Charles Fischer

Ducks win 4-0 as Oregon's pitching depth was the difference. Once their ace left--we could go to work on offense. Gabe Miranda bunted down the 3rd baseline, and caught them sitting back to then beat the throw to first. Ryan Cooney hit a high infield bouncer that slowed down to allow him to get on base safely. Jax Gimenez sees everybody coming in close to defend the bunt, and hits if over the right fielder's glove and rolls to the wall. Miranda scores from second, and Cooney went from first to third. Such fast base-runners this year! The relief pitcher for Santa Barbara slipped as he was pitching, and it was called a balk...thus Cooney is scored, and Gimenez moves to third. Drew Smith is intentionally walked. Then the Ducks sucked the infielders into a pickle/hot box between first and second base with Smith...while Gimenez scores before the out to get the fourth run! Devin Bell finished it off with his curve drop-ball, and a 97 mph heater to mess up the batters. Even with that...Maddox Molony was backing up the 3rd baseman on a hit through the infield, and snagged the grounder, turned his body and made the long throw in time for the out! Hitting, pitching and fielding. Be proud of this team! The official game recap will be posted below 2-3 hours from now.

1-0 Ducks after eight innings. Oregon strands two on base... NOW we see Tanner Bradley, and in his 10 outings--nine of them he did not give up a single earned run. Damn his sideways action both away and toward the plate is tough. Catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus made a terrific play sprinting to a dribbler hit, and firing to first base to barely beat the runner. Whew!

1-0 Ducks after seven innings. With the Santa Barbara ace retired for the day, we saw Jack Brooks smash a solo HR over the CF wall! They brought in Luke Morgan to pitch again, as he must have his confidence now, and that of the Oregon coaches. His curve was deadly again!

0-0 after six innings. Oregon brought in Luke Morgan to replace Sanford, and not Tanner Bradley? Morgan is a sophomore from Grants Pass who has not been used that much in relief, but he is the first reliever this weekend? But he got two strikeouts, and kept them scoreless! A very nasty curve-drop-ball that looks like it plunges three and a half feet at the plate. Wow!

0-0 after five innings as the pitcher's duel continued, although both pitchers have very high pitch counts and I believe they are both done after this inning. Nothing again on offense, and this time Will Sanford got out of a jam with only two runners on base! He has over 100 pitches...

0-0 after four innings. The Gaucho pitcher threw a 99 mph pitch? Whew! That's why we got nothing this inning. Oregon's Will Sanford is going to challenge my blood pressure, as he got into another bases-loaded jam...and then struck out the next two!

0-0 after three innings. So isn't this lovely? It was stated that the Gaucho pitcher, Jackson Flora, was named the No. 2 Prospect for the MLB Draft! No wonder we are having trouble with him! But Oregon's Ryan Cooney got a double, and Jax Gimenez walked...and we left them stranded. Meanwhile Will Sanford got into a bases-loaded jam, and you could see him mentally lock-in and strike out the next two batters. Whew! P.S. When you doing intermittent fasting as I and the eating window comes open? I'm cooking dinner-baby! So next innings will be late reporting...

0-0 after two innings. The Ducks have a hard time hitting the Santa Barbara pitcher, but got some gifts in a walk, and getting plinked...but stranded them. Will Sanford brushed away the opposing batters, 1-2-3.

0-0 after one inning. I guessed correctly on the Gaucho starter, and man...he has nasty sideways action, and hasn't given up a run in over a dozen innings? Good test for our hitters. Meanwhile Oregon's Will Sanford gave up a walk and a plinked batter, but generated three fly balls.

This game is in sunny California, although it looks like it would have been fine today at PK Park. We owed them a series at their house when a prior one scheduled was terminated due to flooding on the eve of the series in the past. Santa Barbara....home of FishDuck.com writer Alex Heining, and one of my favorite '90s band, Toad-the-Wet-Sprocket. The pitcher for Santa Barbara Gauchos has not been announced, but I assume it will be Jackson Flora, who has an incredible ERA of 0.94 and will go up against Oregon's Will Sanford. (1.44 ERA) The other Gaucho starters also look really good in Nathan Aceves, (3.77) and Kellen Montgomery. (3.86) In terms of hitting--Oregon has the edge with more homers, and six starters hitting over .300 while Santa Barbara has four. Looks like another low-scoring scrappy game! Will Sanford

Bill Ogden (ChileDuck) is a die-hard Oregon Football and Track fan, and here are his comments about his updated spring depth chart... As always I just list the current roster players so some of the highly anticipated freshmen are not listed yet. But even so it is an impressive collection of old familiar names and an exciting influx of young, blue-chip newcomers. A solid number of returning starters are back especially in the trenches, secondary and wide receiver. And to fill specific gaps (particularly in the secondary and special teams), the Ducks utilized the portal for immediate starters while bringing in a top-ranked freshman class for future depth. Koi Perich (Jr.): A hard-hitting safety from Minnesota expected to start immediately in the secondary. The specialist room was completely overhauled with scholarship transfers Keaton Emmett (K, Nevada), Bailey Ettridge (P, Nevada), and RJ Todd (LS, Western Michigan). We have it always at your fingertips at the top of the site. (See below) Thoughts?

Don, I loved the first article, and like that one...I have a little disagreement. I believe we need to see more proof of rising, and being formidable and thus I would remove USC and Michigan State from your list until they have done it. Two teams I would add are your Iowa, and Illinois because they have proven to win nine games last year, and both beat SEC teams in bowl games furthering solidifying my concern about them. (They beat Vandy and Tennessee) I love the discussion!

Dan Lanning will get his...both in recruits and in victories. Thus far, all we see or hear from USC are banal utterings without any backing in results...

Well, Nebraska is 19-6 and ranked No. 24 at D1Baseball, and we face them in PK Park later...

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.