Quite a few Oregonians were in Boston for the Marathon and all of them are safe. We will get through this tragedy as we have gotten through many others as a nation. #BelieveinBoston

Oregon Baseball is Winning and Ducks are Being Rewarded

Oregon Baseball is now Ranked in the Top 10 according to Baseball America after a 1 game victory last week at Oregon State and a sweep of California at Berkeley over the weekend. The Ducks are 27-8(12-3 Pac 12) and sit behind Oregon State(28-6, 10-2 Pac 12).

The Ducks Offense was led this week by Pac 12 Player of the Week Scott Heineman. Oregon Sophomore Heineman batted .438 (7-for-16) with three doubles, three home runs, six RBI and five runs scored. The Ducks were solid on the pitching side as well this week.

Oregon Starting Pitcher Tommy Thorpe started the three game series at Cal(16-19, 5-10 Pac 12) striking out 7 in 7.1 innings and allowing 1 earned run. In Game 2, Freshman Cole Irvin picked up the win allowing four runs on seven hits in 5 innings. In the Finale on Sunday, SophomoreJake Reed notched the victory giving up one run and five hits in 5 2/3 innings of work.

Oregon Closer Jimmie Sherfy
GoDucks.com

It was also announced that Oregon Closer Sophomore Jimmie Sherfy was added the Diamond Sports 2013 Pitcher of the Year Watchlist. According to GoDucks.com, Sherfy is one of 41 players to make the initial list. The junior right-hander leads the Pac-12 Conference and is tied for third in the nation in saves with 11, while boasting a 2-0 record with a 1.11 ERA. He also ranks fourth in the country in active career saves.

The Ducks, on a five game winning streak, return home to PK Park this week and host UCLA for a three game set this weekend. Game 1 is Friday at 7pm, Game 2 Saturday at 7pm, and Game 3 is Sunday at 1pm. The first two games of the series will be on the Pac 12 Networks.

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Mark Lyons and Arizona will be moving onto the Sweet 16 with Oregon after defeating Harvard on Saturday. Photo Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

PAC-12 NCAA results from the weekend –

Midwest Region: HP Pavilion/San Jose, California
12 Oregon Ducks (28-8) 74 v. 4 Saint Louis Billikens (28-7/Atlantic 10) 57

Recap – Oregon continues to play the “little 12” seed that could taking out another opponent in convincing fashion. Damyean Dotson and E.J. Singler scored 37 of the Ducks 74 points against SLU. Dana Altman getting to his first Sweet 16 in year three in Eugene is impressive. Next up for Oregon is Louisville on Friday in Indianapolis.

West Region: EnergySolutions Arena/Salt Lake City, Utah
14 Harvard Crimson (20-10/Ivy) 51 v. 6 Arizona Wildcats (27-7) 74

Recap – Harvard had its feel good moment on the tournaments opening day defeating New Mexico. Arizona never let the Crimson feel comfortable in this game and took the drama out of this game early, Mark Lyons had 27 for the UofA. The Wildcats are back in the Sweet 16 and will make the trip to Staples Center. Next up for Arizona will be Ohio State on Thursday.

East Region: HP Pavilion/San Jose, California
12 California Golden Bears (21-12) 60 v. 4 Syracuse Orange (28-9/Big East) 66

Recap – Syracuse went 12-minutes without a field goal in the second half but California couldn’t make a dent. Mike Montgomery and the Bears end the season with a 21-12 record plus an NCAA win. Richard Soloman led all scorers with 22 points.

NCAA Bracket

PAC-12 NIT results from this weekend –

Kentucky Region: Ferrell Center/Waco, Texas
3 Arizona State Sun Devils (22-13) 86 @ 2 Baylor Bears (20-14/Big XII) 89

Recap – Arizona State took a 31-29 lead to the half but Baylor outscored them 60-55 in the final 20 minutes. Carrick Felix led ASU with 23 points with Jahii Carson contributed 20 points in the defeat in the round two loss.

Alabama Region: Coleman Coliseum/Tuscaloosa, Alabama
4 Stanford Cardinal (19-15) 54 @ 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (23-12/SEC) 66

Recap – After a close home win in round one the Stanford Cardinal went to SEC country to take on Alabama in which would’ve been a fun football meeting. The Crimson Tide led wire to wire in ending the season for Stanford. Chasson Randle led the Cardinal with 11 points in 35 minutes played.

NIT Bracket

Oregon Ducks This Week:

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March 7, 2013; Boulder, CO, USA; Members of the Oregon Ducks react from the bench late in the second half of the game against the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Events Center. The Buffaloes defeated the Ducks 76-53. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Oregon is among five Pac 12 teams that are predicted to be in the Tournament this week including Arizona, the 5 seed in the East(Washington, DC) playing first round games in Salt Lake City. Round 1 vs 12 Seed Bucknell. In the second round, the Wildcats could face 12 Seed Akron or 4 Seed Marquette. Staying in the East, Colorado comes in as the 10 Seed facing 7 Seed Notre Dame in the First Round in Dayton, Ohio. Second round could see the Buffs going against 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast or 2 seed Ohio State.

In the South Region(North Texas) 6 seed UCLA is rising and could face either Kentucky or LaSalle in the First Round in Auburn Hills. The second rould for the Bruins could be 14 Seed Harvard or 3 Seed Michigan State.

Finally in the Midwest(Indianapolis), Cal makes an appearance as 9 seed and takes on 8 seeded Missouri in Round 1. Possible 2nd round matchup for the Bears, 14 Seed Liberty/LUI Brooklyn or 1 seed Indiana.

Jerry Palm’s Bracketology from CBS Sports(their Bracket guru) has 8 seeded Oregon playing in Philadelphia in the first round against 9 seed Memphis. In Round 2, Oregon would face a play in game winner, Norfolk State/Liberty or #1 Seed Duke.

Of course, none of this is set in stone and is very fluid. It is just something to consider as we head towards Selection Sunday, which is this upcoming weekend.

Oregon needs to have a strong finish being as low as a ‘predicted’ 9  seed. Of course, tournaments across the country will likely have some upsets. The Ducks need a strong finish for themselves to build some confidence, and maybe for the NCAA Tournament Committee to show that they belong.

The Ducks did get some good news from the Pac 12, on Monday Head Coach Dana Altman was named Pac 12 Coach of the Year.

Oregon Ducks This Week: 

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