Much has been said and written about Oregon baseball’s powerhouse offense this season, and deservedly so. The Ducks have hardly felt the loss of Aaron Zavala, Kenyon Yovan and Gabe Matthews, proving themselves to be one of the best hitting teams in the nation.

But an underrated aspect of this successful Ducks team has been the bullpen. Especially on a staff which has been rolling with only two starting pitchers, the bullpen has been a critical asset to winning games. The Ducks have had to resort strictly to bullpen games much of the time, and they’ve had several pitchers step up to take command of those innings.

Oregon mostly knew what it was getting with closer Kolby Somers, who was named a preseason All-American. In turn, Somers has been as good as advertised. The key for the bullpen’s success, though, has been the contributions they’ve received from their more under-the-radar relievers.

“Our bullpen’s been awesome,” Ducks reliever Christian Ciuffetelli said. “Guys just coming in throwing strikes with nasty stuff. We’ve got some real competitors.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise has been right-handed pitcher and former competitive cup stacker Logan Mercado. Before this season, he had only pitched in two games at the collegiate level. He wasn’t expected to be someone making an impact for this team, and he started the year low on the depth chart.

“It was really hard in the beginning when you really didn’t know where you were in the staff,” Mercado said. “I guess I didn’t know my role. I was still trying to figure that out.”

As the year has gone on, he’s earned himself a spot. Seven of his first eight outings this season were scoreless appearances. Head coach Mark Wasikowski also started stretching him out longer, beginning with a 3 2/3-inning appearance on March 27. His performance helped the Ducks overcome a five-run first inning to win in dramatic fashion, 7-6. Wasikowski named him “player of the game.”

“He came in, and he threw the ball over the plate,” Wasikowski said. “He had multiple pitches for strikes and brought a mentality that became infectious in the dugout.”

He’s pitched four innings in each of his last two outings, giving up just one earned run between the two appearances. In addition to improved fastball execution, he’s attributed his success to a mentality of “pitching angry.” His goal when he steps on the mound is to do everything he can to make sure the other team doesn’t score.

“Something clicked before Pac play started,” Mercado said. “I was tired of having not that good of outings, and I guess just something clicked. I gotta go out there with the right mentality and just execute pitches.”

Another reliever who’s taken a big step up is sophomore Rio Britton, the only left-handed pitcher on the team besides Somers. He’s already pitched more innings than he did in his freshman season while lowering his ERA from 3.52 to 2.11. He started the year in more of a lefty specialist role, but like Mercado, his innings have been stretched out as he’s continued to succeed.

“Finding a routine,” Britton said of what’s been working for him. “I think that was the biggest thing coming in last year. I kinda figured out that with this stretch of throwing five to six times a week, only having one day off kinda did put a lot of stress on my arm last year. I figured that this year I just need to find a routine that works for me.”

Right-hander Matt Dallas has also been a consistent performer. He’s thrown the most innings of anyone in the bullpen while posting a 3.09 ERA. He’s also walked a solid nine in 26 2/3 innings, an area which has been an issue for a large portion of this Oregon staff.

Pitchers like Ciuffetelli, Dylan Sabia and Stone Churby don’t carry overall numbers that are quite as impressive, but they’ve still been valuable in spurts. Particularly on a team that has struggled to get length from its starting pitchers, the bullpen has been the key factor in many of the Ducks’ wins.

Oregon relievers have combined to pitch 181 innings this year, compared to just 123 from the starters. Considering starters are traditionally supposed to go much deeper into games than relievers, it’s remarkable the Ducks have still managed to post a 24-11 record. If these relievers hadn’t been so effective, the team would very likely be doomed.

Britton said the success stems from a “next man up” type of approach.

“Our bullpen is really strong,” Britton said. “We talk about it each time we’re out there, just waiting to go in. Each one of us is ready to go in and do work. So I think just building off that confidence, building off of each other is what makes us pretty strong.”

The Ducks’ typical last line of defense is their All-American closer, Somers. Like many of these Oregon pitchers, he’s had issues with walks, surrendering 10 free passes in 19 1/3 innings, but he still owns a 2.33 ERA and six saves.

“This year I’ve kind of put myself in harder situations than I had hoped for,” Somers said. “But having a lot of experience, I know how to get out of situations that I make for myself. So just kind of take a deep breath, and trust your work, and just focus on competing and executing pitches.”

Fortunately for the Ducks, they usually don’t have to rely on Somers. In their April 16 win which secured a sweep of Washington, Somers gave up a game-tying homer in the 10th inning, but Ciuffetelli stepped in to record a save in the 11th.

“Performances left and right by the guys,” Wasikowski said. “Just showing resiliency and toughness, and being able to execute.”

The Ducks, who have won five in a row despite a total of just 15 innings from their starters, will play a road game against the Portland Pilots on Tuesday before heading back home for a tough stretch of Pac-12 games.