It was one of those moments every kid dreams about. Bottom of the last inning, tie score, one man on base and up you step. Bryan Hansen had that exact scenario present itself Sunday afternoon in the closing game of the Pacific Northwest Baseball Regionals. And boy did he make the most of it.
Hansen lined the first pitch he saw out of Optimist Stadium in LaGrande, Ore. to deliver the Ducks a dramatic 8-6 win over Weber State, a regional title and the team’s fourth consecutive trip the Club Baseball World Series, to be held this year in Fort Myers, Fla.
The ending might not have been so sweet had Hansen gone with his instinct.
“I actually went up to my coach and asked him if I should bunt to get the guy over to second and move him into scoring position. He said no and I got a good pitch on the very first pitch. Like I’ve been doing all year, I just tried to get that first pitch and saw it right down the middle, fastball, and I just put a good swing on it. Fortunately, it left the yard for a win,” Hansen said.
For the junior who has spent a good portion of his life playing the game, this moment reigns supreme.
“That is definitely, definitely, the number one moment in my life for baseball. As a kid, you always think about hitting one out to win the game. Definitely my number one moment and something I’ve dreamed of.”
The win, and the tournament as a whole, were just two more in a series of stunning comebacks for this year’s Ducks team. On three different occasions, manager Kenny Swartout recalls, his team has turned its fortunes in the last inning and walked away winners.
In preparation for this tournament, Swartout moved Hansen, who had been slotted second in the rotation the entire season, up to number one for the first game, also against Weber State. The plan backfired. Hansen was reached for eight hits and 10 runs in four and one-third innings as Oregon fell to the Wildcats, 11-5.
Of those 10 runs, though, just three were earned. The other seven runs were caused, in part, by the four walks Hansen issued and a series of errors made behind him.
It was the first time in Oregon’s four trips to the tournament that it had fallen in the first game. Losing at all was a shock, and the fact that it was in such resounding fashion didn’t make it much better. The Ducks were beaten, but definitely not defeated.
“I told them that we got outplayed and we just have to move on with next game, not worry too much about what we didn’t do, just move on with it. We have four more games and we have to prove to the rest of the field that we were the best team there,” Swartout said.
Of course, for Hansen to have been moved up in the rotation, someone had to be bumped down. That someone was senior Jay Tlougan, who had occupied the number one spot all season. While some might have taken being moved down as a demotion, Tlougan, ever the competitor, saw it as just doing what was best for the team at the time.
“I felt like Hansen deserved to throw that first game because he’s been so dominant. I was just going to be prepared to throw when I was told to,” Tlougan said.
When he was told to turned out to be the next day against second-round opponent Idaho State. Tlougan proved more than ready, going five innings of five-hit, one-run ball as Oregon won the ballgame, 10-7, and paved the way for a rematch a few hours later with the Seattle Redhawks.
Earlier in the season Seattle had taken two of three from the Ducks in Eugene and the wounds were still fresh. The Ducks thought they were better than the Redhawks and still believed as much coming into Saturday’s game.
That belief proved to be valid, as Oregon put on an offensive clinic with a 19-3 drubbing of Seattle. For Hansen and Oregon, that victory was a very sweet one.
“We knew going into that game that we needed to pay back what was due from earlier in the year. Going out there and putting up a big number like 19 and beating them like we should’ve earlier in the year. It definitely felt good,” Hansen said.
Even after they had defeated them, the Redhawks wouldn’t go away. Members of the team came to the field the next day and sat on the opposing side of the stands, taunting the Ducks loudly as the game progressed. It was something that surprised, but also helped motivate the team, said Swartout.
“They tried to go against us, get in our heads, but it just motivated us more… It was pretty mean-spirited. It really wasn’t very sportsmanlike, I’ll just say that. It wasn’t the kind of thing you expect to hear.”
Than win set the stage for a two-game, winner-take-all, rematch with Weber State. The Ducks took Game 1, 8-6, behind solid pitching from lefty Evan Coller and three-plus innings of relief from closer Greg Wells.
Oregon needed one more win to go back the World Series for the fourth consecutive season, and in Tlougan, they very literally had an ace in the hole.
Down 5-1 with two outs in the third inning, Swartout called on Tlougan to relieve starter David Tinsley.
“I felt that I needed to get in there and give it everything I had because, just with my particular situation, my senior year and knowing that I could give my all and I was going to refuse to lose,” Tlougan said.
The righthander slammed the door on Weber State, allowing just one more run in four and one-third innings of work and giving his team the time it needed to come back, and giving Hansen all the chance he needed to send the 2007 Oregon regionals out with a bang.
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