Charles Fischer

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2026 BASEBALL | @OregonBaseball Potent Offense Gives Ducks a Sweep at UC San Diego LA JOLLA, Calif. — Senior Drew Smith and freshman Brayden Jaksa both hit towering home runs over the centerfield wall so spark No. 20 Oregon to a 12-4 win over UC San Diego in nonconference action on Saturday at Triton Field. Smith’s 410-foot shot in the first inning gave Oregon the early lead before Jaksa bested him slugging a 447-foot line shot off the batter’s eye in fourth inning. Smith finished 2-for-6 with four RBI while Jaksa went 1-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. With the win, the Ducks (21-4) finished a two-game series sweep of UC San Diego (9-13). How It Happened: Oregon did not waste any time taking control of the game, scoring four runs in the first inning. Ryan Cooney laced a double over the third-base bag to lead off the game before Jax Gimenez reached on one of three hit-by-pitches in the first. After an out, Smith made it 3-0 with his team-leading ninth home run of the season. Following the home run, San Diego native Angel Laya singled and moved to third on back-to-back hit batters to Maddox Molony and Gabe Miranda. Jaksa made it 4-0 with a sacrifice fly scoring Laya from third. An unrelenting hitting attack... UCSD cut the lead to 4-2 in the second, but Oregon got those two back in the fourth. Miranda led off the inning with a walk, before Jaksa crushed a two-run home run to center field. After the Tritons scored one in the fifth, Oregon answered with two in the top of the sixth. With two outs, Cooney singled and Gimenez walked to put a pair of runners on for freshman Naulivou Lauaki Jr. The Ducks designated hitter ripped a two-run double into the right-center gap to push Oregon’s lead to 8-3. UCSD put another run on the board in the seventh, but UO shut the door with a run in the eighth and two in the ninth. Cooney led off the eighth with a single before scoring on a Smith base hit. In the ninth, the Ducks loaded the bases on three free passes (BB, HBP, BB), setting up pinch hitter Josh Schleichardt who came through with a two-RBI single. Gimenez capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly. Box Score Notes: Jax Gimenez, Maddox Molony and Gabe Miranda all reached base four times … Three Ducks had multiple hits led by Ryan Cooney (3-for-6, 3 R) … Michael Meckna picked up the win after going 1.2 innings in relief … Blake Crawford, Tanner Bradley and Cooper Markham combined to get the last nine outs without allowing a hit or walk with four strikeouts between them. On Deck: Oregon continues its California road trip when the Ducks open a three-game series at UC Santa Barbara on Friday.

Ducks win 12-4 from the relentless hitting attack in the late innings. Maddox Molony walks, and for the second time today....Gabe Miranda gets plinked. Then Brayden Jaska gets walked, and Josh Schleichardt hits to shallow CF that the fielder bobbles which allows Molony and Miranda to score! The runners advance due to a groundout, and then Jax Gimenez sacrifice-flies to score Jaksa. True freshman Cooper Markham came in to pitch the ninth for Oregon, and dispensed with them 1-2-3 to finish the game! Official press release--as always is 2-3 hours after the game, and posted below.

9-4 Ducks after eight innings. Ryan Cooney gets a hit in shallow CF, and is advanced to second on a groundout. Drew Smith then hits through the left infield to score the lightning-fast Cooney from second base! I was very surprised to see Tanner Bradley come in to pitch? Isn't he usually the first relief pitcher on Friday? Did he bring him in just for the eighth inning, knowing that if the Tritons are going make a move--it has to begin this inning? 🤷‍♂️

8-4 Ducks after seven innings. Nothing on offense, and Meckna's relief was replaced by redshirt freshman from West Linn, Blake Crawford. He is a strong looking 6'4", and the run scored by San Diego was on a passed ball by catcher Brayden Jaksa.

8-3 Ducks after six innings. Ryan Cooney gets a hit, and Jax Gimenez walks. Naulivou Lauaki gets a deep hit to CF/RF gap that bounces against the wall, and scores Cooney and Gimenez! Michael Meckna keeps the scoreless for Oregon in relief of Twist.

6-3 Ducks after five innings. Toby Twist give up a single, a double which scores a runner. Nothing on offense.

6-2 Ducks after three innings. Gabe Miranda walked, and Brayden Jaksa nailed a pitch, and sent it over the CF wall for a 2-run homer! Toby Twist got his confidence back, and now has pitched his third scoreless inning for Oregon.

4-2 Ducks after three innings. Nothing on offense again as the relief pitcher for San Diego has done well. Toby Twist went back to his winning ways of the first inning, as he kept them easily scoreless this inning.

4-2 Ducks after two innings. Nothing on offense as we faced a new pitcher, but Toby Twist for Oregon lost control this inning. He plinked two guys, walked another, and gave up a triple that scored two. Fortunately, he turned it around to leave San Diego with bases loaded and no further scoring.

4-0 Ducks after one inning. The Tritons started another freshman pitcher, but unlike last night...this guy pitched like a newbie. BTW...Dominic Hellman has been given a rest today, and giving RS Freshman Naulivou Lauaki (6'5" 265 pounds) a chance to get some at-bats. Ryan Cooney hits a leadoff double down the 3rd baseline and into the LF corner. Jax Gimenez gets plinked, then Drew Smith comes up and blasts a 3-run homer over the CF wall! Then we got a good base hit by Angel Laya in the CF/RF gap, while both Maddox Molony and Gabe Miranda got plinked. Brayden Jaksa then sacrifice-flies to short CF to score Laya. Toby Twist is Oregon's starting pitcher today, and puts them down 1-2-3, as he has a side-sweeper as a lefty, a fastball with jump, and a drop-curveball that we've seen already in one inning. A Good Start!

I am hoping that Ryan Featherston is not injured, and that we see him get some innings. What a fantastic pitching day yesterday--can we back it up on a mid-week? Toby Twist

Oh Don....great article, but I do have two areas of disagreement. First...your beloved Hawkeyes are not in the top five of teams that will make life harder for the Ducks? My friend...they already have made life harder, as we were fortunate to escape that incredibly tough environment this last fall. Any team that goes to Iowa City is in for a big-battle. With a new QB...I see more of that from Iowa. Second...quietly...Bret Bielema has built a strong team at Illinois. They have gradually become better, and this year won NINE games, including a sweet win over the SEC in their bowl game against Tennessee. I see a very tough trip to Champaign this fall, and thus the Illini are certainly going to make life harder for the Ducks and all Big-10 opponents...IMHO. My Duck-Buddies....this article by Don Marsh is well thought out, and fun to discuss. It is a great example of an opinion article that gets us all pondering, and something our writers at FishDuck.com enjoy to contribute to the forum. Do YOU have something to say? Write it in an email or on a Word Document and email it to me charles@fishduck.com and I'll take it from there. We'll have an editor polish it, and I will add pictures. I could use guest articles in the off-season, and I am very grateful to people who contribute as they do so often. Thanks to Jon Joseph, Mike Whitty, Mike West, and of course--Don Marsh. Add your name to that list! Mr. FishDuck

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2026 BASEBALL | @OregonBaseball Ducks 1-hit UC San Diego in 6-0 Win LA JOLLA, Calif. — Miles Gosztola and Leo Uelmen combined to toss a one-hitter while Jack Brooks homered and drove in four runs to lead No. 20 Oregon to a 6-0 nonconference win at UC San Diego at Triton Ballpark on Tuesday. Gosztola (1-1) took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, before finally surrendering a single just out of the reach of second baseman Ryan Cooney with two outs in the inning. He retired the next hitter to finish his day allowing just two runners to reach base. The Ducks’ lefty was in command from the outset retiring the first 15 batters he faced before finally issuing a walk to lead off the bottom of the sixth. He got the next batter to fly out to Brooks in center field before getting a ground-ball double play to end the inning. Miles Gosztola Gosztola faced 22 batters throwing first-pitch strikes to 17 of them on the way to finishing the game with eight strikeouts. Uelmen came out of the pen to retire six of the seven batters he faced, getting a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth with all three outs on weak ground balls to first baseman Gabe Miranda. He issued a walk after retiring the first two batters in the ninth before fanning the final batter he faced to end the game. On offense, Brooks reached base three times (2-for-3, BB) with a home run and a double. Miranda went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. How It Happened: After managing just one hit through the first 4.1 innings, Oregon finally found some offense after Burke-Lee Mabeus started a rally with a bunt single. Miranda moved Mabeus to second with his second hit of the day, before Brooks lined a three-run home run off the scoreboard beyond the right-field wall. Oregon tacked on a fourth run with another home run to right field. This time it was Jax Gimenez doing the honors with his third career homer. The Ducks added some insurance in the ninth inning, scoring two more runs. Maddox Molony led off the frame with a solo homer to left. After Miranda picked up his third hit of the day, Brooks ripped a run-scoring double into the right-center field gap, scoring Miranda from first. Box Score Notes: Brooks’ home run was his third in has last 14 at-bats … It was also the third of his career and the season … Drew Smith failed to reach base in a game for the first time this season … Ryan Cooney had his seven-game hitting streak snapped … Gosztola and Uelmen combined to allow just three base runners … The Ducks got six hits, four runs scored and four RBI out of the seven, eight and nine spots in their lineup. On Deck: Oregon and UCSD wrap up their two-game series on Wednesday with a 3:05 p.m. first pitch.

RPI planning by Waz, as the B1G is weak, and adding San Diego-who has a win over No. 1 UCLA and has a good RPI that helps Oregon for the postseason. Even more so with Santa Barbara-tough team. We have one non-conference week during the B1G schedule, and Waz uses it to boost RPI.

I do not see a political reference. I see legislation proposed by a former college coach who went undefeated one season, and some comments about the legislation. If you disagree--email me charles@fishduck.com

Thanks, and I see Waz developing depth among the Bullpen, as more pitchers are getting their confidence. This team has upside left, and if we see it...

Ducks win 6-0 after Maddox Molony skies a homer over the left wall! Then Gabe Miranda gets a hit to the R-CF, and Jack Brooks hits a double that goes to the CF-RF gap and buzzes to the warning track before the fielders can get their hands on it. This allows Miranda to score from first, and perhaps the big-guy has more wheels than I thought! Leo Uelmen comes in again to finish off the side, and WOW. What great pitching tonight, and big confidence builders for both pitchers. Gosztola was incredible...just ONE hit is all.

4-0 Ducks after eight innings. Jax Gimenez pulverized a pitch, and put it on almost the same spot on the scoreboard that Jack Brooks did earlier for solo HR! Leo Uelmen came in for Gosztola, and put them down 1-2-3!

3-0 Ducks after seven innings. Oregon stranded a runner again, but boy....what a game for Miles Gosztola! He gave up his first hit, and then retired the side with eight KOs.

3-0 Ducks after six innings. Oregon stranded a runner, and Miles Gosztola finally gave up a base runner to a walk. Then he got a flyout, and a grounder to generate a double-play to end the inning! He's HOT. Will we see him in the seventh?

3-0 Ducks after five innings. Burke-Lee Mabeus pulled a perfect bunt down the 3rd baseline to beat the throw. Gabe Miranda got a hit in short-RF, and then Jack Brooks came up and blasted a 3-run homer that popped the scoreboard!

0-0 after four innings. Ducks left another on-base, while Miles Gosztola has put down 12 batters in a row. Thus far, he has three pitches going well between his left-handed sweeper, a changeup, and a fastball down the middle. Barely 50 pitches in four innings...

0-0 after three innings. Ducks left one base runner stranded... But Miles Gosztola has put down nine straight batters!

0-0 after two innings. The Duck starter, Miles Gosztola, has been steadier thus far than other outings. Looks good... The Triton starter is a freshman pitching his first game, and he has been super as well.