Breaking down each team Oregon baseball could face in Eugene Regional
The Oregon baseball team was playing for this moment all season long and now it's finally here.
The Ducks (42-14) open the Eugene Regional at 6 pm on Friday against Utah Valley (32-27) on ESPN+. The Ducks' game follows the Arizona (39-18) vs. Cal Poly (41-17) matchup, which opens the regional with a 1 pm start. That first game is also on ESPN+.
Winners on Friday advance to play on Saturday at 6 pm, while the two losers meet in the first game of the day at 12 pm Game times on Sunday are at 3 pm for the loser-out game and 7 pm for the championship game. If an if-necessary game is needed, it will be played on Monday with a time to be determined after Sunday's action.
The winner of the Eugene Regional will play the winner of the Chapel Hill Regional, which features No. 5 seed North Carolina, Holy Cross, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Oregon Ducks
Record: 42-14
Head Coach: Mark Wasikowski (6th year)
Conference: Big Ten
How They Got Here: The Ducks had an outstanding season as they won the Big Ten regular season title going 22-8 in league play. The offense has always been there, but the pitching has come on late to make Oregon a tough team heading into the postseason. They're still looking to make their first trip to the College World Series since the program came back in 2009. While they might have had better teams in the past, this might be the deepest and most complete team, making it their best chance at making it to Omaha.
Record: 39-18
Head Coach: Chip Hale (4th year)
Conference: Big XII
How They Got Here: Arizona finished tied for fourth in the Big XII with an 18-12 league mark, but won three straight games, including a 12-1 win over the regular season champ West Virginia and a 2-1 victory over TCU to win the conference tournament and take the automatic bid.
Cal Poly Mustangs
Record: 41-17
Head Coach: Larry Lee (23rd year)
Conference: Big West
How They Got Here: The Mustangs won three elimination games in the Big West tournament and managed to win all three to capture that conference's automatic bid. They finished second in the regular season to UC-Irvine, the team they beat 6-4 in the championship game. This is just the Mustangs' fourth trip to the regionals and they have never advanced to a Super Regional.
Utah Valley Wolverines
Record: 32-27
Head Coach: Nate Rasmussen (1st year)
Conference: WAC
How They Got Here: In a fairly balanced league, Utah Valley finished third with a 13-11 record, but stunned everyone in the conference tournament to take the automatic bid from the WAC. The Wolverines had to defeat Abilene Christian twice and the regular-season champ, Sacramento State. Suffice it to say, the Wolverines wouldn't be in the NCAA tournament without their four wins in Mesa, Arizona.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
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