cole Stokes bashed the Beaver batters, and the Oregon offense got going! Mason Neville hit a line drive to bounce off the wall for a double, and then Jacob Walsh hits a double that drives to the deep right corner, and scored Neville! Walsh steals third, and then Drew Smith smashed a hit through a hole through the left infield to score Walsh. No stolen third base by Walsh, and no extra score for the Good-Guys!

5-4 Ducks! It is after six innings, and Ducks had a combination of getting a hit batter, walk and hits. The key play was Cooney singling up the middle, but the throw to first by Beavis was errant, and two Oregon runners scored! Sam Boyle pitched two outs for Oregon, and Cole Stokes got the third one.

4-2 Beavis after five innings, Oregon's Jaxon Jordan pitched a good inning and shut the bad-guys out.

4-2 Beavis as Featherston stumbled during his pitch, got a balk and scored a run for them.

3-2 Beavis after three innings, as The Pride of Portland Oregon, Ryan Cooney, sent a pitch over the wall! Ryan Featherston took over after a couple of walks by Sanford, and faced a bases-loaded and NO outs situation....and got the Ducks out of the inning unscathed!

3-1 Beavis after two innings. A pitcher Oregon needed to regain his confidence--Will Sanford, is struggling. He walked three in this inning, gave up a hit that scored, and then gave up another run on a wild pitch. Yikes!

1-1 after one inning as both teams had home runs. Oregon's Jacob Walsh did it again!