This team is as hot as hot gets heading into conference play. After No. 10 Oregon baseball’s latest win — a 15-0 thumping of Utah Tech — the Ducks (11-2) have scored seven-plus runs in seven-straight games (all wins) and thrown back-to-back shutouts for the first time in 2021.
“It’s fun being with these guys,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “These guys are awesome. They love to work. We’re asking them to improve every single day and that’s what they’re doing.”
Fresh off a weekend sweep in which they scored 70 runs, the Ducks’ bats got started right away. Oregon had a lead just five pitches into the bottom of the first as Mason Neville (3-5, three RBIs, three runs) gave one a ride out to center for his seventh homer of the season. Anson Aroz (3-5, two RBIs) roped an RBI double later in the frame and Maddox Molony (2-4, two RBIs) brought him in with a single of his own.
Utah Tech (5-9) starter Jonah Marshall’s night ended after just 26 pitches. He allowed three runs on three hits and walked a pair of Ducks. He only recorded one out in what will almost surely be his worst start of the season.
Coming off a weekend that earned him both Big Ten Conference Player of the Week and NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy National Co-Hitter of the Week honors, Dominic Hellman stayed hot by roping his fourth homer in five days to add to the Ducks’ lead in the second.
“It’s something about taking the at-bat and rolling with it,” Hellman said of his approach. “You can’t be a stubborn-minded hitter, because it’ll eat you alive if you don’t get [a certain] pitch.”
Ian Umlandt got the midweek start for the Ducks. Umlandt got a couple of midweek nods in 2024 and was very solid on Tuesday, allowing four hits, fanning three and walking one across his 80 pitches.
“Real solid performance,” Wasikowski said of Umlandt. “He just throws strikes, he’s got a lot of whip on the ball; his velocity was up a little bit. He’s just a real competitor and he’s a lot of fun to play behind, I’m sure.”
Umlandt didn’t allow a runner past first until the fourth inning, but he was stranded on third after a long battle with Andrew Pyle resulted in a flyout. As good as Umlandt was, he got into a lot of long at-bats that hurt his pitch count, hindering him from going more than his 4.2 innings.
“That was a scrappy group,” Wasikowski said. “Fighting pitches off. They really do a quality job, you can tell they’re well coached and they have a solid two-strike plan.”
When Dax Newman replaced Marshall on the bump in the first, the Ducks’ offensive production looked to have slowed down… at least until Hellman got up again in the fourth. He launched his fifth homer in as many days out to right-center for his second, third and fourth RBIs of the night.
“Well, when he gets hot, it can be fun,” Wasikowski said. “You see how he can change a game.”
Carter Garate (3-5, three runs) hit the Ducks’ first triple of the season to add to the lead during a four-run fifth inning that saw Oregon break open an 11-0 advantage.
After Umlandt exited, the Ducks used six different pitchers out of the bullpen. Seth Mattox (four pitches), Julian Hernandez (12 pitches), Ryan Featherston (nine pitches), Sam Boyle (nine pitches), Michael Meckna (six pitches) and Tyler Jones (17 pitches) for 4.1 innings of shutout ball.
“It was good to get some of the older guys out there again and get those guys going,” Wasikowski said.
Oregon exploded for four more runs on six hits in the seventh. It was an unnecessary cushion, but a handy one for a team looking to ride as hot as it can into conference play. The bats certainly will be ready, having now tallied 85 runs in their last five games.
The Ducks were only held scoreless in three frames in Tuesday’s win.
Oregon takes to the road for the first time this season to open conference play with a three-game series at USC (9-2) this weekend. First pitch is set for 5:35 on Friday.
“It’s weird to say it, but we’re playing USC in Opening Week of Big Ten play,” Wasikowski said. “Which is something else. I don’t know, it’s going to take some getting used to: Oregon against USC in the Big Ten. But, tough weekend to start with and hopefully we can go down to southern California and play well.”
