After Oregon beat Washington 9-0 to end the Ducks’ five-game losing streak Sunday, the relief was palpable.
“My shoulders are down and I’m not going to go yell at my wife and kids when I got home, and my food’s going to taste better,” Oregon head coach George Horton joked after the game.
Whether the win marks a turning point in the Ducks’ season is another story.
At 15-14 overall and 1-5 in the Pacific-10 Conference, it’s been a disappointing start for an Oregon team with lofty aspirations. While the majority of the season still remains, the Ducks will have to continue to make adjustments, or there could be too much ground to make up in the latter parts of the rigorous Pac-10 schedule for Oregon to qualify for college baseball’s postseason.
And while it’s difficult to point to one game as the catalyst for improved play, Oregon hopes they can carry over the complete team effort from the final game of the Washington series to the rest of the year.
“I hope so,” Oregon second baseman Danny Pulfer said. “I hope this is one where people look back at getting beat at home against UW really turned it around for us. I hope we roll on. We’re very capable of rolling on.
“It’s just staying with that mentality of hey this is game one, it’s not game 20, taking it day-by-day and winning each pitch, I hope we do that.”
Said Horton: “Definitely a good step. It feels good to have a victory, first one in the Pac-10, and maybe we can string some together. It’s not going to be easy.”
The Ducks will have a prime opportunity to win a second-consecutive game when they visit University of Portland
today at 3 p.m. While playing a team like the Pilots (12-16) out of the West Coast Conference may seem like a step down in competition, Oregon won’t approach it that way.
The Ducks have substantial evidence to back up their stance. Earlier this season, Oregon hosted the Pilots and lost, 5-3. In that game, Portland scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a commanding lead.
“The Pilots have been tough on us,” Horton said. “So we look at that as a significant challenge.”
This time around, the Ducks will lean on two-way player Ryon Healy for a better result. Healy, who is hitting .235 in 34 at-bats as a position player this season, has also made two appearances as a pitcher this year (0-0 with a 3.18 ERA) and will get the start against Portland.
The Pilots are led by freshman Turner Gill, who has been the team’s best all-around offensive threat. In 89 at-bats, Gill is hitting a team-high .348 and has a team-high slugging percentage of .494. He also leads Portland in RBI with 18. Infielder Matt Mardesich has been the Pilots’ best power threat, with a team-high 13 extra base hits and three home runs. Infielder Riley Henricks is Portland’s chief long-ball threat, with four home runs this year.
Portland’s probable starting pitcher for today’s game, Matt McCallister, has struggled this season, bouncing between the bullpen and starting rotation. He’s 0-2 with a 5.93 ERA in six appearances (two starts).
Oregon will look to take advantage with a second-straight strong offensive showing.
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