It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. So far in the National Club Baseball Association World Series the Ducks had sent the three-time defending world champion Colorado State Rams to the loser’s bracket and beaten top-seed Penn State’s ace, twice. With that said, it seemed that the sixth-seeded Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina wouldn’t be much of a problem for the giant killers from Eugene.
That wasn’t the case. The Tar Heels came out swinging and sent Oregon to an 8-6 defeat, ending its hopes of a first Series crown.
Everything started out smoothly enough for Oregon, as starter Jay Tlougan worked a double play ball out of eventual tournament MVP Chris McCurdy to help get his team through the first two innings unharmed.
An inning later, the trouble began.
After retiring the first two hitters on a grounder and a pop on the infield, the Heels followed with a walk and a single and were moved up to second and third on a Tlougan wild pitch. A grounder to third would’ve ended the inning, but third baseman Matt Zabriskie threw wildly. The runner from third scored and the inning stayed alive. The next Tar Heel singled, bringing home a second run, putting the Ducks in an early 2-0 hole.
That miscue, plus the three more Oregon would commit later in the game, may have made the difference between a championship and second place. Without the three unearned runs those errors led to, the score is 6-5 and Oregon returns to campus with a trophy.
Just as it had all year, being down early didn’t faze the Ducks. After falling into a 6-0 hole, the team rallied.
Singles from Bryan Hansen and Travis Brown in the sixth cut the lead in half and a two-run shot from Hansen an inning later evened things at six.
In the end, the strength of the North Carolina offense prevailed. The Tar Heels regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly and added an insurance run on Zabriskie’s second error of the night.
As it turns out, the pressure of being in their first title game in club history may have weighed on the Ducks as they took the field in Fort Myers, Fla. Sure-handed all season, Oregon committed three more errors Wednesday, the most manager Ken Swartout can remember from his first year at the team’s helm.
“I think we were nervous, really. We missed some big opportunities and it cost us in the end,” Swartout said.
Senior pitcher and club coordinator Jonathan Jwayad disagrees with Swartout, saying nerves played no part in Oregon’s flat play Wednesday.
“None. I don’t think that we were not prepared,” Jwayad said. “We were ready to play…In the area of readiness, I’d say we were one hundred percent ready.”
What Jwayad does believe led to the loss was combination of the errors and some bad luck.
“The ball just didn’t fall our way. We made more errors in this game…I don’t think we’ve made more than four errors in one game before. I think that caught up to us,” Jwayad said.
Next year’s team will be virtually the same, with only seniors Tlougan, Jwayad, first baseman Travis Brown and closer Greg Wells graduating. Bryan Hansen, Oregon’s ace and offensive threat, will return as will a core of young talent. Freshman outfielders Cam Gaulke and Quentin Clark, the latter who missed a good portion of the Series with cut foot, will both return for 2008.
With those three, along with a cache of other young talent, Swartout believes his team has nowhere to go but up.
“We’ve got to be considered the team to beat next year. We’re only losing four guys… We’ve got to be the team to beat next year.”
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