The Oregon Ducks baseball team is set to begin its 2017 season on the road on Friday with a four-game series against the 2016 Mountain West Conference champion Fresno State Bulldogs.
The Ducks start the season hoping for better results after a 29-26 2016 campaign in which the team missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in five seasons.
“That’s OK — we’ve been there before,” Oregon head coach George Horton said. “We have to earn everything we’re going to get and that’s the way it should be.”
Players returning for the Ducks include Jake Bennett, a two-time All-Pac-12 honorable mention senior who led the team with a .312 batting average last season, as well as junior left fielder A.J. Balta, who led the team with nine home runs last season, 47 RBI and .455 slugging percentage.
“Maybe last year there was too much talk about what we’re going to do, and you know how that ended.” Bennett said. “We’re hungry to prove to ourselves, and prove to everyone in the process.”
Sophomore Slade Heggen and freshman Braden Stutzman will split time in right field this season. A pair of freshman will handle second and third base to start the season, with Spencer Steer at third base and Morgan McCullough playing second. McCullough could split time with sophomore Carson Breshears to begin the season.
A trio of junior’s round out the rest of the infield, with Daniel Patzlaff slated to start at shortstop. In 2016 he finished with a .239 batting average and 23 RBI. Kyle Kasser will be the team’s first baseman. In 2016 he batted .266 and had 21 RBI. Starting behind the plate for the Ducks will be Tim Susnara, who had 14 doubles and 24 RBI last year while battling injuries.
On the mound the Ducks will feature just one pitcher who has more than five career starts in Friday starter David Peterson. The left hander finished 2016 with a 4-5 record and a 3.63 earned run average and was the Ducks’ most consistent starter at times.
Only two other pitchers return with starting experience for the Ducks. Matt Mercer, who had a 2-2 record in five starts with a 4.28 ERA last season, is slated to start on Saturday’s. He appeared in 16 games overall. Sunday starter Cole Stringer made three mid-week starts as a freshman in 2016, which included a win against Oregon State.
Brac Warren will be the team’s closer, but because of a back injury, the team will turn to freshman Kenyon Yovan to close during the opening series against the Bulldogs.
“I think you’re going to see the hard work they’ve put in pay off,” Peterson said of the freshmen on the team. “They have a competitive spirit to them; this whole team does.”
The Ducks’ home schedule gets underway on Friday, March 3 with a three game series against Mississippi State.
The home stand continues with a single game against UC Davis before a four-game series on March 10-12 against Santa Clara. The Ducks begin Pac-12 play on March 17, starting with a road series against California.
The Ducks will hit the road to play series against California, Utah, Arizona, Washington State and USC throughout their Pac-12 schedule.
At PK Park, they will face Washington, Stanford, Arizona State and UCLA. The Ducks play preseason Pac-12 favorite Oregon State in Corvallis on April 25 and May 2. The teams will play a three game series on May 11-13 at PK Park. The Ducks were picked to finish eighth in the preseason Pac-12 coaches poll.
 
Follow Zak Laster on Twitter: @zlast3445