Ducks Head to Seattle for Final Pac-12 Conference Road Trip

Pac-12 Tournament Update

• With just two weeks left in the regular season, only two teams have clinched a spot in the Pac-12 Tournament.
• Arizona and Utah are in while Oregon, OSU, ASU and Cal have a magic number of one to clinch.
• UO, OSU and ASU will lock up a spot with their next win or a Washington State loss.
• Cal needs a WSU loss.

 
Home Run Record

• After homering once in the Utah series, JR 1B Jacob Walsh has moved into one home run of tying the single-season home run record set by Sabin Ceballos last season.
• If Walsh breaks the record, it will mark the third time in the last four seasons the record has fallen.
• Kenyon Yovan broke it in 2021.

 
Ducks boast productive lineup top to bottom

• Oregon is just one of nine teams with at least 10 players to drive in 20-or-more runs during the season.
• The Ducks trail only Dayton and Oakland, both of which have 11 players with at least 20 RBI.
• The Ducks need SO INF Carter Garate to drive in three runs during the Washington series to give them 11.

 
Home run record set again

• Oregon set a new school record for home runs in each of the last three seasons.
• The Ducks increased the home run record by 53 long balls during the first three full seasons of the Mark Wasikowski era.
• Last season, Oregon broke the school record of 75 home runs set during the 2022 season, which came a year after hitting 56 to break the old record of 48 that was set in 1974.
• This year's team has already moved into second all-time with 77 homers and is hitting home runs at a 1.6 HR per game rate.

 
Another assault on record books?

• During head coach Mark Wasikowski's three full seasons at Oregon, the Ducks have rewritten the program's record book on offense.
• Oregon's record-breaking offensive season ended in 2022 with the Ducks setting records in eight major statistical categories.
• In 2022, Oregon set school bests in batting average, hits, runs, home runs, RBI, doubles, total bases and at-bats.
• Of the eight new records, three broke school records set in 2021 when the team broke long-time records for runs (376 in 2010), home runs (48 in 1974) and RBI (332 in 2010).
• In 2023, Oregon re-set four of the records with 101 HRs, 142 doubles, 1,057 total bases and 2,167 at-bats.
• Oregon had also cracked the top 10 in RBI (2nd), runs (2nd), stolen bases (2nd) and hits (2nd).
• Oregon had a .298 team batting average, which ranked fourth all-time.
• While increasing the home run record by 53 during the Wasikowski era, the Ducks have increased the runs scored record by 76 and the RBI record by 84.

 
Ducks looking for third series win over Washington in Wasikowski era

• Oregon's series win at Washington State in 2023 allowed Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski to check the last box in regard to winning a series vs. the other teams in the Pac-12 Conference.
• The Ducks had at least one series win over the other nine Pac-12 teams during his first two seasons at the helm of the Ducks.
• Oregon has four series wins over Arizona State. California and Utah, three over Arizona and USC, and two over Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA and Washington during the Wasikowski era.
• The Ducks are 77-53 (.592) in games vs. Pac-12 teams under Wasikowski including nonconference games vs. Oregon State and Pac-12 Conference Tournament games vs. Arizona (2), Arizona State, California, Stanford and Washington.

 
Walsh looking to add single-season home run record to career mark

• Heading into the Washington series, JR 1B Jacob Walsh needs just one home run to tie Sabin Ceballos' (2023) single-season program record for home runs.
• The Ducks' first baseman already owns the career home run record at Oregon with 39 long balls, eight more than former record holder Tanner Smith (2019-23) hit during his career.
• He has also cracked the top 10 in RBI (5th), doubles (5th) multi-RBI game (T5th), at-bats (6th), runs (9th), games started (9th), hits (10th) and multi-hit games (T10th).
• A three-year starter at first base, Walsh has hit 39 home runs in his two-plus seasons while batting .276 (175-for-634) with 41 doubles and 124 RBI.
• In addition to approaching the single-season home run record, Walsh has moved into the top 10 on the single-season RBI list with 49 (T9th).
• In 2022, Walsh became just the Ducks' 10th freshman All-American after setting freshman program records for doubles (18) and total bases (103) while tying the record for home runs (6).

 
Walsh earns another player of the week honor

• Coming off a monster week vs. Gonzaga and at Stanford, JR 1B Jacob Walsh was named the NCBWA Co-Hitter of the Week.
• The Las Vegas native slashed .706/.750/1.647 in leading Oregon to a 2-2 record.
• The Ducks' first baseman went 12-for-17 in Oregon's four games with eight of his 12 hits going for extra bases (four home runs, four doubles).
• He had multiple hits in all four games with a 4-hit game and two 3-hit games.
• Walsh drove in eight runs with four RBI in a win over Gonzaga and two in a win over Stanford on Saturday.
• He homered in three consecutive games, running his Oregon career-record total to 38 home runs, which included his fifth career two-home run game against Gonzaga.
• Walsh is just the fourth Oregon Duck to claim NCBWA Hitter of the Week recognition.
• He joins Spencer Steer, Mitchell Tolman (twice) and Kenyon Yovan. Three Ducks pitchers have claimed NCBWA Pitcher of the Week honors.
• Coming off a 4-1 week earlier this year where Oregon won series at both Grand Canyon and Arizona State, Walsh earned Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week honors (3/11/24).
• He claimed his second career conference player of the week award after batting .500 with three home runs and 10 RBI on Oregon's five-game road trip to the Grand Canyon State.

 
Molony sets Oregon freshman home run record

• It has not taken Maddox Molony long to put his name in the Oregon record books.
• The freshman from Springfield, Ore., belted his seventh career home run in his 93rd career at-bat and 26th career start to set a new Oregon freshman home run record.
• All seven home runs have come in his last 23 starts with six in the last 18 starts and four in the last 12 starts.
• The Ducks' shortstop has played in just 30 of Oregon's 47 games after suffering an injury weeks before the season started.
• He did not play in his first game until March 3 and made his first start on March 10.
• The freshman home run record Molony broke, marked the second time this year a Ducks' freshman etched his name at the top of the freshman home run list.
• Earlier this season, with Molony out with an injury, Ryan Cooney tied the freshman record in just his 18th career start (8 SS, 10 2B).
• The six bombs equaled the previous record set by Jonny DeLuca in 2018 and matched by Jacob Walsh in 2022.
• Walsh played in 58 total games (55 starts) and hit his sixth home run in his 49th start, while DeLuca played in 55 games (54 starts) and hit his sixth home run in his 50th start.
• Combined, Molony and Cooney have batted .292 (50-for-171) with 13 HR, 4 2B, 2 3B and 35 RBI while starting just two games together.

 
Bryce is right

• Playing both baseball and football at Oregon, SR OF Bryce Boettcher is one of just 13 players nationwide playing both sports.
• The Ducks outfielder and inside linebacker has made starts in both sports during his time doing double duty.
• He has started 41 of Oregon's 47 games this season, after starting all three of the Eugene Super Regional games and the Nashville Regional Tournament championship game last year.
• Overall, Boettcher has started 69 games during his baseball career while playing in 175 games.
• In football, Boettcher played in all 14 games for Oregon's Fiesta Bowl winning team while making two starts at inside linebacker.
• He finished fifth on the team with 37.0 tackles while finishing with a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

 
Mercado, Mullan named to midseason stopper watch list

• Oregon relievers Logan Mercado and Bradley Mullan have been named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year midseason watch list.
• Mullan leads Oregon in appearances (20) and ERA (1.20), while ranking second on the team in saves (4).
• He has 30 strikeouts in 30.0 innings of work and is holding opposing hitters to a .207 batting average.
• He ranks seventh in the Pac-12 in saves and is eighth in appearances.
• Mercado is Oregon's team leader in saves (6), while ranking second in appearances with 19.
• He has fanned 35 batters in a 30.0 innings pitched and has a 3.90 ERA.
• The Ducks' right-hander is third in the Pac-12 in saves, as well as 36th in the nation, and ranks 13th in the league in appearances.
• Oregon is one of just six teams with more than one pitcher included on the watch list.
• The Ducks join Arkansas (3), Vanderbilt (3), Lamar (2), Louisiana (2) and North Carolina (2).

 
Bullpen reinforcements arrive

• Oregon's banged up pitching staff has got some arms backs recently that has made Oregon's bullpen even more formidable.
• With Logan Mercado (32.1 IP), Bradley Mullan (31.0 IP) and Ryan Featherston (30.1 IP) pitching a bulk of the innings out of the bullpen, Oregon needed to add some arms as the season progresses toward postseason.
• Relievers Brock Moore and Jaxson Jordan both have returned after being sidelined, and both were impressive against Oregon State and Utah.
• A senior transfer from Menlo College, Moore pitched just once between March 29 and April 27 before making two appearances in Oregon's four games against Oregon State and one against Utah.
• He tossed a scoreless inning in game one of the series on Friday before giving Oregon three dominant innings in a 9-5 midweek win over the Beavers.
• In that game, after giving up a solo home run to the first batter he faced, Moore retired the next nine batters including the final eight on strikeouts (longest streak in modern era Ducks' history).
• Making his first appearance since March 3, Jordan continued Moore's dominance against the Beavers running the strikeout streak to nine straight Beavers before finishing the inning with a pair of groundouts.
• He ended up allowing just a walk in 1.1 innings of work in Oregon's eventual 9-5 come-from-behind win.
• Against Utah, Moore tossed three scoreless innings picking up his first career save, while Jordan didn't allow a run in 0.2 innings of work.

 
Friday night guy

• After missing all of the 2023 season with an injury, JR RHP RJ Gordon got the call on opening day on the mound, as well as in game one of the Lafayette, UCSB, Arizona State, Cal, Arizona, Seattle, UCLA, USC, Stanford, Oregon State and Utah series.
• In those game ones of series, Gordon has tossed four quality starts while getting through at least five innings in 10 of 12 starts.
• His best effort came against USC where he went a career-long 8.1 innings allowing just one run.
• That came after he fanned a career-high 10 in 5.1 innings in a win the week before at UCLA.
• The previous names of pitchers who have taken the mound on opening day are impressive with future Major League Baseball pitchers, a MLB all-star, an eventual Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and high MLB draft picks who have toed the rubber as series game-one starters.
• Ten of the 12 previous opening day starters have been drafted with four of them playing in the big leagues.
• Three of the starters (Tyler Anderson, Alex Keudell, David Peterson) earned All-America honors the season they served as the "Friday Night" guy.
• Of the 15 seasons played since the return of baseball at Oregon, the Ducks' opening day starter has earned first-team all-conference recognition six times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017).
• The 12 pitchers who have served as opening-day starter have a combined 10 first-team all-conference selections on the mound during their careers.