Charles Fischer

I would agree with that; the 5-Stars have not panned out that way. It seems others run easily past our players at times...

Absolutely. Mix the components of hearing how great they are for years, with the poor judgment of youth and add a bunch of money? That is a cocktail that is bad for anyone...

Maybe he has to be more up-front in the recruiting process..."My system has proven to work and put players into the NBA. If you cannot follow our system, then this might not be your cup-of-tea." "If you do not follow our system, then you will not play."

Look, I know it is early, but this is a GREAT START, and the Baseball team has averaged scoring 8.5 runs per game and are fighters who quack their way back in games! (It used to be that I could find this in the paper during the season, but not anymore! So I will start bringing them to us each week.) Again...a great start building confidence in a growing Softball program!

The Ducks have a chance to be in sole possession of first place of the Pac 12, or at minimum, tied for first after the second weekend! Yes it is early, but it is a great start, and one to celebrate!

I do think this is a particularly amusing discussion, considering I just finished a five part series of articles on the culture that Dan Lanning is going to bring to Oregon, and how it is different than what we currently have. I believe it is a very relevant discussion, as do the majority that are reading here.

Ducks win the third game 7-2 with more information coming!

I will politely disagree as well; the culture of Mark Helfrich, Mario Cristobal and Dan Lanning are all quite different. And, per-our-rules...everybody is entitled to express their opinion here, and in fact I WANT to see all opinions on all topics. We do not tell others what to discuss or not...

So MUCH better than what we've had for...at least five years. (IMHO!)

While I did not comment in the thread....I was surprised to see statements of "Expectations" of what Phil "bought" for Oregon? You cannot buy a championship; yes, you need talent, but the talent has to listen to coaching. It was not a losing year in basketball, but not one up to the fans expectations. It happens some years that way....

Crew is not an NCAA Mens sport; it is club sport. For the Women...it is an NCAA sport, and they do have a championship in it. The Huskies have eight National Championships, all by the women. Oregon has 34 National Championships...

Ducks Rally With Five Runs in the Eighth to Clinch Series EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon scored five runs in the eighth inning to rally from a three-run deficit in an 8-6 win over Utah on Saturday at PK Park. The Ducks (12-6, 4-1 Pac-12) clinched the series with the win after beating the Utes (11-6-1, 2-3 Pac-12) 11-4 on Friday night in game one of the series. How It Happened: Brennan Milone gave Oregon an early 1-0 lead homering in the bottom of the first inning, his second round tripper in as many days. Utah rallied with three runs in the top of the third to take the lead. After a two-out throwing error, the Utes strung together a walk and three straight hits to plate three and take a 3-1 lead. It stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth when Gavin Grant reached with on a base hit to set up Tanner Smith, who ripped a two-run homer over the right-center field wall to tie the game. Utah answered scoring a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to take a three-run lead, but it wasn’t enough. Anthony Hall and Sam Novitske started the eighth-inning rally with one-out walks. Pinch-hitter Josiah Cromwick loaded the bases with a hit-by-pitch on a no-ball, two-strike pitch. Grant cut the lead to two with a RBI single to left field scoring Hall. Smith followed with a two-run single to tie the game, before Shade gave the Ducks the lead with a sacrifice fly. Milone doubled driving in Smith for a two-run Duck lead. All-American closer Kolby Somers came in to get the final three outs and notch his second save of the season. Box Score Notes: Matt Dallas picked up his first career win as a Duck, tossing a scoreless eighth … Dallas allowed a leadoff double in the inning, but pitched out of the jam without allowing a run … Milone homered in consecutive games for the second time this season … He had homers in games one and two against St. John’s … Smith (2-for-5, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R) had his ninth multi-hit game of the season and his first multiple-RBI game … His career totals are now 46-multi-hit and 16 multi-RBI games … He tied KC Serna (2009-11) for the eighth most multi-hit games in school history … Milone (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R) had multiple hits for the eighth time this season and the second in the series … Shade (2-for-4) also had his second multiple-hit game in the series and his ninth of the season … Grant had his sixth multi-hit game of the season and the 17th of his career … Grant also had his third multiple-RBI game of the year and the sixth of his career … Oregon has won 11 straight against Utah. Up Next: Oregon will look for the series sweep on Sunday with an 11:05 first pitch. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Oregon and Pac-12 Mountain.

Ducks Score Four in the Seventh to Sweep Utah SALT LAKE CITY – No. 11 Oregon scored four times in the seventh inning of game two to sweep a doubleheader from Utah Saturday at Dumke Family Softball Stadium. Following an 8-2 win in the first game, the Ducks rallied from three down in the final inning to defeat the Utes, 7-6, in game two and win their first Pac-12 series of the year, two-games-to-one. “Every time we’re playing a Pac-12 series, we’re playing a super-regional,” said coach Melyssa Lombardi. “This weekend was our first super-regional. So to be able to go on the road and take two was huge.” Both Jasmine Williams and Paige Sinicki were 3-for-7 with three RBI on Saturday. Sinicki had a clutch two-out RBI that gave Oregon (21-4, 2-1) the lead in the seventh inning of game two. “Paige is just gritty,” said Allee Bunker, who belted her sixth home run of the season prior to Sinicki’s hit. “She is probably the most gritty person on the team. ‘”She just consistently puts up a fight every at bat no matter the situation,” said Bunker. “I just know when she gets up in those situations, she’s going to put a ball in play somewhere and give us a chance to win.” How it Happened (Game 1): Utah (16-13, 1-2) got on the board first with a run in the third, but the Ducks scored twice in the fourth and fifth innings to pull away before adding three runs in the seventh. In the top of the fourth, Williams tripled to score Ariel Carlson, who doubled earlier in the inning. Hannah Galey then dropped down a perfect bunt single to bring Williams home, giving the Ducks a 2-1 lead. “What I love about Jas is she’s so versatile,” said Lombardi. “We have her in the infield and the outfield, but any time we call upon her she’s ready to go.” With two runners on and two outs in the top of the fifth, Sinicki came up with a clutch single to score both runners for a 4-1 Duck lead. The Utes cut the lead to 4-2 on a home run in the bottom of the fifth, but Raegan Breedlove came out of the pen to induce a 5-3 double play followed by a fly out to left field to end the threat. In the sixth, Rachel Cid walked and Bunker sent Cid to third with a single that extended her hitting streak to 14 games. Hanna Delgado then hit a RBI single up the middle that scored Cid. The Ducks put the game away in the seventh thanks to a three-run home run by Allison Benning. Williams got things going with a two-out double before Tehya Bird drew a walk on four balls. Benning then drilled an 0-2 pitch over the fence in right field for an 8-2 lead. It was the first career home run for Benning. “I’m so excited for Allison having the opportunity to do that – just taking a big hack and getting that home run,” said Sinicki. Breedlove gave up just one hit in three innings to earn her first save of the season. How it Happened (Game 2): KK Humphreys staked the Ducks to a 1-0 lead with her fifth home run of the season in the first inning. The lead was short-lived as the Utes scored four times in the bottom of the first. Oregon cut the lead to a run in the second inning when Sinicki singled and Williams sent a 1-2 pitch over the wall in left center for her first home run of the season. Utah countered with two more runs in the bottom of the second and led 6-3 going into the seventh inning. Cid led off the frame with a double and scored on Benning’s RBI single down the left field line to make it 6-4 Utah. Bunker then delivered one of her biggest hits of the season, a two-run homer that just cleared the wall in left center to tie the game at 6-6. “Here I am year four and I’ve been in these types of situations many times,” said Bunker. “As a veteran, I think it’s my role to perform in those big situations.” After Bunker’s homer, Delgado tripled to right field. With two outs, Sinicki fouled off two 0-2 pitches before dropping a double down the right field line to score Delgado with the winning run. “It’s awesome that we could just keep passing the bat and we’re going to keep fighting to get those runs in,” said Sinicki. “In that moment I was trying to at least get something in play and it ended up finding a hole and I’m super-happy about it.” Utah got its first two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, but Stevie Hansen induced two fly balls around a strikeout to seal the win. “That’s really tough and I think that goes to show you how tough this team is and the fight we will show throughout the rest of the season,” said Bunker. Noteworthy: Bunker’s homer in the second game extended her hitting streak to 15 games. With hits in both games, Delgado now has an 11-game hitting streak. In two pinch-hitting appearances, Benning was 2-for-2 with four RBI. Hansen was the winning pitcher in both games and is now 6-0 on the season. Kai Luschar got her first hit of the season, a pinch-hit double in the fourth inning of game two. Vallery Wong threw out her fifth runner of the year in the fourth inning of game two. Oregon and Utah played a doubleheader to complete their three-game series on Saturday because of a weather front expected to hit Salt Lake City Sunday. Quotable Head Coach Melyssa Lombardi “What I really liked about our team is we came into this day going ‘were going to find a way to get two.’ We didn’t know exactly what it was going to look like, but we were locked in to find a way to walk away with two wins.” On Deck: The Ducks have Sunday off before playing at BYU Monday at 3 p.m. Pacific.

This is not macho football information, but it is the stuff of life.

More details to follow, and thank goodness softball and baseball could rescue the day today for Our Beloved Ducks!

We needed some good news today!

The “Prodigal Duckling” returns!

Down 0-3 last night to come back to win 11-4, and down 3-6 today to start the eighth inning, and the Ducks put up five runs in the bottom of the eighth. Duck closer Kolby Somers, the pride of Hillsboro, shut down the Utes in the top of the ninth for the save and the 8-6 win! Bring out the brooms, and let’s go for a sweep tomorrow! 11:00 AM Start! Recap: Oregon baseball uses five-run eighth inning to defeat Utah 8-6 in Eugene PAC-12.COM Oregon baseball defeats Utah by a final score of 8-6 on Saturday, March 19 in Eugene. The Ducks improve to 12-6 overall and 4-1 in Pac-12 play, while the Utes fall to 11-6-1 and 2-3 in conference... Above is a summary video with highlights from the Pac-12 Network!

Stevie Hansen got the win and Raegan Breedlove got the save!

C'mon Ducks!

In retrospect, I recall that coach and others explaining of how the Oregon coaching staff would have "open" times in February where you could come by and visit, and the Coaches Clinic was in March. Perhaps that got moved to March/April and his post on the other site was about his recent visit? I have no explanation...since I cannot attend them anymore. However I will yield to your proof...:)

I think what Axel wrote and this thread was FAR more entertaining than the game itself! Thanks to all...

Well, a coach I know wrote about it on another site, so…?

When I see players batting and pitching SO MUCH better than last year, when they were occasional contributors last year and now they are a star? Some GREAT player development and coaching taking place! This batting is the opposite of what we saw from George Horton, and this was best start to a season by Utah in 30 years. Oregon took on their best pitcher and prevailed! Now if the Ducks could get their starting pitchers established and rolling--it would be ideal!

Thanks!