Just minutes before Sunday’s festivities, Tanner Smith was in a squat by the dugout, signing for kids. An onlooker told him earnestly, “Enjoy the moment.”
Smith hustled back to join the team, not letting the mid-80s heat or disappointing results in the first two games of the series dampen his drive. It was a significant day in Smith’s life, after all. He’s been with the program since 2019 and has practically rewritten the Oregon record book in his time here. He represents the end of the George Horton era. The beginning of the Mark Wasikowski era. The rejuvenation of Oregon baseball.
A Mother’s Day ceremony evolved into a Senior Day ceremony, honoring all the hard work that these players and families have put in. It allowed everyone to take a step back and appreciate the moment before taking on Washington in the finale of what was a tough series results-wise.
“The seniors, they’re great kids,” Wasikowski said. “I love these guys. They’ve put in a lot, invested a lot. Just thrilled to be able to be a part of their lives for as long as I have.”
A swarm of families made their way through the dugout area onto the field before the game, led in a controlled chaotic manner by Director of Baseball Operations Sean Harling. He instructed moms to enter first — for Mother’s Day, of course — followed by the seniors’ families. There was a quick moment of confusion as for what someone in both categories should do.
The players and moms lined up in an orderly fashion on the first base side of the field. The players without families in attendance migrated closer to home plate, while the others joined their respective moms all the way to the “Ducks” logo in shallow right field.
Pictures, flowers and hugs commenced. Head coach Wasikowski went down the line, greeting each family one by one with greetings of “Happy Mother’s Day” and the like. Among those joined by their moms were Smith, Drew Cowley, Andrew Mosiello, Colby Shade, Leo Uelmen, Dominic Hellman, RJ Gordon and Tyler Ganus. In fact, Ganus’s dad rose up the dugout steps and onto the field to take pictures of Tyler and his mother.
“It’s a special day,” Ganus said before the game. Despite coming off a 10-run loss Saturday night, Ganus brought his signature optimistic attitude to the field, remarking, “Today’s the day we get a win.”
Ganus is only a junior, but he owns a GPA above 4.0 and is about to graduate with a degree in Popular Music Studies. This is the guy who used his own song as his walk-up music last year, after all.
Another junior graduating this year is Owen Diodati, a transfer from Alabama majoring in economics. As is Andrew Mosiello, a business major who was unfortunately sidelined this year due to injury.
The aforementioned three juniors were among those honored in the Senior Day ceremony, which immediately followed the Mother’s Day recognition. It began with the three graduating student managers — Dillon Fazekas, Steven Necuze and Sam Strader.
Then the nine soon-to-be-graduates were honored, one by one. The first six were each given a framed plaque with their jersey, then took a picture with their family, along with coaches Wasikowski, Jack Marder, Marcus Hinkle and Brett Thomas. The other three graduates — Cowley, Gavin Grant and Smith — were awarded their plaques last year, but still took pictures for posterity’s sake.
The remaining seniors honored were reliever Matt Dallas, as well as graduate transfers Towns King and Josh Mollerus. At the end, the entire team got together for a group picture, taking it all in under the uncharacteristically blazing Eugene sun.
Several moms threw the ceremonial first pitches as well, putting the capper on a double feature of a celebration. Throughout the game, videos of Oregon underclassmen were displayed on the scoreboard, describing what the seniors meant to them and how they’ve taken the younger players under their wing.
The team took a tough loss in the game, falling 11-5 to the Huskies. But the day will always be remembered as the last regular season game at PK Park for this handful of Ducks — and likely their last game here ever, barring a miraculous run to host a regional. It’s important for them to appreciate the careers they had and not let it be spoiled by a sour ending.
“Coming out on the short end of it today, I’m sure they realized that it’s probably not gonna be a deal where they have another game at PK, which is tough, I’m sure,” Wasikowski said.
On the bright side, this team isn’t done. There’s still one more regular season series against Utah, then the Pac-12 tournament and the NCAA tournament. This flock of Ducks will try to shake off the tough series down the stretch of the late spring season.
“You get back to practice. You got beat by a better club this weekend,” Wasikowski said. “We try to improve the deficiencies that we saw and get back on it for next week.”
