Charles Fischer

Amazing...

Winning the Big-10 Championships in Cross Country, Indoor Track and now Outdoor Track! Whew.

On the Tuesday after Oregon’s first depth chart leak, the opening line at most books had the Ducks at minus seven for the next Saturday’s road trip. By Thursday night it had crept to minus nine and a half, with a few books at ten flat. No injury news, no weather front, no breaking story. The number moved because the money moved, and the money moved because the public read the depth chart the same way fans on FishDuck did. What Line Moves Reveal About Vegas’s Read of Oregon

The Ducks have 10 Quad-1 wins, which puts us in the top ten in the nation for that stat. USC has one... The RPI at No. 16 is precisely what we needed, but any slip in the conference tournament could knock us out as hosting. You gotta be in the top-16 of the Playoff Committee ranking to host. We are in the best position we've been all season, but very, very vulnerable, IMHO.

Your first paragraph has correct assumptions. The Playoff Bracket and decisions for who hosts Regionals are not until after the conference tournaments, typically next Sunday. Thus you can be helped or hurt by what happens in your conference tournament. Oregon needs to play well to host a Regional, IMHO. Make it to the finals to face UCLA...and I think we're in. Lose prior to that....??

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2026 BASEBALL | @OregonBaseball Mabeus Walk-off Bunt Locks Up Series Win for Ducks EUGENE, Ore. — Catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus executed a perfect run-scoring bunt with two outs in the bottom of the 14th inning to give No. 16 Oregon a 6-5 win over No. 17 USC, helping the Ducks clinch a Big Ten Conference series win on the last day of the regular season at PK Park on Saturday. With Brayden Jaksa at third with two outs, Mabeus took the Trojans by surprise dropping the first pitch he saw about a third of the way up the third base line with the ball settling barely in fair territory. Jaksa raced past both the catcher and pitcher as they approached the ball, forcing a wild throw to first that Mabeus beat out for a walk-off RBI single. Jaksa set up Mabeus’ heroics reaching base on a one-out single before swiping second and moving to third on a Naulivou Lauaki Jr. ground out to the shortstop. With the win, the Ducks’ clinched the three-seed in next week’s Big Ten Conference Tournament in Omaha, Neb. The Ducks’ opponent will be decided on Tuesday and Wednesday when No. 6 seed Ohio State, No. 7 seed Michigan, No. 10 seed Rutgers and No. 11 seed Washington compete in the double-elimination portion of the tournament. Michigan faces Rutgers in the first round, while Ohio State will play Washington. The Ducks will be matched up with whichever team wins its first two games. Burke-Lee Mabeus with the Winner How It Happened: For the first time in the series, Oregon (38-15, 20-10 Big Ten) jumped out to a lead to start the game. A Ryan Cooney hit, Angel Laya hit-by-pitch and a pair of wild pitches put runners at second and third with no outs. Cooney came in to score on a Drew Smith ground out to second base before Laya made it 2-0 scoring on a Brayden Jaksa single. Oregon tacked on two runs in the second inning. Maddox Molony led off the frame with his 11th home run of the season for a three-run lead. Then with two outs, Cooney walked and moved to second on a Laya base hit before scoring on a Smith base hit to right field. USC (42-14, 20-10 Big Ten) cut the lead to 4-3 with a run in the third and two more in the sixth, but the Ducks answered with a run in their half of the sixth. Jack Brooks walked to lead off the inning before moving to second on a Gabe Miranda sacrifice bunt. The Trojans chose to intentionally walk Cooney and Laya made them pay for it, doubling into right field to score Brooks for a 5-3 lead. The Trojans tied the game in the seventh inning. After a costly Oregon error kept the inning alive, USC belted a two-out, two-run home run to tie the game at five. The teams’ bullpens battled over the next scoreless seven innings. The Ducks got a two-out double from Molony in the bottom of the seventh but stranded him. Oregon also stranded two runners in the 10th and one in the 11th. Oregon relievers Devin Bell, Jonah Barkoff and Collin Clarke combined to toss seven scoreless innings setting up Oregon’s 14-inning win. A day after picking up a 1.2 inning save on 23 pitches, Bell tossed a season-high four innings and 58 pitches while fanning a season-best seven with no walks. Making just his fifth career appearance, Barkoff struck out three of the seven batters he faced while giving up just one hit in the 12th and 13th innings before giving way to Clarke. Jonah Barkoff Clarke (6-3) got the win after allowing just one hit with a strikeout in his inning of work. Box Score Notes: Oregon assistant coach Jack Marder filled in for head coach Mark Wasikowski who missed the game while attending his daughter’s graduation from pharmacy school at Purdue … Smith collected his 200th career hit with the second-inning RBI single … Molony’s homer was the 36th of his career … Cooney’s fourth-inning ground-rule double was his 17th two bagger of the season, moving him into a tie for ninth with Jacob Walsh (2025) and Anthony Hall (2022) on Oregon’s single-season list … The game tied for the second longest game in Oregon modern era history, behind only a 17-inning game in 2011 against Wichita State … The Ducks are now 1-2 all-time in 14-inning games … They dropped a 1-0 decision at home against UC Santa Barbara in 2016 after losing to Washington 4-3 in 2011 … Sunday’s attendance was 3,846, running the three-game series total to 10,951. Up next: The Ducks open Big Ten Tournament play Friday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha (7 p.m. PT, B1G Network). Quotes: On the emotions through the extra innings… “It was hard going there for a while. What happens when you have a team that’s the way that we are, they’re really close, they love it here. They love being here. They’re going to try their tail off. This game is like chess; baseball is different than other sports. You got to relax, you have to stay calm, you have to let your body move the right way. When you overtry, it’s going to get really difficult, especially when you’re facing great arms like we face. I was pumped that our guys kept saying that we were going to find a way to get this thing done, and we did, and with things we don’t normally do. We had Brayden Jaksa with a great at-bat, it found a way, and he stole, which was awesome. Then obviously Burke-Lee Mabeus found a way to drag down to win.” On the performance from Devin Bell and Jonah Barkoff… “Those are Oregon kids and those guys just want the ball. It’s a testament to (Matt) Florer and (Dan) Straily for how much they’ve worked with those guys and what those guys have gone through in the fall to be prepared for those moments. (Devin) Bell basically said, ‘I’m coming back today and you’re not taking me out’. Jonah (Barkoff), even after his rough outing on Thursday he was a stud. All of our guys I thought, out of the bullpen, was the best pitching performance I have ever been a part of.” On Burke-Lee Mabeus with the bunt to win… “Yeah, that was definitely not the plan, but Burkes a really good bunter. He has proven that in his work. It’s a left-on-left matchup. (Sax) Matson had been dominating us, and he did that. It’s a really tough angle for him. I actually thought Burke-Lee was going to find a way no matter what, but in the initial play of it, it’s always what’s the best chance for us to win? What’s the best chance for us to score? The third baseman was playing back and when that opportunity came, I just look at it from a percentage standpoint, like how do we score right here. Worst case scenario, if he shows and it’s a ball it puts a little stress on them on the defensive side, it opens up a hole where Burke-Lee is flat and can hit a ball to the backside. I was good with all that and I’m pumped for the kid that he got it done, which is sweet.” Burke-Lee Mabeus On mentality going into his at bat... “I like it. We work on bunting every day for moments like that. We’re usually doing that in tight games and big games, so I was excited for it. I take pride in my bunting skills. I had a couple bunt hits this year and last year. I saw it and told myself to just go for it with no pressure and I was able to get it down.” On staying in the game both offensively and defensively... “It’s about staying with each pitch. You can get long-winded if you look into the future thinking about how many innings there are left or how much longer I have to catch. The best mentality that I try to tell myself to have is to stay present with each pitch and make sure I can make a difference on each one. As a prime position as catcher I’m able to influence the game so I just try to stay present.” On Devin Bell and Jonah Barkoff’s performances... “Those guys did amazing. Coming in out of the bullpen they set the tone for us as a team. There were a lot of shut-out innings on both sides and for those guys to stay competitive like they did, lead us and keep momentum going when the offensive side wasn’t maybe pulling as hard as we usually do was amazing. They kept us in that game for sure and arguably won us the game.” Jonah Barkoff On coming in out of the bullpen... “It felt great. The guys in the bullpen do a great job with us in making sure we’re ready. It felt good to come into that spot and compete. I competed every pitch and trusted my stuff. I believe that thinking kills confidence so I don’t think I just do.” On playing for the University of Oregon... “It feels great. It’s about playing for the university but it’s also about playing for the guys around me. You hear other guys talk about it but the team’s camaraderie is awesome. To have that trust and faith that we have in each other is great. While we all collectively play for the university we play for each other as well.” On winning back-to-back after a loss to start the series... “There’s no doubt about it that these three games have been extremely competitive and they even got chippy yesterday. After dropping that first game, there were some regrets, but we knew we were going to come out with the same fire, and we carried that momentum from Thursday into these last two games, and they went in our favor.” Devin Bell Devin Bell On the team wearing the “process” shirts… “Well, we like to go about the process the right way. Those shirts literally have “process” written across them, and it’s a big factor in our culture here. We were just trying to rally something together as we went in there and put those on and I think it worked.” On his highest pitch count since 2024… “It felt great, it’s been a while, but I knew I was getting cool with it. I just took care of business like I should.” On playing for the Oregon Ducks as an Oregon native with Jonah Barkoff… “I love my Oregon guys. I love this entire team of course, but it is super cool to see two Oregon guys go back-to-back there.” On how he manages to stay calm on the mound… “I think it’s the dugout, absolutely. I just stay calm under pressure and the dugout picks me up with the energy and that’s all it is.”

The announcers said it well...."neither team deserves to lose this game." True. USC relief pitching was a good as advertised, and Oregon relief pitching really came through in the clutch. The official game report will be posted by 10:30 PM...

Ducks win 6-5 after 14 innings! Collin Clarke came in for relief, and gave up a hit...and that was it. Brayden Jaksa got on base with a hit up the middle, and then stole second. A groundout moved him to third base... The most unbelievable....Burke-Lee Mabeus did a Suicide Squeeze...a bunt to the third base side as Jaksa was jetting to home. Infielders were too late at home, and overthrew first base and walk-off goes to OREGON!

Still tied....and Jonah Barkoff was superb again in the 13th inning. On to the 14 inning!

Shall we go 13 innings? Tied 5-5 after 12 innings, and I am amazed at relief pitching of both teams thus far. This time RS freshman Jonah Barkoff of Oregon came in pitched superbly to put the Trojans down.

Still tied at 5-5 after 11 innings. Oregon's Devin Bell gave up a hit, but made clutch pitches to keep USC scoreless.

Still tied at 5-5 after ten innings. Devin Bell was awesome, but Our Beloved Ducks stranded two on base...

Tied yet at 5-5 after nine innings. Oregon's Devin Bell had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, and got the Ducks out of it with a line-drive caught, and an amazing strikeout.

Still tied 5-5 after eight innings. Oregon's closer, Devin Bell, came in dispensed with the Trojans with a nasty slider that really drops.

Tied 5-5 after seven innings. Oregon's Toby Twist gave up a two-run homer... Looks to be a another tight game--what a surprise! Stranded Maddox Molony on second base...

5-3 Ducks after six innings. I guess Gosztola got tired, as he walked a batter and gave up a two-run homer. Toby Twist came in an thwarted the threat with some nasty curveballs. Jack Brooks walks, and Ryan Cooney was intentionally walked. Angel Laya got a big hit deep to RF and scores Brooks. Our Beloved Ducks stranded two in scoring position!

4-1 Ducks after five innings. Oregon's Miles Gosztola did come out, gave up a hit, but a sparkling double play ended the side! The Trojan reliever has been superb...damn.

4-1 Ducks after four innings. Oregon's pitcher, Miles Gosztola, fanned all three batters, and has 69 pitches. With the way he is playing--I hope he comes out for the fifth inning... Stranded a runner on second...

4-1 Ducks after three innings. Miles Gosztola gave up a solo home run, and dispensed with the rest. The USC reliever looks very good, and kept us from doing much this inning.

4-0 Ducks after two innings. Oregon's Miles Gosztola got in trouble with two runners in scoring position and only one out...but struck out the next two batters to preserve the lead! First batter....Maddox Molony blasts a solo home run! Ryan Cooney walks, and Angel Laya hits a liner to CF. Next we see Drew Smith hit a zinger to RF to score Cooney!

2-0 Ducks after one inning. Miles Gosztola is on the hill today, and he put down the Trojans 1-2-3. Ryan Cooney singled through the left side, and Angel Laya was plinked to give us two runners early. A wild pitch moved them into scoring position, and then Drew Smith hit a groundout that scored Cooney. Brayden Jaksa hits up the middle to score Laya! Finally....Oregon got to a USC pitcher early! And yes...the Oregon game will not come on the Big-10 Network until the UCLA-Washington game is done...and it will be as late as 4:00 PM.

It all comes down to this final game of the season for hosting an NCAA Baseball Regional; win and most say that Oregon is in. The boost in RPI should be enough to secure it. Lose, and we are a No. 2 Seed, and traveling. We can hope that Miles Gosztola has the same kind of day he had last Sunday, and that our relief pitching can come through. Well, that and let's score more than four runs! Miles Gosztola

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2026 BASEBALL | @OregonBaseball Underclassmen Help Oregon Even the Series EUGENE, Ore. — On senior night at PK Park, it was youth that was served in No. 16 Oregon’s 4-3 win over No. 17 USC in Big Ten Conference action on Friday. Freshmen Brayden Jaksa and Naulivou Lauaki hit back-to-back home runs to help the Ducks overcome an early Trojans’ lead. Sophomore Will Sanford dominated on the mound after a shaky second inning. The Ducks’ righty retired the final 13 batters he faced after allowing USC (42-13, 20-9 Big Ten) to score two runs on three hits and a walk in the second. Sanford (7-2), who struck out the side to start the game in the first inning, got the final out of his outing when Jack Brooks robbed Jack Basseer of a home run in the top of the sixth inning. With the win, the Ducks (37-15, 19-10 Big Ten) locked up a top-four seed in next week’s Big Ten Conference Tournament in Omaha, Neb. The winner of tomorrow’s game at PK Park will clinch the third seed while the loser will be the four seed. UCLA has clinched the No. 1 seed while Nebraska has locked down the second seed. Seeds five through 12 will start a double-elimination portion of the tournament on Tuesday with four teams advancing into the single-elimination tournament that starts on Friday. How It Happened: USC jumped out to an early lead, scoring two runs in the top of the second before Oregon turned to the long ball in the fourth to take its first lead of the series. After Ryan Cooney reached on a throwing error and Drew Smith walked to put runners on the corners, Jaksa belted a three-run homer into the Trojans’ bullpen to give UO the lead. Four pitches later it was 4-0. Naulivou Lauaki Jr. smoked his second home run of the series, this one 426-feet to dead center. Burke-Lee Mabeus celebrates with Braden Jaksa USC threatened in both the seventh and eighth innings. The Trojans loaded the bases against Collin Clarke in the seventh with a pair of hits and a walk, but Luke Morgan came out of the bullpen to get a pop up for the final out. In the eighth USC loaded the bases again and scored a run on a bases loaded ground out before Devin Bell fanned Andrew Lamb to end the frame. Bell then got the Trojans 1-2-3 in the ninth to lock up his 11th save of the season. Box Score Notes: Clarke made his first appearance out of the bullpen since his freshman season when he tossed 0.2 scoreless innings vs. Utah on May 5, 2024 … Smith drew a pair of walks and scored a run against USC starter Grant Govel (10-2) who had allowed just nine walks in 80 innings of work heading into the game … Sanford struck out seven in 6.0 innings while allowing two runs on three hits with just one walk … Oregon pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts … The attendance was 3,461. Up next: The teams wrap up the three-game series on Saturday (3 p.m., Big Ten Network). Quotes: Head Coach Mark Wasikowski On the overall team effort… “I’m proud of the team, bounce back day. We felt like we left some opportunities on the board on a really extremely highly pitched Thursday night. We felt like we left some opportunities on the table last night which when you have very few opportunities that are available off of a Friday night pitching performance that USC got against us, you got to take advantage of them. I feel like we did a much better job tonight of taking advantage of it. I thought (Angel) Layas unselfish at-bat to be able to advance a runner, and then them having to pitch a certain way to be able to lead another guy to get on base with a patient at-bat to lead to a bigger swing. I thought it was a real critical thing and the game probably honored the fact that we were playing simple baseball. I mean, how about this baseball series right? Packed house and two really tight games with two really good baseball teams and then we get to square it up tomorrow.” On Will Sanford’s performance on the mound… “I don’t know if it was 12 or 14 strikeouts but I know he went on a roll. It was pretty impressive, and it wasn’t a lot of contact at all until the last inning, where they got a couple balls, and Jack Brooks made a tremendous play in center field to rob a home run. I thought Will was really good and coming off of the last weekend he wanted to make a statement and he did make a statement. And to see Devin Bell come in and throw the way he did tonight I thought was a huge lift as well.” On the Freshman having an outstanding day… “The freshman got the big swings off with (Brayden) Jaksa and (Naulivou) Lauaki Jr. Both those guys hit home runs that were critical but there were some really big-time plays that the seniors did tonight. You saw Drew Smith playing electric defense and he had a critical walk in that inning that we put a crooked number up on him. I thought that was tremendous. You had Jack Brooks rob a home run in center field basically as a senior, he has another year of eligibility left if he doesn’t go pro. So, to see that and Devin Bell be able to pitch the way he did on senior day was pretty spectacular. The contributions from Gabe Miranda coming off the bench and he scalds a ball to right field; I just thought it was a very well-rounded team effort. Credit to the seniors in this program they’ve never not been in post-season play in their careers here. That’s something we take a lot of pride in.” On the message to the team going into the rubber match… “Win the game. We are showing up to win the game, you kidding me? This is great. If you can’t get up for the game tomorrow then you can’t get up. This is going to be a lot of fun. You can tell that the two teams are evenly matched and it’s a really competitive series, and we want to win this thing.” Brayden Jaksa On notable freshman performance... “All of us go out there with an approach and when you see other guys succeed it's the best thing in the world. We all put in the hours out there grinding every single day. To see Naulivou Lauaki Jr. go after me, it was one of those ‘is this for real’ moments.” On competing for postseason as a freshman... “I came to Oregon to win. I came because I wanted to play winning baseball and make it to Omaha and do what we can. Ever since I committed here, this program has been on the rise. Guys like Drew Smith and Jack Brooks came here and really set the tone. Since I’ve been here, I’ve been able to see how people work and get what they need to be successful. It’s fun to go out there every day and compete with these guys and push for a moment.” On emotions around senior night... “It’s a super emotional night. We really wanted to get the win for those guys. They put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this program, and it was fun to see all of them go out there. Elijah Cook and Josh Schleichardt got out there, and Drew Smith did what he did. All those guys are hard workers and to see them succeed and be around them is so much fun.” Naulivou Lauaki Jr. On mental focus during an at bat... “I’ve been in a couple situations where I am batting after a big hit, and you definitely have to take a deep breath. Luckily tonight I was a few pitches in, so it erased Brayden Jaksa’s home run from my mind.” On PK Park’s environment... “Being on the team last year and experiencing the big crowds, I visualized being in moments like that. PK Park is phenomenal and the crowds are electric. I’ve been in the student sections at football games, and I would say it’s about the same level of intensity that they bring here. I’m very appreciative of it, it’s great.” On mental preparation for tomorrow’s game... “Our coaches preach, it’s us versus the game, so it’s nothing too crazy. We need to keep playing our game. Preparation plays a big role, especially tonight. It starts with rest, but we keep everything the same. It doesn’t matter what color jersey they’re wearing, it’s just the game.” Will Sanford On bouncing back from last week’s performance... “It’s about not second guessing your pitches. There’s a tug and flow between innings, and it’s about not holding myself back. Every pitch I felt like there was full conviction and I trust my defense behind me. I’m not worried about a result, I just throw every pitch the best I can.” On his relationship with Burke-Lee Mabeus... “He’s been catching me well all year. That dude works so hard, and even when he gets banged up, he’s still getting me some calls and working his tail off behind the plate. It’s his mentality and how he goes to work. There’s no doubt even when he gets banged up, he’s going to get back in there and keep catching me the best he can. The personality he has to be able to talk to us and every single one of our pitchers is great. He has a great relationship with all of us and he’s a great catcher.” On Devin Bell’s performance... “It was awesome, like all our seniors. I love those guys. The work they put in is incredible, but it’s not just that. The leadership they have is what’s been helping this team a lot. With Devin Bell there is never a doubt in my mind when he comes in the game, he’s going to get those last couple of outs.”

Ducks win 4-3! Oregon's closer, Devin Bell got another save, as he blew pitches by Trojans to retire the side. Rubber match tomorrow on TV, on the Big-10 Network at 3:05 PM PST.