It will be quite interesting to watch this game, because the Bruins could lose their No. 1 overall seed with a loss. Oregon will want it more, and with the stadium clear of 'Husker fans....UCLA won't have the crowd with them as in LA recently.

If the Ducks play like today...

I'm curious about other conferences with a season-end tournament. Is there attendance as abysmal as it was for the Big Ten's games not involving Nebraska? And, even Nebraska fans didn't show up in great numbers?

I understand the stadium in Omaha is 24,000 and it will look empty. But geesh, it looked EMPTY all over on TV.

I can understand the proposed advantage of playing there for any B1G team that later makes the collegiate series and returns, but...

Attendance at Oregon home baseball games is poor until the last four weeks of the season, and very, very few will travel. Football? Yes, many will, Basketball? Some... But non-revenue sports like Baseball and Track generally have audiences primarily consisting of players' relatives, IMHO.

Yep, the background of the Washington game this morning reminded me of the Covid days...

Of course I am the least qualified fan to offer an opinion, because I think that conference tournaments in all sports are simply a scam to squeeze more teams into the Playoffs. But now that all the conferences have one--not much value in that. The team that wins the most games over a 30 game conference schedule should be the ONLY champion, and not have their accomplishment diminished by a tournament where another team got hot for a few days...

Far be it from me to express a contrary opinion, Charles, but consider this. A football coach I know of says that he wants his players to get better every day. Keep improving. Just maybe the team who wins the conference tournament is the one who improved the most during the season, so they are the best in May when they were not the best in March. So should that team garner the better placement in the NCAA tournament, playoffs, or college World Series?

59 minutes ago, Grandpa Duck said:

Far be it from me to express a contrary opinion, Charles, but consider this. A football coach I know of says that he wants his players to get better every day. Keep improving. Just maybe the team who wins the conference tournament is the one who improved the most during the season, so they are the best in May when they were not the best in March. So should that team garner the better placement in the NCAA tournament, playoffs, or college World Series?

I know what the system currently does, and what the usual arguments in favor for it are. I am simply giving my opinion that none of the conferences in any sports should be doing it, as it cheapens the value of the regular season. And no...a hot team for three games should not be placed higher or even equal value in performance to a team that played 30 conference games, as they do in basketball and baseball.

But what do I know?

My 2¢, I am for them just like bowl games. Give the kids all the time they can get being on that team and together with their teammates. It probably doesn't matter in the long run as teams rarely miss out on the post season due to the tourney. If they do, then they were a bubble team to begin with.

Yes, seeding might change a bit. But to the champion, you need to be hot at the right time and vanquish all the teams in front of you anyway.

It looked to me as if there was a lot of sagebrush blowing around the prairie during that game with Nebraska yesterday

0-0 after one inning. Nothing on offense, and Oregon pitcher Miles Gosztola was robbed when they erroneously credited a base hit to the Bruins, but it did not matter as Gosztola disposed of the rest.

0-0 after two innings. On offense, Oregon stranded a runner in scoring position, but we face a loaded pitching stable. Everyone is good, and we need an equal pitching effort to stay in contact.

As a result, we are seeing more "small-ball" plays because hitting homers might be more difficult today. The Duck's Miles Gosztola had a shaky start to the inning with a plinked batter and a walk, but the defense backed him up with what the Sportscasters stated as, "The Best Defensive Play of the Tournament."

Then Miles struck out the final out...

0-0 after three innings. Oregon is close, but not getting the timely hit yet. Stranded another in scoring position...

Miles Gosztola is throwing 94 mph heat that generates easy innings for the fielders--again.

1-0 UCLA after four innings. Oregon is getting on base, but not finishing...as yet.

Miles Gosztola gave up a run off of a great hit--it happens. The star center fielder the Bruins--Gasperino--was ejected for malicious contact. He body-slammed Drew Smith on a pickle at 3rd base, and threw an elbow as well. He has 19 HRs, so it could be an impact...

1-0 Bruins after five innings. Oregon is so close...but this time stranded bases-loaded. Aaaarg!

Miles Gosztola got a 1-2-3 inning...

2-1 Ducks after six innings. How about BACK-TO-BACK-JACKS?

UCLA brought in a reliever, Justin Lee, who had a very low ERA of 2.45 and I remember him shutting us down in our series in LA a few weeks ago. But Burke-Lee Mabeus took the second pitch and sent it into the RF stands! But wait....Naulivou Lauaki does the same thing to LF! Whew!

Collin Clarke comes in to relieve Gosztola, and gives up a triple, but strands him!

2-1 Ducks after seven innings. Collin Clarke got it done again for another scoreless inning!

Keep in mind that UCLA has won every game in this tournament coming from behind, and has an incredible record doing so. In the LA series...the Ducks had a 6-1 lead that was lost by our relievers...

Let's go Ducks!

yikes!!!!

2-1 Ducks after eight innings. Nothing on offense as the Bruins have superb relief pitching this time.

Tanner Bradley came in and put them down with the help of a double-play!

2-2 after nine innings. Bruins got a hit off Tanner Bradley to tie it up...

On to extra innngs!

2-2 after ten innings. Oregon gets a base runner, but not timely hits after that...yet.

Devin Bell comes in the stop the Bruins, but got assisted by another sweet double-play!

No. 1 Bruins slip by No. 14 Oregon 3-2 on a microscopic hit-by-pitch with bases loaded and two outs...in eleven innings.

The first video review was wrong. Ball in the third baseman mit when the the bag moved. Wasn’t a tie which does go to the runner.

And to decide a championship on such a weak HBP. Give me a break ump. Let the players decide the game.

That play at third was an out, imo. The bag moved after the catch.

ugh.

Just too close to reverse the 3rd base call. Remember, the bag only moves after the first touch.

While I agree with the announcers that there was some slight sound prior to the pop of ball in mitt, it was so lacking in the ring of contact that it could have equally been caused by the batter’s reactive motion.

Just a gut-wrenching way to lose. Feel for the team.

But, in the rear-view mirror now, and if the predicted regional odds pan out, this loss’s silver-lining might just end up being us going into a Westwood super regional with the chip on our shoulder rather than the other way around.