After a disappointing weekend sweep at the hands of Oregon State, the Ducks missed out on an opportunity to win the Pac-12 title and didn’t know for sure if their regular season body of work would be enough to merit a national seed in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205434473@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=11401&SPSID=94835@@
They needn’t have worried.
On Monday, Oregon was announced as the No. 5 national seed, behind No. 1 Florida, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Florida State and No. 4 Baylor. Rounding out the top eight are North Carolina, LSU and South Carolina.
The Ducks entered the final weekend of the regular season fifth in RBI — one of the most important factors the seeding committee looks at — but faltered against Oregon State. With those three losses suddenly on their resume, the Ducks weren’t sure where they’d end up seeded.
“We really didn’t know where we stood after this weekend,” first baseman Ryon Healy said. “I think we’re excited at where we ended up and honored to be there, but I think we still got a lot of work to do.”
After that sweep, head coach George Horton spoke of the extreme highs and lows of Oregon’s season, and the events of the Memorial Day weekend are no different.
“We went from the outhouse to the penthouse today,” Horton said.
A top-eight seeding means that if the Ducks can get through the Eugene regional they will play the Super Regional round at home. Standing in Oregon’s way in the regional are Austin Peay, Indiana State and Cal State Fullerton.
That’s the same Cal State Fullerton where Oregon head coach George Horton won a College World Series ring, and where Ducks second baseman Aaron Payne was once a bat boy. Even Aaron Jones’ brother, Chris, is a former member of Fullerton’s staff. Those connections give the Ducks nothing but respect for the Titans program. @@http://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/jones_chris00.html@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=94834&SPID=11401&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1205425&Q_SEASON=2011@@
“I grew up down around over there and my brother played there,” Jones said. “It should be a cool experience.”
While he says playing his old school will be entertaining, Horton would rather not have to play the Titans so soon.
“You never really want to play against your best friends until maybe the last dance,” Horton said.
Oregon opens regional play with Ohio Valley Conference champion Austin Peay at 6 p.m. on Friday. While the Ducks concede they don’t know much about the Governors, they don’t feel that will alter their preparations.
“We got to win one game at time, you can’t look past any one team, especially in regional play and playoffs,” Healy said.
The few Ducks who were on the team in 2010 when Oregon last reached the postseason know just how much of an advantage playing at home can be.
“If we’re lucky enough to play in front of our home fans the weekend after that,” senior Alex Keudell said. “It’s a big honor.”
Horton says that because spring term extends through the regional round, there’s an added academic benefit to not having to fly students across the country during final exams.
“It’s also good for our academic effort as well,” Horton said. “So I’m happy about that.”
As the Ducks turn their attention to Austin Peay, Horton is faced with preparing for a team he admittedly doesn’t know much about. Frantically compiling scouting reports however, is part of the territory of postseason baseball.
“That’s what my assistants just sprinted over to do,” Horton said. “That’s what everybody’s doing now. The good news is we’re not trying to figure out flights and hotels.”