Charles Fischer

These are the best players in each state, and it is great to see so many "O"s, with a shot still at JTT and the state of Washington... That "O" up on the east coast....the best in New York?!

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2021 TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Continuing its incredible start to the 2021 indoor season, the Oregon track and field team added another collegiate record to its list of accomplishments Friday at the Tyson Invitational. Senior standout Cooper Teare dropped the blazing time of 3:50.39 to smash the NCAA and school record in the mile and become the seventh-fastest performer in world history. With their performances, both Teare and sophomore Cole Hocker (3:50.55) clocked in under the previous NCAA record of 3:52.01 set by 17-time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek in 2017. Hocker checks in at No. 8 on the all-time world list. Charlie Hunter, third in the race, added another top-tier showing with his time of 3:53.49 which lowered his own Australian national record in the indoor mile. He now owns the sixth- and seventh-fastest mile times in NCAA history. Friday’s race was organized to include a 1,500-meter clock which could be used for Olympic Trials qualifying. The trio finished with splits of 3:35.46 for Teare, 3:35.63 for Hocker and 3:36.94 for Hunter.

The point about both ASU and Washington being experienced--is a very good one and quite valid. But Oregon returns a ton of experience as well and will make a good run for it. If the Ducks can answer the questions that most of us have on our minds....(most of which is about the coaches than the players)....then.... So we lose our home game with the Huskies....that's fair!

You got that right....he was distracting as heck while trying to watch the game, and I wanted more of his basketball wisdom then his worldly travels. (Please!) I finally just muted it, and while that is not a great viewing experience of a win, it is better than his nonsensical prater.

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2021 PHOENIX — Back in action for the first time in 338 days, the Oregon softball team opened up the long-awaited 2021 season with back-to-back run-rule wins over Weber State and Montana on Friday at the GCU Kickoff Classic. The No. 10 Ducks got a career-high five RBIs from Allee Bunker and a terrific outing in the circle from Brooke Yanez to start the day with a 9-0 win over Weber State in six innings, the program’s seventh straight season-opening victory. Oregon’s offense used a pair of big innings once again to enter run-rule territory against Montana, and the pitching duo of senior Samaria Diaz and freshman Raegan Breedlove combined for a five-inning perfect game to lead Oregon to a five-inning 8-0 win and a 2-0 start to the 2021 season. Game 1 (Oregon 9, Weber State 0): With Yanez dealing in the circle, the Ducks and Wildcats were locked in a scoreless tie through four innings before Oregon erupted for five runs in the fifth and four in the sixth to kick off year three under head coach Melyssa Lombardi with a run-rule victory. How it Happened: Yanez (1-0) got the opening-day nod in the circle after going 9-1 with a stellar 1.56 ERA in the shortened 2020 season, and the left-hander delivered five shutout innings of two-hit ball with eight strikeouts and just one walk. The junior got out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout in the first inning before allowing just two baserunners over the next four frames. The Ducks were hitless through the first four innings before a pair of walks and an error loaded the bases with no outs. Terra McGowan pushed across Oregon’s first run of the season with a sacrifice fly, and Bunker followed with a bases-clearing, three-run triple into the right-center field gap. Freshman (Marist of Eugene) Ariel Carlson brought Bunker in with an RBI single to make it 5-0, Oregon. After a quick 1-2-3 inning by Yanez, McGowan and Rachel Cid each came through with RBI singles in the top of the sixth and Bunker followed with a two-run double-double to put Oregon in run-rule territory. Makenna Kliethermes came on in relief of Yanez in the bottom of the sixth, setting Weber State down in order with a pair of strikeouts to secure Oregon’s first win of 2021. Game 1 Box Score Notes: Bunker finished 2-for-5 with a career-high five RBIs and the third triple of her career … McGowan went 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, while Carlson and Cid each drove in one run apiece. Game 2 (Oregon 8, Montana 0): Diaz and Breedlove combined to set down all 15 Montana batters they faced to record the fourth perfect game in program history, and Haley Cruse matched the program record with three doubles to lead the Oregon offense in an 8-0 five-inning Oregon win. How it Happened: The Grizzles couldn’t touch Diaz, who racked up four strikeouts over 3.2 perfect innings to kick off her fifth and final collegiate season. Breedlove came on in relief to make her collegiate debut with two outs in the fourth after back-to-back strikeouts by Diaz, and the freshman retired all four batters she faced with a strikeout to finish off the combined perfecto. Cruse got the offense going with a leadoff double in the first, and Bunker drove in her sixth run of the day with an RBI single to stake Oregon to a 1-0 lead. The Ducks used three straight doubles in the second inning to push three more runs across and make it a 4-0 advantage. Cruse drove in Alyssa Brito with her second two-bagger, and McGowan and Cid each followed with RBI doubles of their own. Shaye Bowden pushed Oregon’s lead to 6-0 with a two-run double in the fourth after a pair of walks started the inning, and Cruse stayed hot with her third double in as many innings to match the program single-game record and make it 7-0. McGowan finished off a solid opening day with an RBI single up the middle to put Oregon into run-rule territory and set the stage for the combined perfect game by Diaz and Breedlove. Game 2 Box Scores: Cruse finished 3-for-3 with three doubles, three runs scored and two RBIs … McGowan went 2-for-3, and she and Bowden both had a double and pair of RBIs … Oregon finished the game with six total doubles, one shy of the program single-game record. Overall Notables: Bunker finished opening day a combined 3-for-7 with six total RBIs, while McGowan went 3-for-6 with four RBIs … Oregon pitching combined to give up just two hits over 11 shutout innings while striking out 15 and walking just one batter … The top four in the Ducks’ order (Cruse, McGowan, Cid, Bunker) combined to drive in 14 of the 17 runs while going 11-for-22 with six doubles … As a team, the Ducks went 11-for-25 with runners in scoring position over the two games. On Deck: Oregon will play another doubleheader on Saturday in Phoenix, starting the day with a rematch vs. Weber State at 12:30 p.m. PT before taking on Grand Canyon at 5 p.m. PT.

So now we only have one quarterback who has experience, and I am not sure he is the season-long answer. The learning curve for quarterbacks is much longer than the patience curve of the fans...

I lost a good friend recently, Gar (Garland) Pearson to Brain Cancer after battling lung cancer for so many years. My joke with him was, "Gar....most of what I know about Oregon Baseball I blame on you!" He knew Baseball so well, and we had great fun watching games together from the "Fowl" Territory at PK Park while enjoying a tasty Oregon IPA Craft Beer. We had a blast talking about our Ducks during the live-stream of games--and his depth of knowledge was so helpful. In his youth--he flew fighter jets with the National Guard, and played semi-pro baseball until an injury ended a promising career as he was moving up due to his savvy understanding of the game. At FishDuck...he wrote Baseball articles for us until his illness made it hard for him and you can see a listing right here. He will be missed and was loved by many; Rest in Peace my Oregon Friend...

Boy Jack, your knowledge of the team is extensive and you are very, very welcome here. I do not have many to discuss Oregon Softball with, and I would hope you check on us often during the season and give us your insights. A fun and informative read and I thank you! I learned a ton about our pitchers and will be looking for this on the live-stream games.

I am happy to win, but boy....there sure were a lot of shots up close missed. Three in one possession alone under the basket, but I assume that is part of the "knocking off the rust" that must happen.

Requires a subscription to me, but elsewhere it sounds like he was quite forthcoming. (Former Utah AD Chris Hill)

I love how this national article at Rivals has you-know-who featured, and rightly so! Does Washington deserve to even be mentioned? Pac-12 Spotlight: Winners and Losers from 2021 Recruiting Cycle by Rivals.com Guess who takes recruiting seriously?

That is a great-great article, where you learn so many interesting things about him. Makes me want to root for him as a person and his growth as his basketball!

I bring this up because Oregon not only has incredible pitching depth, but superb quality to boot. Add to it how Lombardi has several different types of pitchers....it begins to make you wonder about this. I am a novice when it comes to softball/baseball and would love the opinion of others. (Season begins tomorrow!) Oregon Softball Pitchers: Samaria Diaz, right-handed, Senior, 1.0 ERA, 8-0 last year. Brooke Yanez, left-handed, Junior, 1.56 ERA, 9-1 Jordan Dail, right-handed, Junior, 2.39 ERA, 5-1 Makenna Kliethermes, right-handed, Freshman, 1.05 ERA, (no hits allowed in five appearances last year) Raegan Breedlove, right-handed, Freshman, 0.39 ERA in high school, No. 15 best HS player in US last year according to FloSoftball. With five pitchers....would you have a starter, reliever and closer? Two of the three? So many variables to ponder, but Coach Melyssa Lombardi has recruited herself into some nice choices...

Great. So we make certain we play nearly every team THREE times in a season? I vote no...

Note the key line I bolded and underlined....and we have nearly all our pitchers back AND a couple of hot-shot freshmen who can help. All the starters back? That never happens!

Eugene morning paper said that even if Eric Williams is OK from COVID protocol...he still may not play due to his knee flaring up!

We don't do that here, because we all are wrong at one time or another. So you can express a controversial view, and people are not allowed to taunt or be snarky if you are wrong. Which is a good thing, since I am wrong more often than I wish! It is good to get your opinion--and everyone's as it makes it all that much more interesting.

This is the second part of a detailed breakdown of the Tim DeRuyter defense, only this time it focuses on how his teams create so many turnovers. It is worth the extra time taken to read and consider, and will give us great discussion in the future! Duck Tape: Film Review of DC Tim DeRuyter, Part 2 - Generating Turnovers by hythloday1

The coaches don't think much of Oregon's improvement or roster this year as they have selected Oregon to finish in fifth place in the conference; the article below details the others projected ahead of the Ducks. Where do you see the Women ending up in the conference? Oregon Softball Picked 5th in Preseason Pac-12 Coaches Poll by OregonLive

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | BASEBALL Eugene, Ore. – The Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award (BBCSA) presented by SR Bats named Gabe Matthews, Kenyon Yovan and Aaron Zavala to its preseason watch list today. Yovan, a redshirt junior, is coming off a season where he earned Collegiate Baseball first-team All-America honors as a designated hitter after leading Oregon in hitting (.429), hits (24), home runs (4), runs scored (22) and walks (15). He also topped the team in on-base percentage (.556) and slugging percentage (.714), while finishing with nine RBI, two doubles and a triple. Yovan finished the season with six multi-hit games including five 3-hit games. In the Pac-12 Conference, he finished in the top three in seven offensive categories while ranking in the top six in two more. Yovan was second in the league in slugging percentage and runs scored, third in batting average, OBP, hits, home runs (tied) and total bases and sixth in the conference in walks and hit by pitches. The BBCSA honor is the third of the preseason for Yovan, who also earned preseason All-American by both Collegiate Baseball and D1Baseball. Zavala, a sophomore, earned his first career All-America honor after batting .418 with a home run and a team-high 22 RBI. The Salem, Ore., native led the Ducks in both multi-hit (8) and multi-RBI (9) games while finishing with four 2-hit and four 3-hit games. Zavala led the Pac-12 Conference in RBI, while finishing fourth in batting average and hits (23) and 11th in on-base percentage (.493). Nationally, he ranked 11th in RBI per game, 16th in RBI and 18th in toughest to strikeout (three strikeouts in 67 plate appearances). Zavala claimed third-team Collegiate Baseball All-America honors following the 2020 season. Matthews, a senior, heads into the 2020 season ranked in Oregon’s career top 10 in 12 separate career categories -- on-base percentage, walks, doubles), at-bats, games started, hits, RBI, hit by pitches, multi-RBI games, slugging percentage and multi-hit games. A four-year starter, Matthews ended the 2020 season batting .339 with a home run, 15 RBI and 13 runs scored. He ranked among the Pac-12 leaders in hit by pitches (3rd), on-base percentage (7th), walks (7th) and RBI (10th). Matthews, Yovan and Zavala will lead an Oregon team that returns all nine starters and all but one of its pitchers into the 2021 season that starts on Feb. 19 when the Ducks host Omaha. Oregon will play its first eight games at home before hitting the road for the first time.

I completely agree; we need to earn it.

Agreed on both your comments there....

Stuff to ponder....now it does not change my views any, but it does offer some hope?

Some interesting stories there, I'm sure. Reactions? Oregon Announces Several Personnel Hires by ScoopDuck

So many great players in this conference and I am surprised and delighted at what this site thought would be the Pac-12 Player of the Year for the 2021 season. Think this will happen? Predicting Every CFB Conference's Player of the Year in 2021 by Bleacher Report