Ducks Clinch Series With Another Shutout (Press Release and Quotes)

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2026

BASEBALL | @OregonBaseball

Ducks Clinch Series With Another Shutout

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon baseball team remained undefeated and secured a series win over Youngstown State on Saturday afternoon with a 7-0 victory in game three of the four-game series at PK Park.
 
The Ducks (7-0) recorded their second shutout in as many games, following a 3-0 win on Friday. Oregon got six scoreless innings from starting pitcher Collin Clarke (2-0), who was backed by an offense that put up five runs in the first three innings and scored in four of the first five frames.
 
"Collin has pitched well so far this season, and he pitched well again today," head coach Mark Wasikowski said. "He mixes them up and locates his fastball really well. When he's doing that, he has been really effective so far this season."
 
Seven different Ducks checked in with a base hit, and both Gabe Miranda and Burke-Lee Mabeus slugged their first home runs of the season. Miles Gosztola relieved Clarke and fired two scoreless innings before giving way to Leo Uelmen to close it out in the ninth.
 
Oregon will try to complete its second straight four-game sweep to open the season on Sunday afternoon.
 
"It's hard to win four games in a row against anybody," Wasikowski said. "We have to be ready to play. That's one of the things we focus on in our postgame talk and just getting our minds right. I think if they do the same thing and are aggressive on the mound, they'll be fine tomorrow."
 
How it Happened: Oregon got on the board early against Youngstown State starter Jack Messmore (0-1), who loaded the bases in the first inning with two walks and a hit batter. Drew Smith came through with a clutch two-out hit for the Ducks, ripping a two-run single through the left side for a 2-0 lead.
 
The Ducks used the long ball to add to their lead in the third, starting with a solo shot to right field off the bat of Miranda. Maddox Molony followed with a double, and Mabeus ripped a two-run shot to right field to extend Oregon's lead to 5-0.

A Home-Run Huddle

Miranda and Mabeus became the eighth and nine Ducks to hit home runs through the first seven games of the season.
 
"They are good players," Wasikowski said. "I know we lost a lot of home runs from last year, but we take a lot of pride in being in the weight room. We feel like that is one of the staples of our program."
 
Oregon took advantage of more free passes in the fourth inning, adding a run on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Molony. In the fifth, a pair of singles gave the Ducks runners on the corners with one out, and Jax Gimenez executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to make it 7-0.
 
That was all the offense Clarke would need as he struck out six batters and gave up just two hits and a walk across six shutout frames. It was the second straight scoreless outing by an Oregon starter, after Will Sanford kept Youngstown State (0-6) scoreless over six innings of his own on Friday.
 
Clarke worked around singles in each of the first two innings before facing the minimum in each of his final four frames, and he was helped in the first inning by a terrific leaping catch at the wall in right field by freshman Angel Laya. The Ducks also erased a leadoff walk in the fourth inning on a slick double play that started with a diving stop by Molony at shortstop.
 
"Our defense is amazing," Clarke said. "I have full confidence in the world knowing that the guys behind me are going all out."
 
Gosztola came on in the seventh and struck out the first two batters he faced before walking the next two, but he escaped the inning with a groundout. He then struck out two more in a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Uelmen erased a one-out walk in the ninth with a double play to end the game.

Collin Clarke

Box Score Notes: Ryan Cooney and Gimenez each had two hits, and both Smith and Mabeus drove in a pair of runs … The Ducks worked eight walks, including two each by Molony and Dominic Hellman, and struck out just three times … Oregon has now held Youngstown State to just one run on eight hits with 29 strikeouts through 27 innings in the series … The Ducks recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since March 2-4, 2025.
 
On Deck: The Ducks will go for a four-game sweep of Youngstown State on Sunday. First pitch is set for 12:05 p.m. at PK Park.
 
Quotable:
 
RHP Collin Clarke
On his go-to pitch to get back in the zone...
"Today it was the change-up, normally I try and throw all pitches in the zone, but today it was the change-up. There wasn't really anything different today, last week I was in the zone with it too."
 
On what he's learned so far from this series and how he will prepare for the next...
"Prepare the right way. Go home, watch film, and keep going about the process the right way."
 
1B Gabe Miranda
On the depth and power Oregon's hitting has...
"It's awesome. I know that one through nine are going to have competitive at bats. And it's good knowing that the guy behind me is going to get the job done, whether it's with power or not."
 
On his mindset at the plate today...
"The pitcher was struggling with his command, so I was able to find my timing and that's been a real issue for me, struggling with my timing. It felt good, I saw the pitches really well, got in the hitters count and did what I do."
 
C Burke-Lee Mabeus
On how it was behind the dish today with three different pitchers…
"It was my first time this season catching Clarke and Leo to close out the game, and they did exactly what we asked them to. We kept them to zero runs, and we put a lot of emphasis on 0-0 and 0-1 pitches. They did exactly that and got ahead early, so kudos to them."
 
On his first home run of the year…
"It felt good. I was looking for that. I was just trying to ambush the fastball there, and I know the report said he threw a lot of them. Once I got it, Gabe and I were both pretty pumped about that."