It may not be spring, but there’s baseball in the air.
Bright, sunny skies rained down on the Oregon Ducks as their season began at PK Park Friday. A swarm of green jerseys fled from the dugout, the players donning their home white caps. Baseball came back as if it never left.
By the ninth inning, those skies had grayed, but the stadium was infused with energy. Locked in a 2-2 tie, the Ducks had the bases loaded with nobody out, the student section on their feet and chanting with every pitch. Transfer Owen Diodati stood calmly at the plate. While he didn’t get all of it, he hit one deep enough to score fellow transfer Rikuu Nishida, sending the Ducks to a 3-2 walk-off victory over Xavier in their season opener.
Interestingly enough, it was the second straight year Diodati has opened the season with a walk-off against Xavier.
“I guess it’s just been fate that I’ve been put in that situation twice,” he said.
While Diodati’s debut was successful, the win wasn’t all smooth sailing. Oregon’s offense hit a lull in the middle of the game, and the Ducks’ pitchers nearly handed Xavier the win by issuing nine free passes. But they stayed composed and worked out of some jams, and the hitters did just enough in the late innings to send Oregon fans home happy.
“A win’s a win,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “It’s opening day, so you’ve got a bunch of people that are nervous. I even asked the guys at the end of the game, ‘Show of hands, who was nervous?’”
Getting the start on the mound was Logan Mercado, the Ducks’ breakout reliever who was promoted into the rotation. It was his first start since 2021 and just his second ever at the college level.
Mercado came out pounding the zone with fastballs. He sat only 89-92 miles per hour with it, but he got Xavier hitters to chase some at the letters and freeze them on the corners of the plate.
Oregon took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Tanner Smith drew a walk, setting up the much-anticipated debut at-bat for Diodati. Diodati swung a tad late and hit an opposite-field looper, but the left fielder was shaded so far over that it dropped in for an RBI double. With two outs, Smith was running, and he scored easily.
After striking out three straight batters, Mercado’s groove was briefly interrupted by a home run from No. 9 hitter Carter Hendrickson. It was the first career at-bat for Hendrickson, who’s listed as a left-handed pitcher. The Musketeers stormed from their dugout and mobbed Hendrickson after he crossed home plate.
But Mercado didn’t let it phase him. He went right back to the fastball, striking out the next two batters to bring his total to seven through three innings.
“You just gotta go back and pound a strike,” Mercado said. “I think that’s some of the mentally tough parts that a pitcher’s gotta go through.”
Mercado, who was on a pitch count of roughly 60, lost a tick of velocity and control in the fourth inning. With two outs, he issued back-to-back walks, prompting a mound visit. Mercado stayed locked in, and Colby Shade caught a liner to center field to get the Ducks out of trouble.
Jacob Hughes entered for the fifth inning. As a freshman last year, he showed promise but struggled mightily with walks. Not much appeared to have changed since then, as he walked the first three batters on 13 pitches. The Xavier dugout got loud and rowdy, rushing him through each pitch. Hughes couldn’t find any kind of feel on the mound.
With a full count on the fourth batter, Hughes induced a lucky hard-hit double play. It was a break for Oregon, but it still gave Xavier a 2-1 lead. Hughes then hit a batter, but a pickoff at third base ended the inning. All things considered, the Ducks were fortunate to get out of the frame with only one run allowed.
Hughes came back out for the sixth inning and looked like a completely different pitcher. He mowed through the Xavier batters with ease, collecting a couple strikeouts in the process. He commanded his fastball and got hitters to chase his breaking stuff.
“It’s a young staff. We’re gonna need to be patient,” Wasikowski said. “We had every chance to be able to yank him when he came out as nervous as can be in that first inning.”
After issuing a four-pitch walk to start the seventh, Hughes was pulled, and junior transfer Austin Anderson replaced him. He issued two more walks to load the bases, but he weaseled out of it with a groundout to first.
Offense, meanwhile, evaporated for Oregon. After the first inning, 16 straight Ducks were retired. They swung early and often against Xavier pitcher Ethan Bosacker, putting the ball in play but failing to do anything with it. It took Bosacker just 80 pitches to get through seven innings.
Smith singled in the seventh for Oregon’s first hit since the first inning. He was promptly caught trying to steal second as the Ducks failed to get a rally going.
Lefty Ian Umlandt came on for his collegiate debut in the eighth. He allowed a single up the middle, but with two outs, Diodati leaped and laid out for a fantastic catch in right field. It kept the Musketeers at bay and the game within reach.
“I knew I had to get on my horse to get there, but as soon as I got close, I knew I had a chance,” Diodati said.
Bosacker’s day finished mercifully after seven innings. Josiah Cromwick immediately greeted the new pitcher, Bryce Barnett, with a double. Senior transfer Towns King ripped one by the second baseman, which was ruled an error and brought in the tying run. Just like that, despite all the problems Oregon faced, the game was knotted up at two apiece.
Josh Mollerus, the Ducks’ new closer, made a strong first impression on his new club with a perfect ninth inning.
Then came the bottom of the ninth, when Oregon’s bats worked quickly to grind out the winning run. Nishida led off with a single for his first hit as a Duck. Drew Cowley and Smith each worked a walk, with Smith motioning to the passionate student section that was doing the classic “BALL FOUR!” chant before every pitch. Diodati stayed patient and relaxed as he hit one deep enough to score Nishida.
“I didn’t need to hit a home run there to win the game,” Diodati said. “A sac fly with Rikuu Nishida on third base; if I put out there anywhere, he’s probably scoring.”
Oregon will continue the four-game series with a doubleheader at noon on Saturday.
