Will Oregon Baseball Defend Title in Final Pac-12 Tournament?

In Oregon's final Pac-12 Baseball Tournament, will the Oregon Ducks defend their 2023 championship? Oregon comes in as the number three seed in Pool C, along with number seven seed, Utah, and four seed, USC.

Oregon baseball coach Mark Wasikowski joins his team before their home opener against the Lafayette Leopards at PK Park in Eugene Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA

In Oregon's final Pac-12 Baseball Tournament, will the Oregon Ducks defend their 2023 championship? Oregon comes in as the number three seed in Pool C, along with number seven seed, Utah, and four seed, USC. The Ducks open play on Wednesday in Scottsdale, Arizona with a game against Utah—first pitch scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Oregon then continues with pool play and a Thursday game against USC also at 2:30pm. If history is any indication, the Ducks should fare well in these early games. They were 2-1 to secure series wins against both opponents in regular season.

Oregon baseball coach Mark Wasikowski joins his team before their home opener against the Lafayette Leopards at PK Park in Eugene Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA

Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski was proud of his team's performance as they head into tournament play this week.

"When you're playing your best baseball at the end of the year, that's a sign of a good club," Wasikowski said. "It's awesome to see the commitment of these guys. Excited that we were able to sweep, we'll see where the chips fall on what's coming in front of us. "What we know is next is the (conference) tournament, and we can't wait to go. We're going to win that tournament, we're not a participant." 

Pac-12 tournament baseball games will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network May 21-24, while ESPNU will air the Pac-12 Championship game on May 25th.

Oregon’s regular season was stable if not spectacular. Consider that they won their first five Pac-12 series and went 7-2 over their final nine games. Also note that the Ducks were in contention for the regular season title with a three-game sweep of the Washington State Cougars to end the regular season. Unfortunately, their late season run fell short as Arizona claimed the top seed with Oregon State in second place. That said Oregon remains confident in their ability to put together another championship run.

Players to watch over the next several days include true freshman and Thurston High (Oregon) alum Maddox Molony, who has a .368 batting average and a first-year program record 10 home runs in just 36 games played. Also, junior Jacob Walsh leads the Ducks with 17 home runs and sporting a .281 average in 53 games played. Mason Neville has had a hot bat of late, hitting four home runs in Oregon’s final series against Washington State, ending the season with 16 home runs in just 29 games.

Senior RJ Gordon (4.83 ERA) leads the pitching staff and has been Oregon’s Friday starter. Sophomore Grayson Grinsell is the middle starter (4.21 ERA) while Kevin Seitter is the series-closing starter (5.08 ERA).

Oregon also sports an outstanding bullpen lead by Bradley Mullan, one of the best relievers in college baseball with a 1.25 ERA over 36 innings pitched with 33 strikeouts. Brock Moore adds depth on the mound and has also been strong of late, sporting a 3.70 ERA with 43 strikeouts over 24 1/3 innings.

All-in-all, the Ducks are ready to defend their championship and secure a spot in the 64-team field NCAA tournament beginning next week.