The past two games against San Francisco are games Oregon baseball surely wants to forget.
The team managed just seven hits, struck out 20 times and was swept by a team that came into Eugene with a 3-12 record.
All hope is not lost for No. 8 Oregon, though. In fact, it has a fresh start with the beginning of conference play Friday.
Oregon (13-4) traveled to Berkeley, California Thursday morning to prepare for their three-game series with the California Golden Bears (13-3). As mentioned before, the Ducks enter the series with a bitter taste in their mouth. Cal, on the other hand, is currently on an eight-game winning streak dating back to Feb. 28.
Cal’s three weekend starters – Daulton Jefferies, Ryan Mason and Matt Ladrech – have exceeded expectations.
Jefferies was 2-8 with a 3.45 ERA last season as a freshman. But the sophomore, and now ace of the staff, has found his identity this season with a 2.45 ERA in 25.2 innings with 29 strikeouts holding opponents to a .220 batting average.
Mason, a junior, is the least surprising. His pitch-to-contact style has been consistent and successful. In 23.0 innings this season, Mason has allowed eight earned runs while collecting 16 strikeouts, which doesn’t sound like a lot. But when you include his .913 WHIP, it’s plenty good.
Finally, there is Ladrech. Like Oregon, Cal uses a freshman starting pitcher in the weekend rotation. But this “rookie” is pitching like a veteran. So far he’s allowed 2.05 earned runs per game in 26.1 innings.
Offensively, Cal’s numbers are a bit scary to a Duck fan. As a team, the Bears are hitting for a .318 average with 16 home runs, 121 runs scored, 95 strikeouts and are stealing bases at a 70% conversion rate. All of which are better than Oregon’s numbers.
Cal’s three-four-five placed hitters, Lucas Erceg, Brett Cumberland and Chris Paul, have been outstanding. Combined, the bunch hits for a .397 average with nine home runs and 42 RBIs while striking out just 24 times in 166 at-bats so far this season.
But perhaps the hottest hitter the Bears offer doesn’t hit in the heart of the lineup. Sometimes he hits second, sometimes he hits ninth. His name is Brian Celsi, and in the past four games he’s 9-16 (.563 avg.) with 10 RBIs – including a two home run (one grand slam), eight RBI-game on March 6 against Chicago State.
With all that said, Oregon’s chances to win the series are still strong.
Oregon’s starting pitching matches up very well against Cal’s starters. The Cole Irvin, Connor Harber combination has been lethal on Friday nights and Jack Karraker is perhaps the biggest surprise of all with his 1.50 ERA in his four starts this season – four times the amount of starts he’s had in his Oregon career entering 2015.
Remaining is freshman David Peterson (2-0, 2.96 ERA). Peterson’s 26 strikeouts, sub-1 WHIP and .200 batting average against has made him a promising young arm.
It’s going to come down to Oregon’s offense. Even with the San Francisco series disaster, the Ducks average 6.29 runs per game.
That’s more than enough, on a typical night, for the Oregon pitching staff who has allowed just a 2.98 ERA this season.
Follow Andrew Bantly on Twitter @andrewbantly