Feb. 27, 2009, is a day that will be remembered for a long time among Duck fans. It was the first game in new PK Park, and although it was cold, the crowd of 2,777 showed up to cheer on the home team for the first time in a long while.
They left happy, too. In an ending that can only be described as “Hollywood-esque,” senior pinch hitter Andrew Schmidt sent junior pitcher Zac Bischoff’s full count, two out offering in the bottom of the ninth over the first baseman’s head for the game-winning hit. The line drive scored junior catcher Eddy Rodriguez from third, and the team partied like it was 1981.
“That was as good as it gets,” Oregon head coach George Horton said after the game. “It almost brings a tear to my eye. Joe Giansante tried to jump into my arms and about threw my back out. It’s a great day for Oregon, bringing back baseball. To have a show like this, with it being a great college baseball game, and coming out with the 1-0 victory is pretty special.”
Horton and his players all had smiles that stretched from ear to ear, and while they stood just up the first baseline, holding up their hands forming the famous “O,” fans yelled and cheered like baseball had never left. Well, now they can at least say it’s officially back.
“I know we were all excited down at Saint Mary’s, a lot of fans traveled down there, but we knew it wouldn’t be the same as when we brought it back to Oregon and on our home field,” Schmidt said. “I really don’t even know the words to describe it; it was just awesome. To be a part of this family in the short time we’ve been here is great. So many people have given so much to us; it feels great to be able to finally give something back.”
The atmosphere was electric, especially in the late innings when both teams kept putting zeroes on the scoreboard. When freshman starter Tyler Anderson walked off the mound after striking out sophomore catcher Jake Johnson to end the eighth inning, fans gave him a standing ovation, perhaps sensing he was done. Then, after junior reliever Ryan Fleckenstein sat down the Bulldogs in order in the top of the ninth, the stage was set for a storybook finish.
It almost didn’t happen, though. Freshman shortstop KC Serna and sophomore designated hitter Mitch Karraker both grounded out, but the Ducks strung together three straight hits, and as Schmidt touched the bag at first, his teammates swarmed out of the dugout and engulfed him in hugs and helmet pats.
“I really wanted for us to win that first game,” Senior Associate Athletic Director Joe Giansante said. “I wanted it for the kids, and for our fans. I wanted it for our students, standing down there on the line, razzing the Fresno State guys the whole time, doing what you do at a baseball game. A lot of people took a leap of faith to get it to this moment … it was just a very special moment for everyone.”
Giansante has been the driving force behind the scenes ever since the University announced its plans to bring the sport back, and on the big day Giansante was found all over the ball park. He couldn’t sit still for more then a few pitches, and he was one of the first people to greet Horton after the game.
Most of the players realized the significance of the moment as well. Schmidt said it probably wouldn’t sink in for a few days, and junior right fielder Jett Hart said that the dugout was full of energy all game long.
“Guys were amped up,” he said. “Something coach has told us is that he likes the same mentality from the first to the ninth. We were in it the entire game, from the first pitch.”
Not to say there weren’t a few hiccups on opening day. The PA system cut in and out during introductions, and the video board in right field went black twice, but technically, things didn’t go too bad.
And after a kind of lull in the action, the fans warmed up to the right moments to start chants and cheers. There were a few awkward silences when there should have been noise to start with, but when everyone realized that the game was going to be decided on just a few pitches, every call and pitch was met with either a groan or a resounding cheer.
“I think our crowd is a little bit used to track meets,” Giansante said jokingly. “This is a baseball. If it’s a ball and you think it’s a strike you holler at the umpire, and when the guy is running in from the bullpen you holler; that’s just the culture of baseball. But I think the fans will get it. I thought the students did a great job. They started the ‘O’ and the ‘Let’s go, Ducks’ chant, and kept the entire stadium in the game.”
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