Photo by: Deborah Mundorff
Ducks Continue Pac-12 Play at Utah Starting Thursday
03/27/17 | Baseball
Ducks play four games in five days in Utah vs. Utes and Cougars: Oregon heads back into conference play with a three-game series at defending Pac-12 champion Utah starting on Thursday. The Ducks own a 14-4 series lead over the Utes, with Utah winning two of three in Eugene last season to snap a six-game Ducks' winning streak. In the five years since Utah joined the Pac-12, Oregon holds an 11-4 series advantage while winning five of six games in Salt Lake City. Utah is off to a 10-11 start in 2017 with a Tuesday night home game vs. BYU. The Utes opened the season winning nine of their first 12, before dropping eight of their last nine. Five of those losses have come in Pac-12 Conference play against teams ranked in the top 25 at the time of the game.
After wrapping up the series with Utah, Oregon will play at BYU on Monday. The Ducks hold a 5-3 series advantage over the Cougars, with just three of those games coming during the modern era of Oregon baseball. UO swept a three-game series against BYU in Eugene in 2011. The Cougars head to Utah with a 10-11 record, including a 1-2 start in the West Coast Conference. BYU has won six of its last 10 games, including a three-game sweep of UC Santa Barbara, a College World Series team last season, in early March.
Oregon-Utah series televised on Pac-12 Network: This week's series marks the second straight week that Oregon's games will be televised. In all, 16 Oregon regular-season games that will be televised. The Pac-12 Networks, who will broadcast 15 of those 16 games, will carry the Utah series with JB Long calling the play-by-play and Wes Clements providing color commentary.
Oregon-BYU game available on both DirecTV and Dish through on BYU.tv: The Ducks game on Monday at BYU will be televised on BYUtv. The network is available on both DirecTV (channel 374) and Dish (Channel 9403), as well as on nearly 600 cable TV providers nationwide.
Horton closing in on 800 Division I wins: Head coach George Horton won his 300th career game at Oregon on March 11 when the Ducks beat Santa Clara 10-0. The Ducks skipper moved his Oregon wins total to 306 with a win at Portland on Tuesday while running his record to 306-201-1 in his first eight-plus years in Eugene. Horton, who has 1,022 career wins as a head coach, also needs just four wins to reach the 800-win plateau as a Division I head coach. Horton has compiled a 796-413-2 record in 19-plus seasons as a Division I head coach at Cal State Fullerton (11 seasons) and Oregon.
On Deck: After wrapping up a five game in seven-day stretch, the Ducks return home for four games starting on Friday, April 7. UO hosts UC Irvine in a three game weekend series, before facing Portland at PK Park on Tuesday.
Peterson's scoreless streak ends at 22.1 innings pitched, earned run streak halted at 25.1 innings: In his last four starts, JR LHP David Peterson has been dominant leading Oregon to four wins, three at PK Park and one at California. The Ducks' lefty, who is 4-0 in the stretch with wins over Mississippi State, Santa Clara Cal and No. 22 Washington, combined to throw 21.1 consecutive scoreless innings (22.1 including his final inning in UC Irvine game) on just 15 hits in the first three games with 39 strikeouts and only two walks. The streak came to an end when UW scored an unearned run in the top of the first in last Friday's 4-3 win. The Huskies eventually scored an earned run in the fourth inning to snap Peterson's earned run streak at 25.1 innings.
With the commanding appearances, Peterson has placed himself among the national and Pac-12 leaders in a number of categories. Nationally, he is in the top 21 in five separate categories ranking first in victories (5), sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (12.00), 10th in strikeouts (55), 18th in walked allowed per nine innings (0.94) and 21st in strikeouts per nine innings (12.91). In the Pac-12, Peterson leads the conference in all five of those four categories.
Peterson's 46 combined strikeouts the second best four-game stretch in Oregon history: Only one pitcher in Oregon history has been better when it comes to striking out opposing hitters in four straight starts than JR LHP David Peterson. The Ducks' lefty has combined to strikeout 46 hitters in Oregon's last four games with 17 against Mississippi State, 14 against Santa Clara, eight at California and seven vs. Washington. Peterson's total is three less than Tyler Anderson fanned in a four-game stretch in 2011.
Peterson's 39 combined strikeouts the best three-game stretch in Oregon history: While Tyler Anderson had more Ks in a four-game stretch, no pitcher in Oregon history struck out more opposing hitters in three straight starts than JR LHP David Peterson. The Ducks' lefty combined to strikeout 39 hitters in his three starts from March 3 to March 17.
Peterson's 31 Ks vs. Mississippi State and Santa Clara also best two-game stretch in Oregon history: In addition to his three game stretch, JR LHP David Peterson put together the most dominant strikeout effort in Oregon history in back-to-back starts. The Ducks' lefty combined to strikeout 31 hitters in two games with 17 against Mississippi State and 14 against Santa Clara. Peterson's total was five better than Tyler Anderson fanned in a two-game stretch in 2011.
Peterson named a national player of the week in back-to-back weeks, also earns first career Pac-12 weekly honor: JR LHP David Peterson was named a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks following his dominating efforts against Mississippi State on March 3 and Santa Clara on March 10. Peterson was also named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career following the Santa Clara game when picked up the win after holding the Broncos scoreless through 7.1 innings while striking out 14 hitters. Peterson fanned multiple batters in four of his innings, including striking out the side twice, and allowed just three hits while walking one. The week before, he earned the national honor after fanning a school-record 17 hitters over eight innings of a 1-0 win against Mississippi State allowing just three hits and no walks. Over the two starts, Peterson didn't allowed a run on just six hits in 15.1 innings while striking out 31 batters and walking just one. The two Collegiate Baseball honors gave him three for his career. He earned his first honor after beating UC Santa Barbara in the series clinching game last March.
Peterson strikes out record 17 in win over Mississippi State: In a dominating performance against Mississippi State on March 3 that resulted in him being named a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week, JR LHP David Peterson fanned a career-high and Oregon record 17 hitters in eight innings while giving up no runs on three hits with no walks. Peterson's 17 Ks bested his former career high of 13 vs. UC Santa Barbara on March 6, 2016, and was three more than Tyler Anderson's 14 vs. Long Beach State on March 4, 2011. Oregon's team record for strikeouts is 20 against Lewis & Clark on April 8, 1969. Peterson and reliever Kenyon Yovan combined for 18 against Mississippi State. They also combined for 18 in Peterson's next start with the Peterson fanning 14 and Yovan four.
Peterson anchors young Ducks' rotation: Oregon heads into the Portland, Utah, and BYU games still relatively inexperienced in the starting rotation. The Ducks have 59 combined starts on their staff, with Thursday's starter JR LHP David Peterson accounting for 33 of those. Friday starter SO RHP Matt Mercer has made 11 career starts with nine of them coming in the weekend rotation. SO LHP Cole Stringer, who has made five Sunday starts this year, made three mid-week starts as a freshman, including a win against Oregon State in a non-league game. SO RHP Isaiah Carranza started a pair of games as a freshman as well as the finale of the Fresno State series, while FR LHP Zack Noll has two starts including a loss to Washington on Sunday. FR RHP James Acuna made his first career start vs. Santa Clara on March 9. JR RHP Brac Warren, who is a key arm in the back end of the Ducks' bullpen, started one game during his freshman season.
Peterson in the Oregon record book: In his third season in the Ducks' weekend rotation, JR LHP David Peterson is already making his mark in Oregon's record book. The Ducks' lefty is tied for sixth all-time in career starts with 33 with Tommy Thorpe (2002-14), and needs one more to tie Jake Reed (2012-2014) for fifth. Peterson also moved into a tie for fifth in strikeouts with Cole Irvin (2013-16) with 197. Peterson should also move into the all-time innings pitched list soon as well. He needs just 19 innings pitched to pass Madison Boer (2009-11) for 10th on the career list.
Peterson ranks 10th in D1Baseball.com's list of top 100 college prospects for 2017: Oregon has a history of pitchers getting drafted since the return of baseball before the 2009 season. In eight seasons, the Ducks have had 24 different pitchers picked in the MLB Draft, including 14 in the top 10 rounds. JR LHP David Peterson could bring the number to 25 with a solid season in 2017. The two-year weekend starter at Oregon is ranked as the 10th-best college prospect in the 2017 Draft by D1Baseball.com. Peterson is one of seven pitchers in the top 10, and one of three Pac-12 players.
Peterson plays for Collegiate National Team: JR LHP David Peterson spent the summer before his junior season playing with USA Baseball's College National Team. The Ducks' lefty took part in a three-country tour that included stops in Taiwan, Japan and Cuba. Peterson made six appearances for the CNT finishing with a 1-1 record and 2.57 ERA in 14 innings pitched while striking out 13. He held opposing hitters to a .227 batting average.
Mercer gives Ducks a solid 1-2 punch at top of rotation: Pitching on Saturday's (Friday this week), SO RHP Matt Mercer leads Oregon's starters in a number of categories including ERA (1.49) and batting average against (.186). The sophomore, who moved into the starting rotation for the last four weekends of his freshman season, leads Oregon with five quality starts (each of his last five) this season. Mercer has pitched in the weekend rotation 10 times in his career and has given the Ducks a quality start in eight of those games. In his last five outings, he has a 1.09 ERA in 33.0 innings pitched and has allowed just four earned runs on 21 hits with 25 strikeouts and just six walks. Mercer ranks third in the Pac-12 in ERA and opposing batting average, ninth in innings pitched (36.1) and seventh in WHIP (0.91).
Mercer named Most Outstanding Pitcher at Tony Gwynn Classic, Matthews earns a spot on all-tournament team: A couple of Ducks earned some accolades in February's Tony Gwynn Classic. SO RHP Matt Mercer was named the tournament's most outstanding pitcher after holding Seton Hall scoreless through seven innings in an eventual 1-0 win. In addition to setting a new career high in innings pitched, Mercer fanned a career-best seven while picking up the win. FR DH Gabe Matthews was named to the all-tournament team after batting .571 with a .667 on-base percentage.
Freshmen make huge impact: A young and talented crop of freshmen are already making their mark on the Oregon baseball program. Ten freshmen, nine true and one redshirt, have seen action for the Ducks this season. Seven different freshmen have made starts with FR INF Morgan McCullough starting all 21 games. FR INF Spencer Steer has started 20 games, while FR INF/DH Gabe Matthews has 16 starts and FR C/OF Matthew Dyer (9 in RF, 4 at catcher) has made 13 starts. FR DH/RHP Kenyon Yovan has four starts while serving as the team's closer (1-0, 8 saves). RFR OF Braden Stutzman has started six, five in right field and one as the designated hitter.
On the mound, five true freshmen have seen their first career action. In addition to RHP Yovan, FR LHP Zach Noll and FR RHP James Acuna made their first career starts earlier this year with Noll picking up a win in one of his two starts, and Acuna leaving after four innings with a 6-0 lead in his lone start. Acuna did get his first career win in relief in the Fresno State series finale. FR RHP Ryne Nelson has made three appearances, including a pair of crucial scoreless eighth innings in one-run wins over Fresno State and Seton Hall. FR LHP Nico Tellache hasn't allowed a run in his first three appearances.
Yovan off to good start in quest to continue tradition of superb closers: It wouldn't be a stretch to call Oregon "Closer University" with the run of top notch relievers the Ducks have had in the back end of the bullpen over the last five seasons. With JR RHP Brac Warren working his way back from an injury, FR RHP Kenyon Yovan took advantage of the opportunity as the team's closer with a series of strong outings with the game on the line to lock down the job. Yovan follows four closers who combined for a 19-8 record with 78 saves and a 1.85 ERA in the last five seasons. All four were drafted in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft. Jimmie Sherfy started the run in 2012 and combined for a 7-3 record with 40 saves and a 2.22 ERA during his two seasons as the closer before being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 10th round of the 2013 draft. Jake Reed inherited the closer role and finished 4-1 with 13 saves and a 1.93 ERA before being picked in the fifth round of the draft by the Minnesota Twins. In 2015 Garrett Cleavinger went 6-2 with nine saves and a 1.58 ERA, and then was selected in the third round by the Baltimore Orioles. Stephen Nogosek was the latest Ducks' pitcher to excel in the role, finishing his final season at Oregon 2-2 with 16 saves and a 1.13 ERA before being drafted in the sixth round by the Boston Red Sox.
Yovan already in the top 10 in career saves at Oregon: He's only appeared in 10 games, but FR RHP Kenyon Yovan has already put his name in Oregon's career record book with nine saves. Yovan is tied for sixth on the all-time saves list with Scott McGough (2009-11) and needs two more to tie Drew Gagnier (2009-10) for fifth. Jimmie Sherfy (2011-13) is the all-time leader with 40 saves, 24 more than any other Duck.
Yovan leads Pac-12, fourth in the nation in saves: Heading into this week's games against Utah and BYU, FR RHP Kenyon Yovan leads the Pac-12 with nine saves while ranking in a tie for second in the country. Yovan has picked up saves in nine of his 10 outings, while getting a win in the other appearance. The Ducks' freshman, who hasn't given up an earned run in 14.0 innings, sits just one save behind the national leader who has 10 saves.
Warren named to 2017 Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List: Oregon JR RHP Brac Warren is one of sixty players named to the 2017 Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Warren (Rosebud, Mont. / Custer County District HS) spent last season in a set-up role for All-American Stephen Nogosek and finished his sophomore season with a 3.16 ERA in 25 appearances while striking out 34 in 25.2 innings pitched. During his career at Oregon, Warren has a 2-2 record with a 3.48 ERA in 42 appearances. He has come out of the bullpen in 41 of those appearances, while fanning 56 in 51.2 innings pitched. He has made three appearances this season and hasn't given up a run in four innings.
Susnara on Johnny Bench Award Watch List: JR C Tim Susnara is one of 85 catchers to be named to the initial list, announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. Susnara was also on the watch list during his sophomore season.
Balta chasing career records: In his third season on the field, JR OF/1B A.J. Balta already ranks in the top 10 in four career categories, while closing in on a number of others. Balta is fourth all-time in multiple-RBI games with 23, and needs seven more to pass Kyle Garlick (2011-14) for third. He is eighth in RBI (82) and needs two more to pass Guy Krause (1971-74) for seventh. He is also tied for 10th in career triples (7) and is fifth in hit-by-pitches (21). Balta needs one more triple to move into a tie for eighth with Mitchell Tolman (2013-15) and Earl Averill, Jr. (1951-53), while needing four more HBP to pass Mark Karaviotis (2014-16) for fourth. Before the season ends, Balta should also rank among the career leaders in at-bats, games started, doubles, home runs and walks if he continues the pace set during his first two seasons.
Ten Ducks on D1Baseball.com's list of the Pac-12's top prospects/freshmen: Four Duck juniors and three sophomores made D1Baseball.com's list of top Pac-12 Conference draft prospects heading into the 2017 season, while three UO freshman made the website's list of impact freshmen. JR LHP David Peterson is the fourth ranked prospect in the 2017 draft class, while JR C Tim Susnara ranks 19th, JR RHP Brac Warren is 21st and JR OF Jakob Goldfarb is 31st. Among the 2018 draft class, SO RHP Matt Mercer is the seventh-ranked prospect, while SO RHP Isaiah Carranza is 13th and SO RHP Jacob Bennett is 21st. Bennett will redshirt in 2017 after suffering a season-ending injury midway through his freshman season. Among the Ducks' freshman, 3B Spencer Steer is D1Baseball's 14th-ranked impact freshmen, while RHP/1B Kenyon Yovan is 24th and INF Morgan McCullough is 39th.
Ducks 28-18 all-time against ranked teams at PK Park: The Ducks continue their success against ranked teams at PK Park when they won two of three games against No. 22 Washington. In eight-plus seasons, the Ducks have played 46 games against teams ranked in the Baseball America top-25 and compiled an impressive 28-18 record in those games.
Pitching staff ranks among nation's best in six categories, including five top 15 rankings: Oregon's pitching staff has been dominant early in the season compiling a 2.79 ERA through 18 games with 200 strikeouts and just 48 walks in 187 innings pitched, while compiling five shutouts. The Ducks rank among the national leaders in ERA (14th), shutouts (6th), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2nd), strikeouts per nine innings (23rd), WHIP (13th) and walks allowed per nine innings (5th). The Ducks' staff is third or higher in all six of those categories in the Pac-12, including leading the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.17), strikeouts per nine innings (9.6) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.31).
Ducks' pitching staff's 27-scoreless innings streak ends at Cal, as does 45-inning streak without an earned run: Oregon's pitching staff had back-to-back shutouts against Santa Clara to wrap up the four-game series, and then held California scoreless for the first seven innings of game one of their series to run the scoreless streak to 27 innings. Cal finally snapped the streak with a run in the eighth inning, which also snapped Oregon's 45-inning streak without allowing an earned run. The Ducks started that streak with two innings against UC Davis on March 6, before holding Santa Clara without an earned run in all four games (36 innings) of that series and Cal to no earned runs in the first seven innings of game one. In all, 12 different pitchers (Carranza, Acuna, Kelly, Stiles, Warren, Peterson, Yovan, Mercer, Hobaica, Tellache, Stringer, Zwetsch) contributed to the earned run streak, with Warren, Yovan, Peterson and Zwetsch making two appearances.
Ducks have 14th-most wins since beginning of 2012 season: Oregon has put together a five-year stretch of wins that is among the best in the nation. Since the 2012 season, when the Ducks advanced to the Super Regionals, Oregon has the 14th-most wins (220) in the nation while qualifying for postseason four of the last five years. UO won at least 38 games from 2012 to 2015 before finishing 2016 with 29 wins. The Ducks trail only LSU, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Virginia, Florida, TCU, Oregon State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Miami, North Carolina and Louisiana in total wins.
Ducks will play 16 TV games: Oregon has 16 games scheduled to be broadcast on television with 15 of those on the Pac-12 Network and one on BYUtv. Four of the Ducks' Pac-12 series will be televised (Washington, at Utah, Oregon State, at USC), while four of their non-league games will be carried (BYU, Portland-April 11, at Oregon State-May 2 and May 11). All of Oregon's home games will be streamed on-line as will a number of the Ducks' road games.
Ducks play 20 games against teams in one of the preseason polls: Once again, Oregon headed into the 2017 season with a tough schedule. The Ducks will play 20 games against teams ranked in one of the preseason polls with 15 of those coming in Pac-12 Conference play. UO gets its first test against a ranked team when SEC power Mississippi State visits Eugene for the Ducks home-opening series (March 3-5). Oregon's next games against a team ranked in the preseason polls comes in its Pac-12 home opening series against Washington (March 24-26). Between April 13 and May 2, the Ducks play 11 games against preseason ranked teams in a 12-game span. The Ducks travel to Arizona, last year's national runner-up and ranked as high as seventh in the polls, for a Pac-12 series (April 13-15), before hosting Stanford (April 21-23) and Arizona State (April 28-30) in back-to-back series. Between the Stanford and ASU series', the Ducks travel to Oregon State (April 25) for the first of two non-league games against the Beavers. Game two of the Civil War is the Tuesday (May 2) after the ASU series. Oregon wraps up its games against preseason ranked teams with a three-game set vs. OSU (May 11-13) at PK Park.
Ducks' schedule features 15 games against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams, including two Super Regional teams and a College World Series participant: Whether you look at the predicted success for 2017 or achieved success in 2016, Oregon's schedule is loaded with tough games. The Ducks play 15 games against teams this season who advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year, including three against College World Series runner-up Arizona (April 13-15). UO also has three games against Super Regional participant Mississippi State (March 3-5) and three games against Regional teams Washington (March 24-26), Utah (March 30-April 1) and Arizona State (April 28-30).
Ducks picked eighth in preseason Pac-12 coaches poll: The Oregon Ducks were picked to finish eighth in the 2017 Pac-12 Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll. UO received 45 points, just nine points fewer than fifth-place UCLA. Oregon State is the preseason favorite besting Stanford by eight points, while getting six more first-place votes. The Ducks are coming off a 29-26 season that saw them miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five seasons. UO returns six position player starters in 2017. Offensively, the Ducks will be led by a pair of honorable mention All-Pac-12 Conference picks from last season. SR OF Jake Bennett led the team with a .312 batting average, while JR OF A.J. Balta led the Ducks in home runs (9), RBI (47), and slugging percentage (.455). JR C Tim Susnara (.268, 14 doubles, 24 RBI), JR INF Kyle Kasser (.266, 21 RBI) and JR INF Daniel Patzlaff (.239, 23 RBI) also return for the Ducks. The Ducks will feature a young pitching staff with only one player having more than five Division I starts on the mound. JR LHP David Peterson, a member USA Baseball's College National Team last summer, returns for his third season in Oregon's weekend rotation. He will be joined by SO RHP Matt Mercer, who finished the 2016 season in the weekend rotation as a freshman. Peterson finished last year with a 4-5 record and a 3.63 ERA, while Mercer was 2-2 with a 4.28 ERA in 16 appearances (five starts).
Horton named USA Baseball Coach of the Year: USA Baseball announced in December that Oregon head coach George Horton was the recipient of the Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year award after leading the College National Team on a successful tour of three countries that included Team USA's first ever series win in Cuba.
"George Horton is very deserving of being named the USA Baseball Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year," said Eric Campbell, USA Baseball's General Manager of National Teams. "His ability to handle the unique challenges of the summer tour while creating positive developmental and personal interactions with the players was first-class; and leading that group of young men to a series win in Cuba for the first time in our history was remarkable."
In addition to winning USA Baseball's coach of the year honor, the Collegiate National Team, led by Horton, was named USA Baseball's Team of the Year after winning the first ever series on Cuban soil. 2016 marked the first time a visiting team has ever won the international friendship series between Cuba and the U.S. The team traveled over 20,000 miles during the course of its summer tour, participating in friendship series in Chinese Taipei, Japan and Cuba. The team finished with an 11-7-1 record and its success led to Horton, being named the USA Baseball Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year.
Horton will be honored at the Golden Spikes Award and Rod Dedeaux Award Dinner, which is expected to be held June 29 at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles.
Dietrich, 2016 Collegiate Baseball Pitching Coach of the Year, joins Ducks staff: Shortly after joining George Horton's staff at Oregon, pitching coach Jason Dietrich was named the 2016 Pitching Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball. The current Duck earned the honor for the coaching job he did with Cal State Fullerton's pitching staff last season. Dietrich led a Titan staff that was dominant leading the nation in both ERA (2.22) and WHIP (1.04), while also ranking third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.32) and 26th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.5). Dietrich's pitching staff led the Titans to a 36-23 record, a Big West championship and a spot in the NCAA Regionals. During his four seasons at CSF, the Titans led the nation in one of four major pitching categories nine times. In addition to have to having the country's best ERA in 2016, Dietrich's pitching staffs led the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio three times (2013, 2014 and 2015), WHIP twice (2013 and 2016) and fewest base on balls per nine innings three times (2013, 2014 and 2015). In his four seasons with the Titans, Dietrich's pitching staff never finished with a team ERA higher than 2.89 or ranked lower than 11th in the country. In addition to the Titan's Division I leading 2.22 ERA in 2016, Dietrich's teams posted ERAs that ranked fourth in the country in 2013 (2.47), third in 2014 (2.24) and 11th in 2015 (2.89). Dietrich's pitching staffs at Cal State Fullerton also ranked no lower than third in strikeouts-to-walk ratio during his four seasons, while also ranking no worse than sixth in WHIP and seventh in base on balls per nine innings.
After wrapping up the series with Utah, Oregon will play at BYU on Monday. The Ducks hold a 5-3 series advantage over the Cougars, with just three of those games coming during the modern era of Oregon baseball. UO swept a three-game series against BYU in Eugene in 2011. The Cougars head to Utah with a 10-11 record, including a 1-2 start in the West Coast Conference. BYU has won six of its last 10 games, including a three-game sweep of UC Santa Barbara, a College World Series team last season, in early March.
Oregon-Utah series televised on Pac-12 Network: This week's series marks the second straight week that Oregon's games will be televised. In all, 16 Oregon regular-season games that will be televised. The Pac-12 Networks, who will broadcast 15 of those 16 games, will carry the Utah series with JB Long calling the play-by-play and Wes Clements providing color commentary.
Oregon-BYU game available on both DirecTV and Dish through on BYU.tv: The Ducks game on Monday at BYU will be televised on BYUtv. The network is available on both DirecTV (channel 374) and Dish (Channel 9403), as well as on nearly 600 cable TV providers nationwide.
Horton closing in on 800 Division I wins: Head coach George Horton won his 300th career game at Oregon on March 11 when the Ducks beat Santa Clara 10-0. The Ducks skipper moved his Oregon wins total to 306 with a win at Portland on Tuesday while running his record to 306-201-1 in his first eight-plus years in Eugene. Horton, who has 1,022 career wins as a head coach, also needs just four wins to reach the 800-win plateau as a Division I head coach. Horton has compiled a 796-413-2 record in 19-plus seasons as a Division I head coach at Cal State Fullerton (11 seasons) and Oregon.
On Deck: After wrapping up a five game in seven-day stretch, the Ducks return home for four games starting on Friday, April 7. UO hosts UC Irvine in a three game weekend series, before facing Portland at PK Park on Tuesday.
Peterson's scoreless streak ends at 22.1 innings pitched, earned run streak halted at 25.1 innings: In his last four starts, JR LHP David Peterson has been dominant leading Oregon to four wins, three at PK Park and one at California. The Ducks' lefty, who is 4-0 in the stretch with wins over Mississippi State, Santa Clara Cal and No. 22 Washington, combined to throw 21.1 consecutive scoreless innings (22.1 including his final inning in UC Irvine game) on just 15 hits in the first three games with 39 strikeouts and only two walks. The streak came to an end when UW scored an unearned run in the top of the first in last Friday's 4-3 win. The Huskies eventually scored an earned run in the fourth inning to snap Peterson's earned run streak at 25.1 innings.
With the commanding appearances, Peterson has placed himself among the national and Pac-12 leaders in a number of categories. Nationally, he is in the top 21 in five separate categories ranking first in victories (5), sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (12.00), 10th in strikeouts (55), 18th in walked allowed per nine innings (0.94) and 21st in strikeouts per nine innings (12.91). In the Pac-12, Peterson leads the conference in all five of those four categories.
Peterson's 46 combined strikeouts the second best four-game stretch in Oregon history: Only one pitcher in Oregon history has been better when it comes to striking out opposing hitters in four straight starts than JR LHP David Peterson. The Ducks' lefty has combined to strikeout 46 hitters in Oregon's last four games with 17 against Mississippi State, 14 against Santa Clara, eight at California and seven vs. Washington. Peterson's total is three less than Tyler Anderson fanned in a four-game stretch in 2011.
Peterson's 39 combined strikeouts the best three-game stretch in Oregon history: While Tyler Anderson had more Ks in a four-game stretch, no pitcher in Oregon history struck out more opposing hitters in three straight starts than JR LHP David Peterson. The Ducks' lefty combined to strikeout 39 hitters in his three starts from March 3 to March 17.
Peterson's 31 Ks vs. Mississippi State and Santa Clara also best two-game stretch in Oregon history: In addition to his three game stretch, JR LHP David Peterson put together the most dominant strikeout effort in Oregon history in back-to-back starts. The Ducks' lefty combined to strikeout 31 hitters in two games with 17 against Mississippi State and 14 against Santa Clara. Peterson's total was five better than Tyler Anderson fanned in a two-game stretch in 2011.
Peterson named a national player of the week in back-to-back weeks, also earns first career Pac-12 weekly honor: JR LHP David Peterson was named a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks following his dominating efforts against Mississippi State on March 3 and Santa Clara on March 10. Peterson was also named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career following the Santa Clara game when picked up the win after holding the Broncos scoreless through 7.1 innings while striking out 14 hitters. Peterson fanned multiple batters in four of his innings, including striking out the side twice, and allowed just three hits while walking one. The week before, he earned the national honor after fanning a school-record 17 hitters over eight innings of a 1-0 win against Mississippi State allowing just three hits and no walks. Over the two starts, Peterson didn't allowed a run on just six hits in 15.1 innings while striking out 31 batters and walking just one. The two Collegiate Baseball honors gave him three for his career. He earned his first honor after beating UC Santa Barbara in the series clinching game last March.
Peterson strikes out record 17 in win over Mississippi State: In a dominating performance against Mississippi State on March 3 that resulted in him being named a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week, JR LHP David Peterson fanned a career-high and Oregon record 17 hitters in eight innings while giving up no runs on three hits with no walks. Peterson's 17 Ks bested his former career high of 13 vs. UC Santa Barbara on March 6, 2016, and was three more than Tyler Anderson's 14 vs. Long Beach State on March 4, 2011. Oregon's team record for strikeouts is 20 against Lewis & Clark on April 8, 1969. Peterson and reliever Kenyon Yovan combined for 18 against Mississippi State. They also combined for 18 in Peterson's next start with the Peterson fanning 14 and Yovan four.
Peterson anchors young Ducks' rotation: Oregon heads into the Portland, Utah, and BYU games still relatively inexperienced in the starting rotation. The Ducks have 59 combined starts on their staff, with Thursday's starter JR LHP David Peterson accounting for 33 of those. Friday starter SO RHP Matt Mercer has made 11 career starts with nine of them coming in the weekend rotation. SO LHP Cole Stringer, who has made five Sunday starts this year, made three mid-week starts as a freshman, including a win against Oregon State in a non-league game. SO RHP Isaiah Carranza started a pair of games as a freshman as well as the finale of the Fresno State series, while FR LHP Zack Noll has two starts including a loss to Washington on Sunday. FR RHP James Acuna made his first career start vs. Santa Clara on March 9. JR RHP Brac Warren, who is a key arm in the back end of the Ducks' bullpen, started one game during his freshman season.
Peterson in the Oregon record book: In his third season in the Ducks' weekend rotation, JR LHP David Peterson is already making his mark in Oregon's record book. The Ducks' lefty is tied for sixth all-time in career starts with 33 with Tommy Thorpe (2002-14), and needs one more to tie Jake Reed (2012-2014) for fifth. Peterson also moved into a tie for fifth in strikeouts with Cole Irvin (2013-16) with 197. Peterson should also move into the all-time innings pitched list soon as well. He needs just 19 innings pitched to pass Madison Boer (2009-11) for 10th on the career list.
Peterson ranks 10th in D1Baseball.com's list of top 100 college prospects for 2017: Oregon has a history of pitchers getting drafted since the return of baseball before the 2009 season. In eight seasons, the Ducks have had 24 different pitchers picked in the MLB Draft, including 14 in the top 10 rounds. JR LHP David Peterson could bring the number to 25 with a solid season in 2017. The two-year weekend starter at Oregon is ranked as the 10th-best college prospect in the 2017 Draft by D1Baseball.com. Peterson is one of seven pitchers in the top 10, and one of three Pac-12 players.
Peterson plays for Collegiate National Team: JR LHP David Peterson spent the summer before his junior season playing with USA Baseball's College National Team. The Ducks' lefty took part in a three-country tour that included stops in Taiwan, Japan and Cuba. Peterson made six appearances for the CNT finishing with a 1-1 record and 2.57 ERA in 14 innings pitched while striking out 13. He held opposing hitters to a .227 batting average.
Mercer gives Ducks a solid 1-2 punch at top of rotation: Pitching on Saturday's (Friday this week), SO RHP Matt Mercer leads Oregon's starters in a number of categories including ERA (1.49) and batting average against (.186). The sophomore, who moved into the starting rotation for the last four weekends of his freshman season, leads Oregon with five quality starts (each of his last five) this season. Mercer has pitched in the weekend rotation 10 times in his career and has given the Ducks a quality start in eight of those games. In his last five outings, he has a 1.09 ERA in 33.0 innings pitched and has allowed just four earned runs on 21 hits with 25 strikeouts and just six walks. Mercer ranks third in the Pac-12 in ERA and opposing batting average, ninth in innings pitched (36.1) and seventh in WHIP (0.91).
Mercer named Most Outstanding Pitcher at Tony Gwynn Classic, Matthews earns a spot on all-tournament team: A couple of Ducks earned some accolades in February's Tony Gwynn Classic. SO RHP Matt Mercer was named the tournament's most outstanding pitcher after holding Seton Hall scoreless through seven innings in an eventual 1-0 win. In addition to setting a new career high in innings pitched, Mercer fanned a career-best seven while picking up the win. FR DH Gabe Matthews was named to the all-tournament team after batting .571 with a .667 on-base percentage.
Freshmen make huge impact: A young and talented crop of freshmen are already making their mark on the Oregon baseball program. Ten freshmen, nine true and one redshirt, have seen action for the Ducks this season. Seven different freshmen have made starts with FR INF Morgan McCullough starting all 21 games. FR INF Spencer Steer has started 20 games, while FR INF/DH Gabe Matthews has 16 starts and FR C/OF Matthew Dyer (9 in RF, 4 at catcher) has made 13 starts. FR DH/RHP Kenyon Yovan has four starts while serving as the team's closer (1-0, 8 saves). RFR OF Braden Stutzman has started six, five in right field and one as the designated hitter.
On the mound, five true freshmen have seen their first career action. In addition to RHP Yovan, FR LHP Zach Noll and FR RHP James Acuna made their first career starts earlier this year with Noll picking up a win in one of his two starts, and Acuna leaving after four innings with a 6-0 lead in his lone start. Acuna did get his first career win in relief in the Fresno State series finale. FR RHP Ryne Nelson has made three appearances, including a pair of crucial scoreless eighth innings in one-run wins over Fresno State and Seton Hall. FR LHP Nico Tellache hasn't allowed a run in his first three appearances.
Yovan off to good start in quest to continue tradition of superb closers: It wouldn't be a stretch to call Oregon "Closer University" with the run of top notch relievers the Ducks have had in the back end of the bullpen over the last five seasons. With JR RHP Brac Warren working his way back from an injury, FR RHP Kenyon Yovan took advantage of the opportunity as the team's closer with a series of strong outings with the game on the line to lock down the job. Yovan follows four closers who combined for a 19-8 record with 78 saves and a 1.85 ERA in the last five seasons. All four were drafted in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft. Jimmie Sherfy started the run in 2012 and combined for a 7-3 record with 40 saves and a 2.22 ERA during his two seasons as the closer before being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 10th round of the 2013 draft. Jake Reed inherited the closer role and finished 4-1 with 13 saves and a 1.93 ERA before being picked in the fifth round of the draft by the Minnesota Twins. In 2015 Garrett Cleavinger went 6-2 with nine saves and a 1.58 ERA, and then was selected in the third round by the Baltimore Orioles. Stephen Nogosek was the latest Ducks' pitcher to excel in the role, finishing his final season at Oregon 2-2 with 16 saves and a 1.13 ERA before being drafted in the sixth round by the Boston Red Sox.
Yovan already in the top 10 in career saves at Oregon: He's only appeared in 10 games, but FR RHP Kenyon Yovan has already put his name in Oregon's career record book with nine saves. Yovan is tied for sixth on the all-time saves list with Scott McGough (2009-11) and needs two more to tie Drew Gagnier (2009-10) for fifth. Jimmie Sherfy (2011-13) is the all-time leader with 40 saves, 24 more than any other Duck.
Yovan leads Pac-12, fourth in the nation in saves: Heading into this week's games against Utah and BYU, FR RHP Kenyon Yovan leads the Pac-12 with nine saves while ranking in a tie for second in the country. Yovan has picked up saves in nine of his 10 outings, while getting a win in the other appearance. The Ducks' freshman, who hasn't given up an earned run in 14.0 innings, sits just one save behind the national leader who has 10 saves.
Warren named to 2017 Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List: Oregon JR RHP Brac Warren is one of sixty players named to the 2017 Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Warren (Rosebud, Mont. / Custer County District HS) spent last season in a set-up role for All-American Stephen Nogosek and finished his sophomore season with a 3.16 ERA in 25 appearances while striking out 34 in 25.2 innings pitched. During his career at Oregon, Warren has a 2-2 record with a 3.48 ERA in 42 appearances. He has come out of the bullpen in 41 of those appearances, while fanning 56 in 51.2 innings pitched. He has made three appearances this season and hasn't given up a run in four innings.
Susnara on Johnny Bench Award Watch List: JR C Tim Susnara is one of 85 catchers to be named to the initial list, announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. Susnara was also on the watch list during his sophomore season.
Balta chasing career records: In his third season on the field, JR OF/1B A.J. Balta already ranks in the top 10 in four career categories, while closing in on a number of others. Balta is fourth all-time in multiple-RBI games with 23, and needs seven more to pass Kyle Garlick (2011-14) for third. He is eighth in RBI (82) and needs two more to pass Guy Krause (1971-74) for seventh. He is also tied for 10th in career triples (7) and is fifth in hit-by-pitches (21). Balta needs one more triple to move into a tie for eighth with Mitchell Tolman (2013-15) and Earl Averill, Jr. (1951-53), while needing four more HBP to pass Mark Karaviotis (2014-16) for fourth. Before the season ends, Balta should also rank among the career leaders in at-bats, games started, doubles, home runs and walks if he continues the pace set during his first two seasons.
Ten Ducks on D1Baseball.com's list of the Pac-12's top prospects/freshmen: Four Duck juniors and three sophomores made D1Baseball.com's list of top Pac-12 Conference draft prospects heading into the 2017 season, while three UO freshman made the website's list of impact freshmen. JR LHP David Peterson is the fourth ranked prospect in the 2017 draft class, while JR C Tim Susnara ranks 19th, JR RHP Brac Warren is 21st and JR OF Jakob Goldfarb is 31st. Among the 2018 draft class, SO RHP Matt Mercer is the seventh-ranked prospect, while SO RHP Isaiah Carranza is 13th and SO RHP Jacob Bennett is 21st. Bennett will redshirt in 2017 after suffering a season-ending injury midway through his freshman season. Among the Ducks' freshman, 3B Spencer Steer is D1Baseball's 14th-ranked impact freshmen, while RHP/1B Kenyon Yovan is 24th and INF Morgan McCullough is 39th.
Ducks 28-18 all-time against ranked teams at PK Park: The Ducks continue their success against ranked teams at PK Park when they won two of three games against No. 22 Washington. In eight-plus seasons, the Ducks have played 46 games against teams ranked in the Baseball America top-25 and compiled an impressive 28-18 record in those games.
Pitching staff ranks among nation's best in six categories, including five top 15 rankings: Oregon's pitching staff has been dominant early in the season compiling a 2.79 ERA through 18 games with 200 strikeouts and just 48 walks in 187 innings pitched, while compiling five shutouts. The Ducks rank among the national leaders in ERA (14th), shutouts (6th), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2nd), strikeouts per nine innings (23rd), WHIP (13th) and walks allowed per nine innings (5th). The Ducks' staff is third or higher in all six of those categories in the Pac-12, including leading the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.17), strikeouts per nine innings (9.6) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.31).
Ducks' pitching staff's 27-scoreless innings streak ends at Cal, as does 45-inning streak without an earned run: Oregon's pitching staff had back-to-back shutouts against Santa Clara to wrap up the four-game series, and then held California scoreless for the first seven innings of game one of their series to run the scoreless streak to 27 innings. Cal finally snapped the streak with a run in the eighth inning, which also snapped Oregon's 45-inning streak without allowing an earned run. The Ducks started that streak with two innings against UC Davis on March 6, before holding Santa Clara without an earned run in all four games (36 innings) of that series and Cal to no earned runs in the first seven innings of game one. In all, 12 different pitchers (Carranza, Acuna, Kelly, Stiles, Warren, Peterson, Yovan, Mercer, Hobaica, Tellache, Stringer, Zwetsch) contributed to the earned run streak, with Warren, Yovan, Peterson and Zwetsch making two appearances.
Ducks have 14th-most wins since beginning of 2012 season: Oregon has put together a five-year stretch of wins that is among the best in the nation. Since the 2012 season, when the Ducks advanced to the Super Regionals, Oregon has the 14th-most wins (220) in the nation while qualifying for postseason four of the last five years. UO won at least 38 games from 2012 to 2015 before finishing 2016 with 29 wins. The Ducks trail only LSU, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Virginia, Florida, TCU, Oregon State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Miami, North Carolina and Louisiana in total wins.
Ducks will play 16 TV games: Oregon has 16 games scheduled to be broadcast on television with 15 of those on the Pac-12 Network and one on BYUtv. Four of the Ducks' Pac-12 series will be televised (Washington, at Utah, Oregon State, at USC), while four of their non-league games will be carried (BYU, Portland-April 11, at Oregon State-May 2 and May 11). All of Oregon's home games will be streamed on-line as will a number of the Ducks' road games.
Ducks play 20 games against teams in one of the preseason polls: Once again, Oregon headed into the 2017 season with a tough schedule. The Ducks will play 20 games against teams ranked in one of the preseason polls with 15 of those coming in Pac-12 Conference play. UO gets its first test against a ranked team when SEC power Mississippi State visits Eugene for the Ducks home-opening series (March 3-5). Oregon's next games against a team ranked in the preseason polls comes in its Pac-12 home opening series against Washington (March 24-26). Between April 13 and May 2, the Ducks play 11 games against preseason ranked teams in a 12-game span. The Ducks travel to Arizona, last year's national runner-up and ranked as high as seventh in the polls, for a Pac-12 series (April 13-15), before hosting Stanford (April 21-23) and Arizona State (April 28-30) in back-to-back series. Between the Stanford and ASU series', the Ducks travel to Oregon State (April 25) for the first of two non-league games against the Beavers. Game two of the Civil War is the Tuesday (May 2) after the ASU series. Oregon wraps up its games against preseason ranked teams with a three-game set vs. OSU (May 11-13) at PK Park.
Ducks' schedule features 15 games against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams, including two Super Regional teams and a College World Series participant: Whether you look at the predicted success for 2017 or achieved success in 2016, Oregon's schedule is loaded with tough games. The Ducks play 15 games against teams this season who advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year, including three against College World Series runner-up Arizona (April 13-15). UO also has three games against Super Regional participant Mississippi State (March 3-5) and three games against Regional teams Washington (March 24-26), Utah (March 30-April 1) and Arizona State (April 28-30).
Ducks picked eighth in preseason Pac-12 coaches poll: The Oregon Ducks were picked to finish eighth in the 2017 Pac-12 Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll. UO received 45 points, just nine points fewer than fifth-place UCLA. Oregon State is the preseason favorite besting Stanford by eight points, while getting six more first-place votes. The Ducks are coming off a 29-26 season that saw them miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five seasons. UO returns six position player starters in 2017. Offensively, the Ducks will be led by a pair of honorable mention All-Pac-12 Conference picks from last season. SR OF Jake Bennett led the team with a .312 batting average, while JR OF A.J. Balta led the Ducks in home runs (9), RBI (47), and slugging percentage (.455). JR C Tim Susnara (.268, 14 doubles, 24 RBI), JR INF Kyle Kasser (.266, 21 RBI) and JR INF Daniel Patzlaff (.239, 23 RBI) also return for the Ducks. The Ducks will feature a young pitching staff with only one player having more than five Division I starts on the mound. JR LHP David Peterson, a member USA Baseball's College National Team last summer, returns for his third season in Oregon's weekend rotation. He will be joined by SO RHP Matt Mercer, who finished the 2016 season in the weekend rotation as a freshman. Peterson finished last year with a 4-5 record and a 3.63 ERA, while Mercer was 2-2 with a 4.28 ERA in 16 appearances (five starts).
Horton named USA Baseball Coach of the Year: USA Baseball announced in December that Oregon head coach George Horton was the recipient of the Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year award after leading the College National Team on a successful tour of three countries that included Team USA's first ever series win in Cuba.
"George Horton is very deserving of being named the USA Baseball Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year," said Eric Campbell, USA Baseball's General Manager of National Teams. "His ability to handle the unique challenges of the summer tour while creating positive developmental and personal interactions with the players was first-class; and leading that group of young men to a series win in Cuba for the first time in our history was remarkable."
In addition to winning USA Baseball's coach of the year honor, the Collegiate National Team, led by Horton, was named USA Baseball's Team of the Year after winning the first ever series on Cuban soil. 2016 marked the first time a visiting team has ever won the international friendship series between Cuba and the U.S. The team traveled over 20,000 miles during the course of its summer tour, participating in friendship series in Chinese Taipei, Japan and Cuba. The team finished with an 11-7-1 record and its success led to Horton, being named the USA Baseball Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year.
Horton will be honored at the Golden Spikes Award and Rod Dedeaux Award Dinner, which is expected to be held June 29 at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles.
Dietrich, 2016 Collegiate Baseball Pitching Coach of the Year, joins Ducks staff: Shortly after joining George Horton's staff at Oregon, pitching coach Jason Dietrich was named the 2016 Pitching Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball. The current Duck earned the honor for the coaching job he did with Cal State Fullerton's pitching staff last season. Dietrich led a Titan staff that was dominant leading the nation in both ERA (2.22) and WHIP (1.04), while also ranking third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.32) and 26th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.5). Dietrich's pitching staff led the Titans to a 36-23 record, a Big West championship and a spot in the NCAA Regionals. During his four seasons at CSF, the Titans led the nation in one of four major pitching categories nine times. In addition to have to having the country's best ERA in 2016, Dietrich's pitching staffs led the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio three times (2013, 2014 and 2015), WHIP twice (2013 and 2016) and fewest base on balls per nine innings three times (2013, 2014 and 2015). In his four seasons with the Titans, Dietrich's pitching staff never finished with a team ERA higher than 2.89 or ranked lower than 11th in the country. In addition to the Titan's Division I leading 2.22 ERA in 2016, Dietrich's teams posted ERAs that ranked fourth in the country in 2013 (2.47), third in 2014 (2.24) and 11th in 2015 (2.89). Dietrich's pitching staffs at Cal State Fullerton also ranked no lower than third in strikeouts-to-walk ratio during his four seasons, while also ranking no worse than sixth in WHIP and seventh in base on balls per nine innings.
