I was so delighted to see that Drew Smith returned for his senior year. He is getting all the attention nationally now, and it should help his draft stock when he is hitting .478 and was actually over .500 over the weekend for a bit.

We have a couple of Ducks who are trending better in hitting after a tough start to the year. Maddox Molony was over .300 last year, and is now up to .258 and climbing. Gabe Miranda had a difficult start of the year, and has improved it to .228 and has hit three homers, and driven runs at key moments recently.

Let's check them all...

Drew Smith .478

Angel Laya .368

Jax Gimenez .356

Brayden Jaksa .355

Ryan Cooney .320

Burke-Lee Mabeus .317

Dominic Hellman .313

And yes, I know this is only 17 games into the season of 56 games...but I like the trendline. Batting averages will get boosted by some weak Big-10 opponents like Indiana (7-9), Penn State (4-11) and Washington. (6-10) And it will get dragged down later facing UC Santa Barbara (13-2) No. 1 UCLA (14-2) and No. 25 USC. (17-0)

Drew Smith will sacrifice bunt to help the team!

We did not know what to expect this year, and thus far it is looking promising. We've lost two games because of pitching, and one game against Purdue (2-1) where we had tons of hits, but not when players were on base, or not a crunch moments. Our of 17 games...you will have one like that, and another you won with poor hitting, but the hits coming at the perfect time.

I love the development I am seeing, as Burke-Lee Mabeus had just two home runs last year, and has four this year already including one last night that ignited the team.

And Drew Smith? He had five homers last year, and has six already in 2026! This team is fun to watch!

Jax Gimenez after his GRAND SLAM!

Another stat I like to watch is the OB% or On-Base Percentage, which combines hits, walks, and getting plinked. The point is--we can't score unless you get on base, and however you get on base helps the team. (Moneyball strategy takes this to extremes)

For example, Gabe Miranda is only hitting .228, but his OB percentage is .384 because the young man has been getting plinked, (6) and he coaxes walks really well. (9) That is 15 more bases he got, and being on base is what matters.

Our leadoff hitter, Ryan Cooney, gets on base (OP%) at .480 which is huge. If your leadoff hitter is on base nearly half the time--you have guys right behind him that can hit him in. (Not to mention his speed at stealing)

Freshman Brayden Jaksa has an OB percentage of .429 while Jax Gimenez has one of .493! Our top hitter, Drew Smith, is also pretty good at getting on base other ways with 11 extra bases on walks/plinks to elevate his OB percentage to .563! He gets on base over half the time? Whew!

Drew Smith finds a way--even when squeezed inside.