Even head coach George Horton admits that the Oregon baseball team has no room left for error. One loss, or one missed opportunity, could spell the end of Oregon’s slim playoff hopes.
Though it would be understandable for the Ducks to wilt beneath the pressure, they have instead responded by winning three games in a row, including a 9-0 victory over Gonzaga Wednesday. The sense of urgency is there, and Oregon has responded in kind.
“We definitely need to win out, I think,” starting pitcher Alex Keudell said after picking up the win on Wednesday. “So this is big, getting these two wins and then winning Stanford (over the weekend). It’s too bad we couldn’t sweep them, but these two wins were big.”
With the pitching as steady as it has been all season, timely hitting and airtight defense have made the difference for Oregon as of late. At the plate in particular, Horton has seen a form of energy that eluded the Ducks in earlier games.
“It’s confidence,” Horton said. “I think it’s been a subtle thing, but it’s been growing over the last three weeks and something that will hopefully take a little bit of pressure off our pitching staff and especially the bullpen.”
Freshman right fielder Aaron Jones, who was 3-for-5 with two RBI on Wednesday, sees the same renewed sense of self up and down the lineup.@@http://www.goducks.com/downloads2/416487.htm?ATCLID=205152612&SPSID=94835&SPID=11401&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t know if we had an offense,” Jones said. “But now we’ve kind of gotten it in gear, and we’re swinging the bats well, all the way through the lineup.”
Of course, defensive prowess will be just as important if Oregon is to win out, and Horton knows this.
“It’s about maintaining the offensive production, and then the defensive commitment has been special,” Horton said. “And that’s been a little fleeting, I guess. It’s been mostly good defense; sometimes we have mental lapses.”
Wednesday’s game was almost flawless, with the Ducks avoiding a single error and making some clutch plays in the field.
“Outfield played well, defense played well, infield played well,” Keudell said. “Everyone played pretty well today.”
For his part, Horton was particularly pleased with the team’s performance after what he considered to be an uneven effort on Tuesday. The Ducks came away with a 6-0 victory, but Horton felt that the score obscured some inexcusable mistakes in the middle of a playoff push.
“Last night I thought we were a little in and out,” Horton said. “I thought it was a very inconsistent effort, if it truly was, ‘you’re playing for your lives.’”
His team heard him loud and clear, and there was very little to pick apart in the aftermath of Wednesday’s victory.
“I thought we were more professional and focused,” Horton said. “And from inning one to inning nine today, I thought it was a much better effort.”
Yet even with renewed focus and confidence, Oregon still faces an uphill battle in the final week of the season. The team travels to Washington State over the weekend, followed by a single game against Portland and a series against rival Oregon State. Even one loss during that seven game stretch would be devastating.
“Right now, 35 wins is the best we can do,” Horton said. “I think anything short of 35, and we might not have any chance. Thirty-five might give us a chance, and I asked the (NCAA regional) committee to keep an eye on us.”
There will need to be plenty more days like Wednesday for Oregon to reach that magic number. It will be difficult, but the Ducks appear to be up for the challenge.
“Gotta get three (at Washington State),” Keudell said. “Then, who knows the rest of the year. Gotta take it one game at a time.”