A season ago, Oregon baseball had one of its best seasons in program history. It was a tremendous campaign that saw the Ducks go 41-22 made 2023 a year to remember. It could have been seen as a Cinderella story — especially when noticing the Ducks lost eight of their final 11 regular season games — but that team was built for success.
Oregon got hot at the right time, winning the Pac-12 Tournament, sweeping the Nashville Region of the NCAA Tournament and earning a hosting bid for an NCAA Super Regional.
The Ducks were two outs away from Omaha, where they would have competed in the College World Series.
After winning the first game of the Super Regional, Oregon had a one-run lead in the 9th, when Oral Roberts rallied to beat the Ducks by a run. Oral Roberts took game three, shocking a sold-out PK Park, eliminating Oregon and leaving head coach Mark Wasikowski’s team reflecting on what could have been.
“It just tells us there’s more work to be done,” Wasikowski said after the final loss of the season. “We made tremendous progress. No, we didn’t get to Omaha this year. It wasn’t in the cards. It wasn’t what was supposed to happen with this group.”
The Ducks aren’t satisfied. They aren’t finished. They’re back for more.
This season, however, Oregon baseball looks very different.
The Ducks lost a lot of talent between graduations, draftees and transfers. The players that accounted for 484 of the team’s 646 hits (74.9%), 72 of the 101 home runs (71.3%) and 352 of the 451 (78%) total runs scored in 2023 aren’t on the roster in 2024.
That’s a whole lot of production to replace. But last year’s team built momentum — and awareness for a program on the rise.
They were presented with a chance to open the season against a string of talented teams at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas. It was an invitation, Wasikowski commented, that served as a nod to the direction the program is heading.
Down in the Lone Star State, Oregon went 2-1 with wins over Baylor and Oklahoma — two Power 5 programs from the south. The Ducks’ only loss came 11-7 to No. 18 Texas Tech.
It was a strong start — especially for a team with so many new faces. But Wasikowski and his squad still weren’t satisfied.
“You can’t complain about being 2-1,” Wasikowski said after the Texas trip. “But I think the team felt like we left some on the table. I think they left the tournament disappointed that they didn’t win the tournament and feeling as though they could have done that for sure.”
His voice was echoed by his team. Infielders Carter Garate and Ryan Cooney both admitted to expecting more from the squad’s hot start.
“This lineup has the potential to be one of the best in the country,“ Garate said. “We didn’t perform fantastically [in Texas] as much as we wanted to. But I think there were definitely bright spots where you can see we’re going to be pretty darn good.”
“I think I have a lot to improve on,” Cooney said. “But you know, that’s baseball.”
The offense exploded during the home-opening weekend in a four-game series that saw the Ducks outscore Lafayette 51-13. Still, the standard is higher. Even after a 17-3 win in the first game of the series, Wasikowski wasn’t overly pleased.
“I thought we were fine tonight,” Wasikowski said. “I wouldn’t say it was an awesome performance, but it was probably a solid ‘B’ performance throughout.”
The classic college slogan says “Cs get degrees.” It’ll be fascinating to see what accolades a team whose “B” night features 17 runs can accomplish in a full season.
Between series, leaving things on the table isn’t an overly discussed theme. But everyone knows it’s there.
“We don’t talk a lot about it,” Wasikowski said. “We just try to get better today and keep focused on that. But it’s something that we feel and I’m sure the guys will probably tell you that they feel that.”
That’s not a bad mindset to be floating around a clubhouse. The “never satisfied, always improve” theme has worked for countless athletic squads in the past.
But how does a team with so many new, inexperienced faces — Oregon’s roster features 13 freshmen — replace and play like the squad of vets that last year’s team was?
Wasikowski calls it “playing old.”It’s a measurement of how poised the team looks. It’s become the expectation, he says, and it has several components.
“Acting like you’ve been there before,” Wasikowski said. “Acting like you’re not amazed when stuff happens. That you expect it. ”
Which one will the Ducks be as conference play rolls on? Will glimpses of last year’s maturity show in this young core’s excitement? Or is a whole new brand of ball in the works at PK Park?
Entering Pac-12 play, Oregon is 9-3. The only losses have come to quality opponents — UC Santa Barbara and Texas Tech — both of whom have been ranked at some point in the young season. The Ducks have also boasted some impressive wins: one each over Baylor, Oklahoma and UCSB as well as a two-game sweep of Grand Canyon University — typically one of the better teams in the Western Athletic Conference.
Through 12 games, Oregon is averaging 9.25 runs per game. It’s a stat that’s certainly boosted by the mismatch of a series that Lafayette turned out to be. But it’s a stat that, should it hold, would see the Ducks in contention for another Pac-12 Tournament run and potentially host rounds of the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season.
“I did tell [former athletic director] Pat Kilkenny in this room that if I get the chance to be the head coach at this great institution, we’ll get to Omaha or I’ll die trying,” Wasikwoski said at the end of last season. “I stand behind those words. We will get there.”
Wasikowski prophesied a return. As Pac-12 play begins, it’s time to see if it can become reality.
As the young season has demonstrated, Omaha could be on the table for this season’s team. But it’ll take everyone finishing their plate to make it happen.
