It’s what Oregon’s been trying to do ever since Mark Wasikowski took over as head coach: make it past that first round. Make it to a Super Regional.
On Sunday, the Ducks crossed that benchmark off their bucket list.
Following a lightning delay that brought a bizarre end to Xavier’s surprising victory over Vanderbilt, the Musketeers had to quickly suit back up to face an Oregon team that had been waiting around all day. The Ducks, led by four strong innings from Grayson Grinsell and an offensive explosion in the middle innings, took down Xavier for the second time in this regional. They won 11-2, which marked their ninth consecutive victory and a Nashville Regional championship.
The Ducks will host a Super Regional at PK Park this weekend, their second time making it past the regional round in the modern era of the program. Their only other one came in 2012. Before the program disbanded in 1982, they made it to District 8 — the equivalent of a Super Regional – twice. They’ve only ever made it to one College World Series, which came in 1954.
Sunday’s game, though a laugher at the end, wasn’t immediately a blowout. It remained scoreless through the first three innings.
Xavier starter Nick Boyle faced five batters and walked three of them, throwing just eight of his 23 pitches for strikes. He came into the game with a 7.79 ERA and 20 walks in 17 1/3 innings this year.
The Ducks, however, did not score against him. Rikuu Nishida and Bryce Boettcher walked to lead off the bottom of the first — with Boettcher starting in place of Colby Shade, who got hit by a pitch on Saturday. With runners on the corners and one out, Sabin Ceballos grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Boyle walked the first batter in the second inning, and that ended his day. Reliever Luke Bell got the next three outs to keep the Ducks off the board.
Meanwhile, freshman left-hander Grinsell started on the bump for Oregon, earning his second collegiate start after his strong work out of the bullpen all year. He struck out five through his first two innings, working around an error by Drew Cowley in the first and a single and a walk in the second.
Jack Housinger greeted him with a leadoff double in the third, but he bore down once again. For the second straight night, third baseman Ceballos made a barehanded play on a slow roller, and Grinsell struck out the next two to keep Xavier from scoring. It brought him to a career-high seven strikeouts through three scoreless frames.
The Musketeers tacked on two more baserunners in the fourth, but Grinsell posted his fourth zero with the help of a nice catch in foul territory by catcher Bennett Thompson. His previous career high in innings had been 3 2/3. With highs in strikeouts and innings, it was statistically the best outing of Grinsell’s young collegiate career — and it came in the biggest game of his life thus far.
Offensively, the Ducks didn’t record a base hit until the fourth inning. Bell, despite coming in with a 7.10 ERA, retired the first seven he faced.
Ceballos erased that narrative in a hurry, annihilating a ball to left-center field for a solo shot to begin the scoring in the fourth. The blast measured at 442 feet. It redeemed him from his earlier double play, and continued what’s been an electric postseason for the San Jacinto transfer.
Oregon carried that momentum into the fifth, where it finally got a rally going. Thompson and Gavin Grant drew back-to-back walks, and Thompson scored on a throwing error by the catcher. Boettcher walked for the second time — and Oregon’s sixth of the night — and the Ducks were gifted another run on a balk.
Cowley came through with Oregon’s second hit, an RBI double to extend the lead to 4-0. Despite only having two hits, the Ducks certainly made the most of them.
Logan Mercado, who started Friday, pitched the sixth after freshman left-hander Ian Umlandt threw a perfect fifth. Cowley committed his second error of the game, and a two-out double got Xavier on the board. The Ducks’ lead was still at a slim three.
But then Oregon’s offensive onslaught came in the sixth, with a six-spot to blow it open to 10-1. Tanner Smith and Thompson drew the Ducks’ seventh and eighth walks, and a soft tapper off Grant’s bat loaded the bases.
With two outs, the pesky Nishida provided the big blow. He smacked a ball to right-center, clearing the bases and sending Oregon fans into a frenzy. Cowley then made his two errors moot, smashing a three-run bomb to put the cherry on top.
One-third into the game, Oregon was knotted up at zero. Two-thirds into the game, the Ducks could taste a Super Regional.
The rest of the game was merely a formality, with Oregon simply needing to avoid a giant collapse. Mercado allowed a run in the eighth, but got out of a jam with a double play. The Ducks added a run on a sacrifice fly by Ceballos in the eighth, while running their free pass total up to 12.
Mercado got the final three outs in a four-inning performance to send Oregon to the 2023 Super Regionals.
They will play at PK Park on Friday.
