Charles Fischer

Phil Kilkenny is a massive supporter, and I'd like to think will continue the program.

This is a very interesting article, and in particular--the part about moving the baseball schedule yields a bunch of questions. Who IS stopping it? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Big Ten Baseball on the Rise, but Will Teams Commit Resources to Take the Next Step? OMAHA, Neb. — Mark Wasikowski, the sixth-year baseball coach at Oregon, harbored concerns last year that entry into the Big Ten would negatively impact the Ducks. The travel was daunting. The potential RPI hit, in comparison to their years in the Pac-12, would pose challenges for the four new Big Ten programs from the West. And the acclimation to a different style of play in unfamiliar ballparks with unpredictable spring weather conditions weighed on Wasikowski’s mind. “I think all those (worries) snuck in from time to time,” he said. Ultimately, Wasikowski chose to stop worrying. “We won our games,” he said. “And that’s what I told the guys: ‘If you just take all the math and everything else out of it, it’s real simple. Win your games. Then nobody is going to be able to do or say anything.’” As it enters the final weekend of play before the 64-team NCAA Tournament is unveiled on Memorial Day, Oregon is in contention to earn the first top-eight seed for the league — and home-field advantage in both postseason rounds ahead of the College World Series — since Illinois in 2015. No Big Ten program has qualified for the CWS since Michigan lost in the championship series against Vanderbilt in 2019. As schools in this wealthy conference consider their futures in the revenue-sharing era, the league’s competitiveness in baseball appears on the rise. The addition of Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington this season has pushed the profile of Big Ten baseball firmly into the fourth spot nationally behind the SEC, ACC and Big 12. “I think the question now is,” ESPN commentator Kyle Peterson said, “are they going to spend money, or are they not going to spend money?” As Oregon illustrated this season in winning 41 of 54 games in the regular season, a blueprint exists to achieve national success in the Big Ten. UCLA, too, has positioned itself to host a Regional next week. “It’s pretty hard to ignore,” Nebraska coach Will Bolt said of the impact delivered by new teams in the league. “And their commitment to baseball is something that the traditional Big Ten schools continue to strive for.” Oregon second baseman Ryan Cooney, a sophomore who played in the Pac-12 a year ago, said the Big Ten play compares favorably to what he’s experienced on the diamond outside of the conference. “There was this initial narrative that the Big Ten wasn’t as strong,” Cooney said, “but I would say that’s not the reality.” Oregon brought national home run leader Mason Neville, an Arkansas transfer, to Big Ten stadiums this year. UCLA sophomore Roch Cholowsky was named the Big Ten player of the year. But the rosters of traditional Big Ten schools contain many of the top players, including the league’s pitcher of the year, Joseph Dzierwa of Michigan State. Schools such as Penn State, which has qualified for the NCAA postseason once in the past 47 years, are investing in the sport. Though the Nittany Lions have yet to get over the hump under second-year coach Mike Gambino, they finished the regular season with a winning record for the second consecutive year. And Penn State beat USC on Thursday to earn a spot in the Big Ten tournament semifinals, remaining alive to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAAs. Administrative leaders obsessed with success in football and basketball are buying into baseball, according to league coaches. “I think it’s been trending up for a few years,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said, “maybe as far back as Michigan and Indiana (in 2013) making it to the College World Series.” Smith coached that Indiana squad 12 years ago, the first Big Ten team in 39 years to appear in the CWS, then he left to coach Arizona State in 2015. He returned to the Big Ten in 2023. So Smith has experienced both sides of the power struggle. Before this season, he fielded questions often about the West Coast invasion. “Do you like it?” fans and interested parties in the sport asked him. “I absolutely like it,” Smith said. “That does nothing but elevate the league. I think the Big Ten is in a great spot. I’m not so sure we’re getting the national attention that we deserve, but maybe people will wake up at some point and start realizing that this is a pretty darn good baseball league.” Still, the conference falls short in comparison to the top three leagues. Since 2013, the SEC has placed an average of 9.1 teams per year into the NCAA Tournament, followed by the ACC at 7.8 and the Big 12 at 4.7. The Big Ten has averaged 3.3 over that time. It was outnumbered in the 64-team field by the Sun Belt in each of the last three seasons. This year, the conference RPI of the Big Ten sits at No. 4 nationally, ahead of Conference USA. But only Oregon, UCLA and USC appear in solid shape to make the bracket on Monday, and USC’s spot is a bit tenuous after Thursday’s loss to Penn State — the Trojans’ sixth defeat in their last eight games. “We have more teams this year,” Nebraska’s Bolt said. “We should certainly have more bids and get the benefit of the doubt.” We’ll see on Monday. The others left alive this week at the conference tournament in Omaha — Iowa, Nebraska and Penn State — likely must win the crown to receive an invite. Oregon’s Wasikowski coached Purdue from 2017 to 2019. He and Michigan’s Smith advocate for a restructured college season that starts and ends a month later than its current February-to-June regimen. An opening weekend in March and a CWS built around the MLB All-Star break in July would undoubtedly drive interest in regions less exposed to college baseball. Mason Neville steals second... “I think baseball has the biggest growth opportunity in any sport in college athletics,” Wasikowski said. “But the (college) presidents and ADs are going to have to come to grips with that and decide to go with it.” When Smith coached in the Pac-12, he listened to coaches from the North make their case to shift the calendar. Then he watched coaches in spots similar to his shake their heads and dismiss the proposal. “My blunt opinion on it,” Smith said, “is that it’s disgusting we don’t do it. This sport is growing. If you put a gun to my head and said, ‘What is the reason we don’t do it?’ I think it’s self-serving. Certain leagues and certain institutions know that they have an advantage. So why change it? “No one could ever convince me that we couldn’t do this if we sat down and made it a priority. But the world is politics, man, and you’ve got some people controlling it at the top. I was part of that. It’s sad but true.” Part of the commitment to baseball in the Big Ten involves reasonable travel and a functional system to award the automatic postseason bid. The Big Ten switched this year to a pool-play system for its conference tournament, modeling it after a defunct ACC method. The result? Three games out of four on Thursday in Omaha were meaningless for both teams involved. Oregon and Nebraska are scheduled to play Friday night for the last open spot in the semifinal round. In March, Nebraska served as a guinea pig for a travel arrangement that sent the Huskers to Los Angeles for consecutive Big Ten weekend series at UCLA and USC. The Huskers spent 12 days on the road — and 11 consecutive nights in a Venice Beach hotel. “Not a fan,” Bolt said. “You don’t even see big-league clubs do that.” Yes, hurdles remain for the Big Ten to clear before it’s recognized in every realm on the level of the top three leagues. It comes down to the investment made by each program. With revenue sharing expected to be introduced once the House settlement passes, how much of that money will Big Ten schools allocate to baseball? On many campuses in the league, hockey and/or wrestling might be higher up the food chain among the fan base. “I don’t know that there’s an absolute answer to that,” said Peterson, an Omahan who pitched at Stanford and has long helped lead ESPN’s television coverage of the CWS. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know that … our game is so much better if the power athletic departments, the athletic departments that are football powerhouses and potentially the basketball powerhouses are the ones that are committing money to (baseball).” The ball, so to speak, is in the Big Ten’s court.

The terrible Wildcat fans were throwing full water bottles at Oregon fans, and cheerleaders. So a building contractor, (Oregon fan) helped the cheerleaders!

In 2009, they were moving to storm the field thinking the game was over....OOPS! And now you get to SUCK in the Big-12? Love it! (No, I never said I was noble)

My hope is that Grayson Grinsell can keep his pitch count low, and pitch the entire game. He will not be available to use the rest of the weekend, thus when he did this a few weeks ago--it saved all our relievers for the last two games and really helped us. Hope he goes deep into the game!

So...Oregon would not have faced Ohio State until the finals? Geez, that doesn't SUCK at all!

Ducks Open B1G Tournament With a Win OMAHA, Neb. — Three Oregon pitchers combined to toss a four-hitter while Anson Aroz went 3-for-4 with three RBI to lead the No. 4 Ducks to a 4-2 win over Michigan State in Oregon’s first game of pool play at the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday at Charles Schwab Stadium. Junior Ian Umlandt got the start for Oregon and turned in a stellar performance on the mound. The Ducks’ lefty allowed just one earned run on four hits in 6.2 innings on work before giving way to relievers Santiago Garcia and Seth Mattox, who combined to retire all seven batters they faced with three strikeouts. Garcia got the win, moving to 3-0 on the season, while Mattox picked up his eighth save tossing a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts to end the game. How It Happened: After Michigan State took an early lead with a run in the top of the first on a leadoff double and a pair of fly balls that advanced the runner, The Ducks answered with a pair of runs in their half of the first. Aroz delivered a two-out, two-run double into the left-field corner for a 2-1 lead. Anson Aroz celebrates a two-RBI hit... The teams exchanged zeros until the seventh inning when Michigan State (28-27) tied the game with an unearned run. Oregon (42-13) immediately answered, scoring two runs in its half of the inning. Dominic Hellman, who reached base four times (2-for-2, 2 BB) started the rally with a hit before being removed for pinch-runner Jax Gimenez. Jacob Walsh drew a 10-pitch walk, after falling behind 0-2 to start the at-bat, moving Gimenez to second. Drew Smith gave the Ducks the lead back driving in Gimenez with a base hit to left field and Aroz followed with an RBI single through the right side, scoring Walsh from second. Box Score Notes: The win was Oregon’s 11th in a row, matching its longest winning streak of the season (Feb. 22 – March 9) … Oregon can tie the longest winning streak in program history with a win on Friday … Umlandt’s quality start was his third in five starts this season … Mattox moved into a tie for 10th all-time in single-season saves at Oregon … Oregon moved its record in conference tournament games to 5-4 all-time … The Ducks are 11-1 in the month of May with their last loss coming at Michigan State on May 2. On Deck: Oregon will square off with Nebraska on Friday in a must-win game to advance to Saturday’s semifinals. Both teams are 1-0 in “Pool A” with only the pool winner advancing. First pitch is at 4:03 p.m. (PT) on the Big Ten Network.

Ducks win 4-2 as Seth Mattox comes in and closes them out 1-2-3. I should not fret so much, as Garcia only had 15 pitches in his 1.3 innings, and Mattox only had 11 pitches in his inning. Yes, this win helps the national appearance, but the next three games are the money games. The good news is that we won without any one of our three starters, and our relievers did not pitch much.

4-2 Ducks after eight innings. Santiago Garcia puts them down 1-2-3, but we are using our best relievers for a non-counting game. I have no idea who we will turn to in the clutch in a few days... THREE MORE OUTS!

4-2 Ducks after seven innings as Umlandt gave up a run, and was replaced by Santiago Garcia to get the last out of the side. Dominic Hellman hits to short center field for a single, as it replaced by Jax Gimenez as a pinch runner. Jacob Walsh walks, and then Drew Smith scooped a curve ball out, and knocked it into left field to score the speedy Gimenez from second base. Anson Aroz hits a grounder to right field to score Walsh from second, but Our Beloved Ducks stranded two to end the inning again that could have sealed this game!

2-1 Ducks after six innings. I getting nervous as we are wasting innings where we don't score, and Umlandt is keeping us alive. Ian gave up a hit, but kept the inning scoreless again. Michigan State can play loose, go all-out, and play everyone as their season is done in an hour. I don't like this...

2-1 Ducks after five innings. Good thing Umlandt has had a good game thus far, as Oregon is having trouble getting the bats going at timely moments. Ian has 74 pitches after five innings, so perhaps he can go two more innings?

2-1 Ducks after four innings, as Oregon left bases-loaded stranded! Ian Umlandt is getting his groove as he put down the Michigan State hitters 1-2-3. Great catch by Drew Smith!

2-1 Ducks after three innings, as damn...Oregon stranded two runners. Michigan State is getting hits and on base with a plink, but Umlandt comes through to keep the Spartans scoreless for the inning.

2-1 Ducks after two innings, as Ian Umlandt generated a sweet double play to end the inning as Ryan Cooney fielded the grounder, stepped on second, and fired to first! Oregon left a runner stranded on second, as Michigan State is replacing their starting pitcher.

Game summary will be at the end of the thread later! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2-1 Ducks after one inning, and you need to be aware that the fields in this stadium are HUGE. It looks like twice as much distance for fielders to cover, and should open it up for more hits, which can lean things in a direction of a good hitting team....like Oregon. Another element? My guesses about using freshman pitchers and taking it as a "throwaway game," was a wrong take. Coach Waz explained in the pregame interview that he wants to WIN all four games in order to be a National Seed, and be able to host both the Regionals and Super-Regionals. So, my opinion was worth what you paid for...nothing! With that...Waz pulled a great reliever, Ian Umlandt, and made him today's starter. The Spartans got a good hit that went for a double, (which is MUCH easier in this ballpark) and then sacrificed him in for their run. Dominic Hellman walked, and Drew Smith bunted to first to put runners on first and second. Then Anson Aroz batting left-handed, had the shift to cover his right-field tendency...and then he hits a screamer into deep extreme left field to give him a double, score Hellman, and even score the swift Smith from first.

It does not matter whether we win or lose tonight at all. There is no need to play the game, because if Nebraska beats Oregon on Friday...they would be 2-0 and advance. If Oregon loses tonight and then beats Nebraska, then all teams are 1-1, but the highest seed, the Ducks, would advance. So bottom line is that tonight's game is meaningless beyond the two teams' overall record, although it will be Michigan's State's last game of the year...hence they will want to win. For Oregon...the only game that matters is Friday's versus the Cornhuskers. Back-Up Catcher was Also Freshman of the Year!

I agree with you, as the Iowa game tonight...as the Michigan State-Oregon game tonight has no bearing on anything...so why are we playing these games?

Something that might be overlooked is that while Oregon was rated No. 6 in the final poll, (And given a No.16 Seed?) the Cardinal were ranked No. 16 in the nation, thus they had recognized talent to take a game off a higher ranked team. Liberty was not in the top 25, but received enough votes to effectively be No. 28 in the nation, and caught TAMU on either an off-day or two, a hot day or two for Liberty, or a combination of both of which happens in sports! The Flames had enough talent to be recognized, and it is evident they are better than their final ranking.

No, as reported in another thread...he pitched 104 pitches on Tuesday against Nebraska, and thus will not available for us.

I think the rest time is only important for the pitchers, and again, the Sports information director told me that the starters will be resting for seven days regardless. We could put nothing but freshman pitchers out there on Thursday, and lose the game, but we have everybody rested for a normal three day weekend series, so I think we will be OK. We have three catchers, and plenty to sub for infield and outfield that are quality players with little to no dropoff. I think everyone knows me well enough to confirm that if I was really concerned about this now, I would be asserting it strongly as I usually do. We may disagree, and that is fine. I actually think that throwing freshman pictures out there Thursday that haven’t had any action in a month or so besides practice, would be good for them in case we need to turn to them in the playoffs for an inning or two.

Meh. If I know Coach Waz...he will remind the team that they've been playing three straight games a weekend for a couple of months, with a number of weekends of four straight games. They have their routine, and know how to approach it. Frankly, breaking up the routine might have made it worse? In his interviews he explains that he tells the team..."instead of practice--we get to play BASEBALL!"

Four games slated for Thursday at Charles Schwab Field Omaha, Rescheduled OMAHA, Neb. – The Big Ten Conference has announced a schedule change to the 2025 Big Ten Baseball Tournament Presented by IFS.ai. With inclement weather in the forecast, first pitch for three pool play games on Thursday will move up by one hour. The new start times are 9 a.m. CT for UCLA versus Michigan, 1 p.m. for USC-Penn State and 5 p.m. (3:00 PM PST) for Oregon-Michigan State. In addition, the Iowa-Indiana contest, originally scheduled for Friday, will be played at 9 p.m. on Thursday. All four games Thursday will be carried by the Big Ten Network.

To answer your question, Mr. Waddler, I believe no, after talking to the Sports information Director for Baseball. They want seven full days of rest for their starters, in particular Grinnell, because he’s going 100 pitches these days. So I don’t think they will save him for Sunday, as I believe they will use him on Friday this week so he is fresh for the regional, as that is first priority. Now, with that being said, they may not play Grinnell, against the number four seed in the regional on Friday, and perhaps save him for Saturday next week? Just another means of entertainment…trying to figure it out!