The true test is about to begin for Oregon baseball.
The Ducks have gotten off to a solid 8-3 start against three capable non-conference schools. This weekend, they’ll face off against their first Pac-12 opponent of the year, and it won’t be a luxurious matchup. They’ll be taking on No. 16 UCLA, a team off to a hot start with dominant pitching.
But the Ducks know they’ve been here before.
“They’re a Pac-12 school, so everyone’s gonna be good,” Oregon pitcher Jace Stoffal said. “Even the worst record in the Pac-12 is still a good school.”
UCLA pitchers Alonzo Tredwell and Kelly Austin have posted ERAs of 1.06 and 1.17, respectively. Along with a strong bullpen, the Bruins own a 1.78 team ERA, limiting opponents to a .206 batting average while striking out 136 in 106 innings. It resulted in a 10-2 start to the 2023 campaign.
“They just have feel of the ball. They can command their pitches, and their stuff is really good,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikiowski said of Tredwell and Austin. “Low to mid 90s, and sometimes even a tick better than that in terms of fastballs. And they’ve got good offspeed stuff, and they have good command of the running game, good feel for how to manage a game.”
Despite being constructed as a pitching-heavy team, the Bruins have hit well this year too, with a team batting average of .286 and OBP of .420. Duce Gourson and Kyle Karros have each posted a batting average around .400 and OPS north of 1.100.
The San Diego Toreros had also gotten off to a torrid offensive start, though, and the Ducks limited them to just six runs in four games. All three teams they’ve played have been worthy opponents, and although they were swept by UC Santa Barbara, coming away with an 8-3 record is not a bad way to start things off.
“The level of competition we’ve been playing is really good,” Wasikowski said. “So it isn’t like it’s a massive step up with competition. It’s the same. We’ve been playing really good competition one week after the next.”
Oregon has a team full of young players — particularly pitchers — who are yet to experience the competition of a Pac-12 opponent. But for all the young players, this squad has retained some veterans. Tanner Smith and Logan Mercado said they recognize the value of the experience they’ve already attained, and they’re doing their best to pass that down to the younger players.
“Pac play isn’t really that different from non-conference play. It’s baseball,” Mercado said. “The game’s gonna throw different challenges at you every time. Our young guys on the staff, they’ve experienced college baseball now for a few weeks. They’re getting in the habit of doing their routines and stuff. I think if we can stay with that as a staff, we’ll be in a good place this season.”
Last year, Oregon went 18-12 in conference play, which was good for fourth place in the Pac-12. Three of those losses came to UCLA — and all three of them, in fact, were one-run games, where the Ducks’ potent offense was slowed by a dominant crop of Bruins pitchers.
“Every year, they come out with good arms on the mound, and I think this year they have some pretty talented arms as well,” Smith said. “Gotta give credit to Coach [John] Savage and his pitch calling.”
Oregon will counter with a young pitching rotation, one where Stoffal is the veteran of the group despite having less than a full year of college experience. Following Stoffal will likely be freshmen Leo Uelmen and Jackson Pace, with Matthew Grabmann and Turner Spoljaric as reserves.
Stoffal will be a key for this pitching staff moving forward. After a three-inning debut in week two, he was stretched out to five innings against San Diego. He said he doesn’t know if he’ll be on a pitch count this week, but he figures to keep going deeper as long as he continues to pitch well.
“Just gotta attack them with strikes,” Stoffal said. “Just gotta throw my pitches for strikes and execute my pitches. They’re a good school, so can’t count them out.”
Offensively, Oregon has a deep and versatile lineup that’s only recently begun to fully click. Tredwell and Austin are both right-handed pitchers, so it will be particularly important for the Ducks’ left-handed bats to rise to the occasion. Hitters like Jacob Walsh and Drew Cowley have come out of their slumps, but one name to watch is Owen Diodati. The slugger is yet to break out despite making some hard contact, so he could be a key to getting the best of this talented UCLA pitching staff.
The Ducks will open their three-game series against the Bruins Friday at 3 p.m.
