Charles Fischer

I am a baseball fan, but I really don't know the sport very well, and could always use some help by those who have been around the game far longer than I. We've had WILD swings in pitching performances over three different stretches during the season, and I have no explanation... February 14th until March 10th: A pitching staff ERA of 2.88, (superb!) and our record was 14-2 for that stretch. March 11th until April 24: Pitching Staff ERA of 7.87, (Yikes!) and a record of only 13-10. April 25th until just before last night: An ERA of 1.26, (WOW!) and a record of 8-1. Last night's goose-egg of runs given to Washington will drive those stats for Our Beloved Ducks even better. I don't understand how a whole staff can go on a funk, but I also do not know what the coaches did to bring them back to exceptional pitching. Can we keep it up? Thoughts? A New Pitcher Emerged, and We Needed Him!

The Bastard-Huskies do have a good pitching staff, and their starter today, Jackson Thomas, (A fellow with two first or last names?) has an ERA of 3.92, while Oregon counters with Collin Clarke with an ERA of 4.10. Clarke had a bad stretch, but with a number of good outings has brought it down, and we hope for more of the same today. Oregon started out great against their pitcher last night...but then Washington almost completely shut the Ducks down the rest of the game. This will be another tight game, and while I believe we are the better team--we got to bring-it every day as we will get the best shot from the Huskies. Collin Clarke

Stretch Run Begins With Rivalry Win EUGENE, Ore. — With two weeks left to play themselves to the top of the Big Ten Conference and improve their chances of hosting postseason games, all the No. 5 Oregon baseball team can do is take it one game at a time. Friday night was an impressive example. The Ducks got seven innings from ace Grayson Grinsell to lead a shutout effort by the pitching staff, and they jumped on another one of the Big Ten’s top Friday starters to beat Washington at PK Park, 5-0. Oregon (36-13, 17-8 Big Ten) moved within three games of first-place Iowa with five to play — the last three of those being against the Hawkeyes. “We know what the position is that we're in,” said UO outfielder Anson Aroz, who had three hits Friday. “We’re taking each day like it's our last and just trying to win one game.” With Iowa playing a nonconference series this week, Oregon has a chance to get within two games of the Hawkeyes before heading to play them in Iowa City next week. UCLA remained a game ahead of the Ducks for second place in the Big Ten by also winning Friday. “They always say it doesn't matter how you play in February and March, it matters how you play in May and June — and I think we take that to heart,” said Grinsell, who posted his seventh quality start of the season. “We're ready to go with five games left now; six before today. We're gonna go out every game like we want to win this thing, because we do.” Friday’s win followed a pregame ceremony during which Oregon’s home facility was officially named Bob Kilkenny Field at PK Park, in honor of the father of former UO athletic director Pat Kilkenny. A crowd of 3,866 packed the stands to take it all in.' Grayson Grinsell “Really special,” UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. “I know that means a lot to coach (George) Horton; we love coach and that's a really big, big thing for our guys. They wanted to put up a great performance, and Grayson did that. To have the whole family here, we gave the game ball to Pat obviously, in honor of Bob and what the family wanted to do for that great legacy.” How It Happened: Grinsell (8-2) only allowed two runners to reach third base all night, but one was in the first inning. A two-out single and an error on a pickoff attempt put the Huskies 90 feet away from the game’s first run, but Grinsell retired the next hitter to strand the runner. The Ducks then went to work against UW starter Max Banks, who hadn’t lost a Friday start in Big Ten play until facing the Ducks. After Mason Neville walked to open the bottom of the first, Parker Stinson successfully executed a sacrifice bunt and Jacob Walsh followed with an RBI single. Walsh was the first of five straight Ducks to reach before Banks settled in for the night. Drew Smith was hit by a pitch to advance Walsh to second, and Aroz’s first hit of the night plated Walsh for a 2-0 lead. Maddox Molony and Burke-Lee Mabeus then walked, forcing in Smith, and two batters later Carter Garate was hit by a pitch to score Aroz and make it 4-0. “That's big-time stuff,” Aroz said. “We want to give Grayson the run support that we can, and (also) beat good pitchers, because we're going to run into them down the road.” The pitcher’s duel that most anticipated Friday then developed, with Banks getting through six innings and only allowing one more runner as far as second base. Grinsell, meanwhile, got a strikeout with the bases loaded in the fourth to end that threat, and another strikeout to cap a 121-pitch effort in the seventh. Mason Neville was SAFE at home! “It was a gritty one today,” Grinsell said. “Just tried to stay one pitch at a time, trusted in (pitching coach Blake Hawksworth) and Waz and it turned out the way we wanted to with the win.” After Grinsell finished his seven scoreless innings, Jeffery Heard provided some insurance with a solo homer off the UW bullpen in the bottom of the seventh. It was Heard’s first home run since Feb. 28. “It felt really good,” Heard said. “I mean, it’s no secret it's been a minute since I've hit one. So it felt nice, for sure.” Cole Stokes threw the eighth for Oregon, striking out four hitters after the second reached on a passed ball. Seth Mattox continued to hold down the back of the UO bullpen, throwing a 1-2-3 ninth to complete the shutout. Notable: Grinsell has allowed 12 earned runs in 65.1 innings over his last 10 starts. … Grinsell’s 251 career strikeouts moves him into fourth all-time at Oregon, passing Alex Keudell (2009-12). … Grinsell’s 17th career win moved him into a tie for 10th in UO history with Tyler Anderson (2009-11) and Mike Nicksic (1966-68). … The UO staff has posted four straight quality starts in conference play. … Heard’s homer was the 91st by the team this season, 10 behind the program record set in 2023. … Neville’s walk in the first was his 50th of the year, tied for the UO single-season record with Aaron Zavala in 2021. Up Next: The two teams meet again Saturday (2 p.m., B1G+).

Ducks win 5-0 over the Bastard-Huskies, as Oregon's Seth Mattox just mows through Washington so easily in the ninth... Grayson Grinsell has been MONEY for the Ducks...

5-0 Ducks after eight innings, Cole Stokes puts Washington down, and makes it look routine.

5-0 Ducks after seven innings, as Grayson Grinsell is up to 121 pitches...and he still slaps the Huskies with a wet newspaper! Jeffrey Heard subs in at right field, and justifies the move with a home run over the right field fence to add to the lead!

4-0 Ducks after six innings, as Grinsell has been SO GOOD. He has 101 pitches...he has gone further before, but do you risk his arm versus a reliever not doing as well? Four runs is not enough with these BASTARDS we are playing...

4-0 Ducks after five innings, as the pitchers have been superb. With a lead--it is crucial that Grayson Grinsell keep the Huskies howling...and he has.

4-0 Ducks after four innings. I got to hand it to the Husky pitcher, as he is mentally strong and pulled himself together together. Meanwhile, Oregon’s Grayson Grinnell, has been wonderful, as he got out of a bases-loaded jam and left Washington with nothing! (I enjoy this WAY too much)

4-0 Ducks after three innings, as Grinsell’s change up pitch is driving Huskies nuts.

4-0 Ducks after two innings. Grinsell put the Bastards down 1-2-3.

4-0 Ducks after one inning! The Bastard-Huskies have a great pitcher, Max Banks, who was 8-0 in his B1G game starts thus far. Oregon counters with Grayson Grinsell who has shown his usual tough fastball, a slider that appears as a fastball and shifts lower, and then a nasty curve that drops. He blanks the Huskies as we would want... Can you say MELTDOWN? The Washington pitcher may have had a 2.97 ERA in BiG play, but he had not faced the Oregon offense, nor the PK Park crowd. He walks Mason Neville, while right-fielder Parker Stinson sacrifice-bunts to move Neville to second base. Jacob Walsh then drives a grounder just past the second baseman on the right side, and scores Neville from second as the throw from right field is late! Drew Smith gets plinked, and then Anson Aroz zings a hit right over second base to score Walsh from second base! Maddox Molony walks to load the bases, and Burke-Lee Mabeus walks to score another! With Ducks-on-the-Pond, (Bases Loaded) we see Carter Garate get plinked AGAIN by the Husky pitcher to complete his meltdown to our glee!

Devin Bell originally came from La Grande High School, and went to Western Oregon University, and pitched this year a low 2.39 ERA for the Wolves, and he did it pitching a boatload of 75 innings. He will be here in Eugene next year with one year left. Oregon has done well with most players who have shown excellence at a lower level college and moved up.

Well deserved!

I LOVE the 16 team format, so that nobody can claim that a team who was legit at the end of the season is left out. But I HATE the season-ending conference "Play-in" games. That is why we have a regular season, and as Oregon fans know...it is hard to beat a great team twice. At what point are we going to stop the nonsense for every last dollar? Softball had an incredible season tainted....because they got over the hump and won the conference championship with a full effort. But could not keep the intensity for the silly conference tournament. In Baseball? I would feel the same way if Iowa won the regular season championship and Oregon won the tournament. The champ should be Iowa in that case, as 27 games should not be negated by a couple of games in a tournament. 🤬 Calm down Charles...

I agree with you all about Beavis doing well this weekend to further boost the Ducks RPI, and respect for west coast baseball. I will say that I am impressed with the ERAs of Iowa's staff, but the knock was that they had not played many teams with a winning record. And the Bastard-Huskies did take two games off of the Hawkeyes this last weekend. Thanks for posting that, as it makes watching the results that much more interesting. While it is very hard--if Oregon could sweep.... Coach Hawk has turned the pitching staff around, and the emergence of Julian Hernandez is one I never thought would happen.

Oregon's Friday night starter, Grayson Grinsell has been awesome with a ERA of 2.77, but the Husky starter, Max Banks, has a superb ERA of 3.49 to counter. This could be a very low-scoring game, and Coach Waz may have to resort to some small-ball. No, Husky....you're OUT!

I am running into an appointment and can discuss further later, but I will say that (Will) Sanford is no longer a starter, as he lost that Sunday starting position to Jason Reitz, and in the mid-week games- he did not start either game this week, and did not even pitch.

Romero, Ducks Win Way Into NCAA Championships GOLD CANYON, Ariz. - Led by dominant sophomore Kiara Romero, the Oregon women's golf team won the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional on Wednesday and punched its ticket to the 2025 NCAA Championships. The No. 5 Ducks shot their best round of the week with a 7-under 281 in the final round to win the tournament by nine strokes, securing the second NCAA Regional victory in program history. Romero followed up her UO record 10-under 62 from Tuesday with a 4-under 68 on Wednesday to win individual medalist honors by seven strokes at 16-under par. Oregon advances to the NCAA Championships for the 14th time in program history and fourth time in the last five years. The Ducks will return to Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. (May 16-21), after advancing through NCAA stroke play and reaching the match-play semifinals there last spring. "Super proud of our team for not only punching their ticket to the NCAA Championships, but for coming out here and getting a win against a really good field," head coach Derek Radley said. "They didn't come here with the mindset of just finishing in the top five; they wanted to make a statement. Really pleased with the way our whole lineup performed today. It's not easy to get to the NCAA Championships, and these ladies have earned it. We're excited to get back to Carlsbad and see what we can do next week." Oregon earned its third tournament win of the season and second in a row after running away with the Big Ten Championship a couple weeks ago. The Ducks are following in the path of the 2021-22 team that won the Pac-12 Championship and the NCAA Albuquerque Regional before going on to finish as the national runners-up. Romero became the second Duck ever to win an NCAA Regional individual title, joining Briana Chacon from that 2021-22 team. The win was also Romero's second in a row after winning the Big Ten individual title, and she tied Kendra Little (2008-11) for the most career individual tournament wins with four. "What can you say about Kiara Romero at this point?" Radley said. "She is just on another level. The combination of talent, confidence and composure she has is incredible, especially at such a young age. Just an unbelievable performance by her this week to lead us and I'm so excited to see what she can do at nationals." How it Happened: The Ducks entered Wednesday with a four-stroke lead on the strength of Romero's stellar second round, and that lead only widened as the final round played on. Oregon's 7-under 281 was the best round by any team this week as it finished nine strokes ahead of host and No. 8 ranked Arizona State (-3). Oklahoma State (+2), No. 20 Mississippi State (+11) and Cal State Fullerton (+23) rounded out the top five and earned bids to the NCAA Championships, with No. 17 Auburn (+24) finishing one stroke shy of the cut. Romero also opened the day with a four-stroke lead individually and quickly ran away from the field. She opened her round with a birdie at No. 1 and then bounced back from a bogey at No. 3 with a birdie at No. 4, her 119th of the season to break her own UO single-season record of 118 set as a freshman last year. Romero made four birdies on the front nine and made the turn at 2 under, and she stayed there through 13 holes after opening the back nine with four pars. The Big Ten Golfer of the Year carded back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 to get to 4 under, then responded after a bogey at 16 with her final birdie of the day at No. 17. Romero's 16-under 200 for the week is the second-lowest 54-hole total in program history, and her 22 total birdies for the week were nine more than any other player in the field. She also led the field by multiple strokes in both par-3 (-4) and par-4 (-8) scoring. So far this spring, Romero has shot par-or-better in 17 of 18 rounds while going sub-70 13 times in that span. Romero was one of three Ducks to shoot under par on Wednesday, with freshman Suvichaya Vinijchaitham putting together her best round of the week with a 3-under 69 and sophomore Ting-Hsuan Huang coming in right behind her with a 2-under 70. Freshman Tong An added a 2-over 74 as Oregon finished with four players in the individual top 15, with Vinijchaitham tying for eighth (E), An placing 11th (+1) and Huang tying for 15th (+3). Vinijchaitham poured in six birdies in the final round, including four during a bogey-free back nine after making the turn at 1 over. Huang was bogey-free on her round with a pair of birdies, and An shot even par across her final 13 holes after starting 2 over through five. Another big storyline for the Ducks was the return of all-Big Ten first-team selection Karen Tsuru, who subbed in for the final round and made her first appearance in competition since late May after dealing with a back injury. Tsuru carded a fairly clean 2-over 74 with a birdie and three bogeys, a good sign as the Ducks prepare to play at the NCAA Championships in her hometown of Carlsbad. Ducks on the Leaderboard: 1. #5 Oregon — 289-282-281 — 852 (-12) 1. Kiara Romero — 70-62-68 — 200 (-16) T8. Suvichaya Vinijchaitham — 74-73-69 — 216 (E) 11. Tong An — 71-72-74 — 217 (+1) T15. Ting-Hsuan Huang — 74-75-70 — 219 (+3) NA. Karen Tsuru — Sub-Sub-74 — 74 (+2) NA. Darae Chung — 79-85-Sub — 164 (+20) What it Means: Oregon enters the NCAA Championships as one of the hottest teams in the nation, and one of three (South Carolina, Florida State) to win both its conference tournament and a NCAA Regional. The Ducks own a terrific competitive record of 124-17-0 this season, including a 97-7-0 mark this spring, and boast a lineup featuring three players that were on last season's team that reached the match-play semifinals at Omni La Costa. Led by one of the nation's elite players in Romero, Oregon appears poised to once again make a deep run in Carlsbad. Up Next: The 2025 NCAA Championships begin on Friday, May 16, at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. There will be three rounds of stroke play before the field is cut to the top 15 teams for a final round of stroke play on Monday, May 19, with the top eight teams then advancing to match play. The match play quarterfinals and semifinals will be played on Tuesday, May 20, with the championship match on Wednesday, May 21.

Ducks Complete Two-Game Sweep of Saint Mary’s EUGENE, Ore. — No. 5 Oregon broke open a tight game with a six-run sixth inning to pick up an 8-1 win over Saint Mary’s on Wednesday night in nonconference action at PK Park. The Ducks led 2-1 heading into the sixth but were able to put the Gaels away with the big inning to finish a two-game midweek sweep. Julien Hernandez (1-1), who got the start in the staffed game, picked up his first career Division I win. The transfer from Division III Whitman tossed three scoreless innings and fanned a season-high five while allowing just three hits and no walks. Ryan Featherston, Jaxon Jordan and Tanner Bradley combined to allow just one run on two hits over the final six innings with two strikeouts and no walks. How It Happened: Oregon (35-13) struck first in the bottom of the third inning scoring two runs on just one hit in the inning. Carter Garate singled to start the rally before moving to third on back-to-back walks issued to Mason Neville and pinch hitter Chase Meggers. Jacob Walsh drove in the first run with a ground out to first base before Drew Smith made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly. Saint Mary’s (26-22) cut the lead to one with a run in the fourth, before Oregon broke it open with six runs in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Ryan Cooney started the rally with a hit before moving to third on a Garate single and a Neville base on balls. Meggers chopped a ball to first baseman Eddie Madrigal whose momentum took him toward third base allowing Meggers to beat the throw to the pitcher who fell to the ground trying to field the ball while not being able to touch the base. The chopper scored two with Cooney scoring from third and Garate never breaking stride from second for a 4-1 lead. After the Gaels intentionally walked Jacob Walsh to load the bases, Smith picked up an RBI with a bases-loaded walk. Maddox Molony drove in two more with a line drive between the shortstop and third baseman for an 8-1 Ducks’ lead. Fantastic throw by freshman catcher Coen Niclai Box Score Notes: Neville drew three walks to move into second all-time in single-season base on balls … He needs two more to set a new Oregon record … He scored twice to move his season-total to 63 runs scored, one shy of tying for second all-time and five away from setting a new single-season record … Meggers, Smith and Molony all drove in two runs … Oregon’s four pitches did not issue a walk, the first time that has happened this season … Oregon’s staff had allowed just one walk on five previous occasions in 2025 … The last time UO did not issue a walk was on April 22, 2024, when Ian Umlandt tossed a complete game at San Francisco. On Deck: Oregon returns to Big Ten Conference action for its final homestand of the regular season on Friday against Washington (6:05 p.m./B1G+). Quotes: Head Coach Mark Wasikowski On todays performance… “We haven’t played midweeks consistently throughout the year and for us to now show that we’re able to handle midweek games is big. St. Mary’s has a big week in front of them with Gonzaga. They’re going there this weekend to try and win their conference. They’re in the thick of things with that and they have a good ball club. So, I was happy to see us win two games in the midweek.” On Tanner Bradley and Julien Hernandez development… “It’s what we’ve liked about him behind-the-scenes for several weeks now and we haven’t gotten them into some games. Some of those guys in the back of the bullpen have been pitching exceptionally well. For Julien to get the start tonight and pitch exceptionally well. These are things I like and I want Tanner Bradley in the game because of the work we’ve been putting in, in the bullpen. The developments occurring at a pretty high level and you’re seeing that. The pitches that Tanner and Julien were making looked really good coming out of their hand and they located their pitches really well. I don’t think we walked anybody tonight and as things got lose earlier in the season with pitching, I think we need to tip our hat and say ‘well done Coach (Blake) Hawksworth and the pitching staff’ because tonight we pitched tremendously well.” On Ryan Featherston tonight… “He was rocky at the start, but he was throwing the ball over the plate. I think it was rocky just from the results. I don’t think it was rocky from what his stuff was doing, he got hit on the first two batters that he faced then settled in pretty nicely. I think he did a really good job for us and provided some length for us in the game. We took him out when we wanted to, to where he could ready for the weekend. Overall, I thought he did a tremendous job of settling things down. Julien Hernandez Julien Hernandez: On overcoming struggles earlier this year... “Trust my stuff. Attacking the zone. Just trying to get ahead. Just letting my stuff play.” On career strikeouts tonight... “It was a good win. Strikeouts are strikeouts. But just keep doing my best, keep throwing strikes, and keep attacking fighters.” On the team’s confidence... “We’ve just been getting after it every day and I think the results speak for themselves.” Chase Meggers: On no walks tonight as a pitching staff... “Yeah, it’s always good to hear that the pitchers are, you know, shoving and there’s no walks. It just shows that their character. I have a little something to do with it, but I think that shows how, like, as a whole, our pitching staff is just, they want to win, and they’re getting it better, and they know that that’s what it takes to win.” On batting with the bases loaded... “Yeah, it’s always good to come up with bases loaded and, you know, just treat it like a normal at bat. Just see the ball, try to barrel it up, and it didn’t happen the first ab and then good things happen when you just barrel up the ball.” On Tanner Bradley pitching... “Dude’s legit, man. Just because somebody’s on the bench doesn’t mean that they don’t have good stuff. Sometimes, just things don’t work out. And he’s been waiting for his opportunity and today showed that he’s been ready and he’s been working hard. One of the best change ups I’ve seen in a long time, and he comes ready to go and I’m not surprised.”

I like the talent of the O-Line newbies, but they lack experience. Ziyare Addison looks like he has the build and fast-feet like Josh Conerly Jr. at left tackle, and he held up well at times, and got burned by savvy guys who have been there for years. Nonetheless, for a HS freshman skipping spring sports at HS...I loved the upside. The quality of talent being assembled at Oregon is unlike anything seen before in Eugene, and only in places like Athlens, Columbus, Tuscaloosa, etc. Looks the part to me!

An incredible graphic was on the screen during the live streaming. From March 28th until April 22nd...Oregon pitchers had an ERA of 6.93 (Yikes!) and the team record was 8-7. From April 22nd until just prior to tonight's game? Duck pitchers had a 2.28 ERA and the team was 7-1! I guess pitching matters? Oregon's pitchers are coming alive at the crucial time!

Ducks win 8-1 as Tanner Bradley strikes out the last two batters, and closes the ninth inning. What a complete game behind pitching and hitting! Only ONE run given up by relief pitching? Whew!

8-1 Ducks after eight innings, as Jaxon Jordan and freshman Tanner Bradley combine to put St. Mary's down in order. Three more outs!

8-1 Ducks after seven innings, as Jaxon Jordan takes over pitching, and keeps St. Mary's from scoring!