Oregon Baseball Advances to Super Regional With Win Over UCSB

Dominant pitching and consistent hitting propel Oregon Ducks to a win over UCSB, advancing to the Super Regional After Pac-12 Tournament scare.

May 31, 2024; Santa Barbara, CA, USA; Oregon outfielder Bryce Boettcher (28, R) celebrates with second baseman Drew Smith (17) after defeating San Diego 5-4 in extra innings of an NCAA Baseball Santa Barbara Regional game at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

EUGENE - Oregon baseball is headed right back to the NCAA Super Regionals.

The Ducks will appear in their second consecutive super regional following a smooth 3-0 win over West Coast baseball power UC Santa Barbara. Fans may have been concerned after a less-than-stellar showing in the Pac-12 Tournament, but the UO has proven they belong with the best programs in the country as they went undefeated through the Santa Barbara Regional.

Oregon bested San Diego 5-4 on Friday before a nail-biting 2-1 victory over UCSB on Saturday. This put the Ducks one win away from surviving the tournament, and Sunday’s 3-0 effort pushed Oregon on to the next round.

May 31, 2024; Santa Barbara, CA, USA; Oregon outfielder Bryce Boettcher (28, R) celebrates with second baseman Drew Smith (17) after defeating San Diego 5-4 in extra innings of an NCAA Baseball Santa Barbara Regional game at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

The Ducks improved to 40-18 with Sunday’s win, one of the best marks in program history. After failing to secure a home regional tournament, many were concerned that a strong season from the Ducks would fizzle out in Santa Barbara, but the team showed both its depth of talent and resolve in three consecutive wins.

Drew Smith got Oregon on the board in the first inning with a left-field single that brought in Mason Neville for the run. Smith has been one of Oregon’s best contact batters this season with a .314 AVG to go along with 27 RBI and he came in clutch throughout the regional.

After three scoreless innings, Neville brought in Bryce Boettcher on a line drive single over second base. Neville is another of Oregon’s many quality batters as he’s recorded a remarkable 16 home runs this season.

A sixth-inning solo home run from Jacob Walsh effectively put the game on ice as the team’s best power hitter drove home his 18th home run of the year.

Oregon’s pitching was outstanding on Sunday as senior Kevin Seitter threw a complete game, holding the UCSB Gauchos scoreless through nine innings. Seitter surrendered just four hits in one of the Ducks’ best pitching efforts of the season.

Oregon now heads to College Station to face No. 3 national seed Texas A&M. The best-of-three series will determine who advances to Omaha for the College World Series.

Oregon clinches a Super Regional berth behind Kevin Seitter’s four-hit shoutout! 🦆

Highlights ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/TardnhfLhI

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) June 3, 2024