After a dominating performance in the Northern Pacific Regional Tournament last weekend, the Oregon Club baseball team will be heading to familiar territory — the National Club Baseball Association’s World Series.
Oregon, which previously qualified for the World Series in 2004, defeated Weber State 13-4, UCLA 13-6, and Western Washington 7-0 to claim the fifth seed in next week’s eight-team World Series in Bradenton, Fla.
The Ducks, winners of last year’s regional tournament, entered last weekend’s tournament as the number three seed after capturing their second straight Pacific Mountain Conference title. The Ducks finished the
season winning eight of their last 11 regular season games.
“We are playing a great caliber of baseball right now,” head coach Bradley Ficek said. “It was just a matter of putting it all together.”
For the second straight year, Ficek’s squad met Weber State in the opening game of the regional tournament. The Ducks fell behind early 2-0, but two monster offensive innings enabled Oregon to rally and overwhelm
the Wildcats.
After Travis Brown’s solo home run in the second inning cut the Oregon deficit to 2-1, the Ducks came alive and poured it on in the fifth inning.
Brothers Jerry and Gavin Wahl-Stephens led off with back-to-back singles and Matt Oss delivered a single to allow Jerry Wahl-Stephens to score and tie the game at two. Jordan Denney then followed with a two-RBI double, and his brother, Marcus Denney, pushed the lead to 5-2 with a run-scoring double of his own. After a Travis Chock single and three wild pitches, the Ducks tacked on two more runs to make the lead 7-2.
An inning later, the Oregon bats continued to pound the ball. The Wahl-Stephens brothers again led off with consecutive singles, and Oregon capitalized with a big inning, scoring four more runs to take an 11-2 advantage.
The Ducks eventually secured the 13-4 victory. Pitcher Scott Sullivan went the distance for Oregon, improving his record to 6-0. Jerry Wahl-Stephens led the offensive explosion by going 3 of 4 with three runs scored.
“We seem to be a team that, when it rains, it pours,” outfielder Tory Caputo said. “We put up big numbers in bunches.”
The win paired Oregon with UCLA in Saturday’s nightcap. The Bruins used an offensive onslaught of their own to defeat Western Washington earlier in the tournament, setting the stage for a showdown in the second round. But with a large crowd on hand, the lights went out quickly for UCLA as Oregon cruised to a 13-0 lead before the fifth inning. Twelve of the 13 Oregon runs came with two outs.
“That is something we’ve been stressing all season,” Ficek said. “Two-out hits are going to win us games.”
The Bruins managed a late comeback by scoring six runs in the final three innings, but the Ducks held on for the 13-6 win.
Jordan Denney made his first start on the mound this season and recorded the win. He pitched 4 2/3 innings and amassed nine strikeouts, including seven in a row during one stretch. Chock continued his stellar weekend by going 3 of 4 with four RBIs. The victory earned the Ducks a berth into the weekend’s championship game against
conference rival Western Washington.
“It was the same situation last year,” Ficek said. “It was fitting that it came down to the two best teams from the same conference.”
Western Washington, because of the earlier loss to UCLA, had to defeat Oregon twice in two games to win the tournament and advance to the World Series. The Ducks,
however, needed just one win to continue their season.
The Vikings wasted no time in the first game, getting an early 3-0 lead after a two-run homerun in the first inning. The lead ballooned to 6-0 by the fourth inning before the Ducks were able to score.
In the fourth, Jordan Denney led off with a single and later scored on a single by Adam Dexter. Jonathan Loomis continued the rally with an RBI single, and Dexter later scored on a fielder’s choice, cutting Western
Washington’s lead to 6-3.
The Ducks would get no closer than three runs as the Vikings picked up the 7-4 win, forcing a deciding second game.
Oregon took the early 1-0 advantage after Brown’s single scored Dexter in the second inning. The Ducks then scored another run in the third and four runs in the fourth, upping the lead to 6-0. Defensively, Oregon pitchers Nick Hall and Tim Hegdahl took care of business, shutting down the Viking attack en route to the 7-0 win. The two combined for a two-hit shutout, sending the Ducks to the National Club Baseball World Series for the second consecutive year.
“For our pitchers to only give up two hits is a great accomplishment,” Ficek said. “I can’t explain it. To win regionals and represent the University is a joy.”
The victories also brought postseason awards for the Ducks. Chock and Sullivan were named to the All-Region Team, and Dexter, Gavin Wahl-Stephens and Greg Wells were named to the second team. The Denney brothers, Brown and pitcher Jay Tlougan rounded out the third team. In addition, Chock was named as the National Player of the Week and Hegdahl was selected as co-Pitcher of the Week.
Oregon will enter the World Series as the fifth seed and face last year’s runner-up, North Carolina State, in the first round May 26.
“We are going to be more prepared this year,” Ficek said. “We are on a roll right
now and hopefully we can keep that going into Florida.”