After losing the first game in its series with the Western Washington Redhawks, Oregon knew exactly what it needed to do.
Either win the next two games or miss out on the postseason. Staff ace Bryan Hansen and No. 3 starter Jonathan Jwayad made sure that wouldn’t be the case.
The Ducks (22-4, 11-3 Pacfic Northwest Region) went in to game two knowing they had to shore up their game or risk an early offseason. Game one had seen the young team make four errors en route to a 4-3 loss, marking the most miscues in any game of the season.
The defense was much cleaner behind Hansen in game two, and it showed in the 4-2 final score.
Hansen was as solid as ever on the hill, allowing just four hits and two earned runs over six innings, fanning eight.
Greg Wells struck out the side in the seventh to put the Redhawks away for good.
The victory put Oregon one victory away from securing the second seed in the Western division for regionals, which begin May 11 in LaGrande, Ore.
Game three saw Hansen play the hero again, going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with two round-trippers, two doubles, six runs driven in and four runs scored.
Equally important was Jwayad’s best performance of the year.
The senior with the bright green glove and the funky follow-through tossed seven strong innings, fanning a season-high eight and walking just one. Wataru Akaoka then came in to close out the game and extinguish any chance the Redhawks had of mounting a late comeback.
“We just took the emotion out of that team and ended their season and continued ours… If we continue to play at this level with this emotion and hunger, we have a good chance to go back to the World Series,” Jwayad said.
Oregon’s probable opponent in the first round will be the Weber State Wildcats. Earlier in the year, Oregon took two out of three games from the Wildcats in a series also played in LaGrande.
“They have one of the best programs in the National Club Baseball Association and we’re not going to overlook them,” Jwayad said.
Since that series, a lot has changed for Oregon. The most notable shift has been the cementing of relievers Akaoka, Wells, Greg Knapp and David Tinsley as a solid relief corps in back of starters Hansen, Jwayad and senior Jay Tlougan.
The Ducks will play one an intrasquad tune-up for the postseason at 2 p.m. this Saturday on the varsity field at Hamlin Middle School on Centennial Blvd.
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