There’s no such thing as a “meaningless game” for a team that’s trying to maximize its seeding for the NCAA Tournament. Therefore, the 4-2 win Oregon picked up over Michigan State on Thursday was far from meaningless.
The Ducks took down the Spartans despite only plating four runs. They took advantage of a great night on the mound from Ian Umlandt and some timely hitting from Anson Aroz and Drew Smith to open their Big Ten Tournament run with a win.
“There were several performances when we needed it, but I was just pleased with the fact that we were able to come out on top when maybe we didn’t play our best game,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said.
The Ducks (42-13) entered Thursday’s contest ranked fourth nationally and first in the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan State (28-27) was the last team to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament and was seeded No. 12 for the last few games of its season. The Spartans’ 2025 campaign came to close in Omaha as they went 0-2 in pool play in the Big Ten Tournament.
With Friday night’s matchup being the pivotal one for the Ducks’ future in the Big Ten Tournament, Thursday’s contest primarily mattered for Oregon’s national RPI, which entered the tournament 12th in the country. The Ducks needed to avoid a loss to MSU (RPI No. 133) to keep its hosting chances as high as possible.
“We knew today, really there isn’t a whole lot to gain from it, aside from the fact that a win is another win,” Wasikowski said. “But boy was there a lot on the line with a loss today.”
It didn’t get off to the best start. A leadoff double from MSU’s Ryan McKay hurt the Ducks as Sam Busch picked up the game’s first RBI with a sacrifice fly in the first inning.
Oregon countered in the bottom of the frame with a two-out, two-RBI double from Aroz. Mason Neville was thrown out at the plate earlier in the frame on a bunt from Smith, but both Smith and Dominic Hellman came around to score on Aroz’s timely knock as the Ducks took a lead that would last until the seventh inning.
MSU starter Nolan Higgins only faced the Oregon lineup once before being swapped for George Viebrock III as the Ducks turned their lineup over in the second. Viebrock III became the second of five Spartan pitchers used on Thursday as he got Neville to fly out to end the inning.
MSU brought a pair of runners to the corners with two outs in the third, but Oregon starter Ian Umlandt made a series of big pitches to fan Busch to end the threat. Umlandt collected five strikeouts across his 6.2-inning outing.
“I take a lot of pride in being able to work deep into games,” Umlandt said. “When my name is called, it’s just ‘how can I extend? How many guys can I get out?’ We’ve got 27 outs, so how close can I get to 27? As a starting pitcher, that’s my job.”
Umlandt had to deal with at least one runner reaching in six of the seven innings he featured in, but he did a nice job limiting the Spartans to two runs (one earned) on four hits across his 89 pitches.
“When it comes down to it, it’s just making pitches, throwing a lot of strikes and letting guys get themselves out,” Umlandt said. “If I can do that, I feel confident in the defense behind me and I feel confident that I’m going to give us the best chance to win.”
The Ducks took some time adjusting to the lighting and spaciousness of Charles Schwab Field on Thursday. They were limited to the two runs from Aroz until the seventh inning and only had four hits after five frames. The Ducks struggled with runners on base, finishing 4-11 and stranding 10 potential runs.
“We obviously had some opening-day jitters as a club,” Wasikowski said. “Hopefully we can get that out of our system. Collectively, I don’t think we played a very good baseball game, probably one of our worst games we’ve played now for some time.”
One game after making a costly error in right to cost his Spartans a win over Nebraska, Parker Picot led the seventh off with a double and took third after Neville misplayed the ball in the outfield. He came in to score as Ryan Cooney committed a throwing error trying to nail him at the plate. The two errors cost the Ducks an unearned run and the lead.
Hellman reached for the fourth time in the bottom of the seventh, but was pinch-ran for to cap off his 2-2, two-walk night. Oregon entered the bottom of the eighth inning in serious danger of messing up its postseason-hosting goals.
Smith, however, had other plans. He ripped an RBI single into left to plate Jax Gimenez and put Oregon back ahead. Aroz (3-4, three RBIs) followed it up with his second RBI hit of the contest to bring the lead to two runs with two innings to play.
“We had some really clutch performances with Ian (Umlandt) and the pitching staff,” Wasikowski said. “Specifically with (Santiago Garcia) and Seth Mattox, and some really clutch performances offensively with Hellman and Aroz and Smith.”
Garcia and Mattox took it from there. Garcia earned the win with 1.1 innings of hitless, scoreless ball and Mattox picked up his eighth save of the season.
“It’s the same trust it’s been all year,” Umlandt said of the bullpen. “Hand the ball off and you’ve got some of the best bullpen arms in the conference and the country behind you. Santy’s stuff is ridiculous. Seth has proven it in outing after outing now and there’s never a doubt.”
Oregon has now won 11-straight games and 15 of its last 16. The Ducks will look to win Pool A with a win over Nebraska on Friday night at 4:00 p.m. PST. With a win, Oregon will advance to the semifinal round on Saturday to play Penn State.
