Oregon’s baseball team needed that.
A disappointing season spent hovering on the brink between frustration and even apathy has suddenly, somewhat out of the blue, been salvaged.
Not because the Ducks now have a realistic possibility to qualify for the postseason — at 28-24-1, and only 7-14 in the Pacific-10 conference, that’s still a long shot — but because finally, after months of waiting, there are signs of life from an offense long on youth and short on production.
Since suffering a three-game home sweep to UCLA two weekends back that marked the low point of its season, Oregon has only lost once in its past seven games.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&KEY=&SPID=11401&SPSID=94835@@
After getting one win and one tie against a subpar Seattle University squad last week, Oregon returned home and took two out of three from Stanford.
The series win over the Cardinal, only Oregon’s second Pac-10 series victory of the season, was particularly impressive. Stanford is loaded with major league prospects and had won six straight games entering play. Yet Oregon looked like the better team all weekend, and if it wasn’t for a mind-boggling collapse in one game when the Ducks blew an 8-1 lead, Oregon would have had a sweep.@@http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-basebl/sched/stan-m-basebl-sched.htmlv@@
Then, earlier this week, the Ducks outscored Gonzaga 15-0 in a two-games series sweep. Although a non-conference opponent, the Bulldogs, winners of seven of their past eight entering the series, were playing some of their best baseball before getting dismantled by the Ducks.@@http://www.gozags.com/sports/m-basebl/sched/gonz-m-basebl-sched.html@@
Perhaps more impressive than the number of wins is the way in which Oregon won. Hitting only .236 as a team before they played Seattle early last week, the Ducks’ offense went off, scoring at least six runs in all seven games since. They raised their batting average 17 points (it’s now .253) along the way.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205099773@@
Maybe I’m making too much of the Ducks’ strong stretch of recent play. Baseball can be a funny game sometimes, and even the worst teams win their fair share of contests. But for some reason, this just feels different.
And I’ll be honest, for much of the year, I thought Oregon’s lack of success was strictly a result of inferior talent. Baseball, unlike many other sports, isn’t heavily dependent on team chemistry or tactical adjustments — it comes down to whether hitters can hit, whether pitchers can pitch (See the San Francisco Giants’ success with the one-man chemistry wrecking crew, Mr. Bonds.)
And while it’s apparent that Oregon’s talent level isn’t necessarily up to par with some of the conference’s top teams, I believe this recent stretch shows the Ducks do have what it takes to at least be a postseason contender next season.
While ace lefty Tyler Anderson, and maybe a few other contributors, will likely make the jump to the professional ranks after this year, there’s enough coming back for the Ducks to have a solid season.
Before Oregon’s recent stretch, I wasn’t sure.
But freshman first baseman Ryon Healy has firmly established himself as a middle of the order hitter. (He’s hitting .337 with a .398 on-base percentage and team-leading .554 slugging percentage).
Freshman Stefan Sabol cooled down a tad after a hot start (a broken hand forced him out of action), but still has a .375 on-base percentage, and will be expected to make major strides in his second year.
Seemingly out of nowhere, freshman outfielder Brett Thomas became a key catalyst in the team’s recent hot stretch. His batting average is up to .286, and he’s getting on base at a .398 clip.
Fellow first-year players Aaron Jones and Kyle Garlick have also shown flashes of brilliance, although inconsistency has been an issue (like it is with most freshmen).
There are others, too, but the recent stretch of top-notch play has been enough to convince me that even with a handful of draft defections, the Ducks have enough to contend next year.
The pitching has always been there for the Ducks. Finally, the young hitters appear to be coming along for the ride.
Drukarev: Recent hot stretch provides hope for baseball team’s future
Daily Emerald
May 18, 2011
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