Charles Fischer

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.

4-3 Ducks after eight innings. Jonah Barkoff came in, walked two and was relieved by Devin Bell...who got another on base to load-them. A grounder scored one, and then he blew a 96 mph pitch to finish the inning. Gotta hold on!

4-2 Ducks after seven innings. Reliving Sanford was the usual Friday night starter, Collin Clarke. But Clark loaded the bases with one out, got a second out, and then was relieved by Luke Morgan, the Pride of Grants Pass, who got the third out and Oregon out of a jam. Whew!

4-2 Ducks after six innings. Wow...they brought Will Sanford in the for the sixth, and he got another 3-up and 3-down...but got some help from Jack Brooks in CF who caught a fly ball two feet above the wall to steal away a homer from the damn Trojans! Sanford is at 90 pitches...the seventh?

4-2 Oregon after five innings. When Will Sanford is on...watching him pitch is so much fun. He did the 3-up, 3-down again, and has put away 10 batters in a row! Yesterday, the Ducks stranded 10 runners in a game decided by one run...and now we just had a chance to expand the lead, but stranded two in scoring position.

4-2 Ducks after four innings! Will Sanford got his control back as he dispensed with the Trojans again...1-2-3. Ryan Cooney hit a grounder that should have been routine out at first base, but an overthrow got him to second. A groundout moves Cooney to third, and Drew Smith walks. Then Brayden Jaksa was sitting...waiting on the curve/drop-ball, got under it and lifted it high, and over the wall in LF and into the opposing bullpen. A three-run homer! Then Naulivou Lauaki does the same thing; he sees the curve coming, gets under it and crushes it over the CF wall! Finally...got the bats going, and the crowd loves it.

2-0 USC after three innings. Sanford had a great inning, but the Oregon batters have no answer for the damn Trojan pitcher.

2-0 USC after two innings. Oregon's Will Sanford gave up a leadoff triple, and the batter on third was sacrificed in to get a run. Then he gave up more hits, and another run. Meanwhile the opposing pitcher has mowed six straight Duck batters down.... Lovely.

0-0 after one inning. Oregon's Will Sanford did a wonderful 3-up, 3-down....problem is the the Trojan pitcher did the same thing.

It is only fitting that the last FishDuck.com article published is created by our own Jon Joseph. As always, it is chock-full of information and an interesting read. Good research, and good points made in the article...THANK YOU Jon! This is officially the last article to be published on FishDuck.com before the sale, but after the sale....articles will continue to be published, only at the new address of www.discussobd.com and we will proceed with our writers as before. (If there are surprises here to you--read the Pinned Posts at the top of the forum to get valuable information so you can find the forum next week after the sale) Onward!

Four new Big Ten head coaches come on board in 2026: Long-time Utah HC Kyle Whittingham at Michigan; long-time Northwestern HC Pat Fitzgerald at Michigan State; long-time Iowa State HC Matt Campbell at Penn State; and Bob Chesney, a coach with terrific success at undercard college football (CFB) programs, takes over at UCLA. To Reach Their Goals, Football Coaches Need an Assist