After a key series win against then-No. 11 Arizona last weekend, the No. 9 Ducks return to action Tuesday night against No. 23 Oregon State in the second Civil War matchup of the season. Oregon State won the first game between the two foes by a 7-1 score. @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&KEY=&SPID=11401&SPSID=94835@@ @@http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613352.html@@
The nonconference game is the second of five matchups between the rivals this season and the last at PK Park. The Ducks (34-14, 16-8 Pac-12) will close the season with three Pac-12 games in Corvallis May 25-27. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205424363@@
Oregon enters the game as the winner of seven of its last eight games, a decidedly different situation than the two-game losing streak the Ducks rode into their April 24 matchup. Oregon State (30-15, 11-10 Pac-12) enters on a two-game win streak after taking two out of three games from Stanford last weekend. @@http://www.pac-12.org/SPORTS/Baseball/Standings.aspx@@ @@http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-basebl/sched/orst-m-basebl-sched.html@@
The Ducks also have the services of Aaron Jones, who missed the last Civil War with an ankle injury suffered against Stanford. Jones hit .250 for the Ducks last weekend with hits in all three games against Arizona. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205424363@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205424181@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205423826@@
The Beavers are ranked sixth in a deep Pac-12, but their offense is among the conference’s best. The Beavers trail only Arizona and Stanford in runs scored, and no Pac-12 team has drawn more than the Beavers’ 197 walks on the season. @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/baseball/stats/2011-12/HTML/lgteams.htm@@
It will be the 17th game of the year against a ranked opponent for the Ducks, who are 12-4 against the top 25. Oregon State is 7-7 against ranked teams this year, including two wins against then-No. 12 Stanford last weekend.
It’s yet another test for a strong Oregon pitching staff that leads the Pac-12 in ERA, and the Beavers’ plate discipline is a particularly tough task for a Ducks team that has been vulnerable to giving up walks this season.
That plate discipline has helped the Beavers to a .380 team on-base percentage, more than 100 points better than Oregon State’s team batting average of .276.
The coaching matchup of Oregon head coach George Horton and his Oregon State counterpart Pat Casey pits two coaches who focus on the little things, and not surprisingly the Ducks and Beavers lead the Pac-12 in sacrifice bunts with 63 and 62 respectively. @@http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/orst-m-basebl-mtt.html#coaches@@
Oregon State’s bats are led by the tandem of Tyler Smith and Michael Conforto, who are each batting above .340 for the Beavers. In addition to his .346 batting average, Conforto has a conference best 55 RBI and a slugging percentage of .566 to go along with a team leading eight home runs. @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/baseball/stats/2011-12/HTML/osu.htm@@ @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/baseball/stats/2011-12/HTML/lgplyrs.htm@@
Second baseman Aaron Payne will look to stay hot for the Ducks after another big weekend in Tucson. The San Clemente, Calif., native hit .353 (6-17) last week and added six RBI in the critical series. For his efforts, Payne was awarded the Pac-12 offensive player of the week award for the second-straight week. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=94833&SPID=11401&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205072795&Q_SEASON=2011@@ @@http://pac-12.org/SPORTS/Baseball/Tabid/1448/Article/154977/Payne-Plutko-Receive-Weekly-Honors.aspx@@
The Ducks will look to avoid the missed opportunities that haunted them in their April loss to Oregon State. The Ducks lost that game 7-1 despite the benefit of eight hits, three walks and a Beaver error. Horton said after that game he felt his team played with an uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205418986@@
Neither team has named a starting pitcher for the game.