Oregon Baseball: Ducks Look for Strong Finish to Close Out Regular Season

The Ducks shot at the Pac 12 took a hit over the weekend in losing two of three to Oregon State, but Coach Horton’s club could still pull off a win in the Civil War – the season series with the Beavers is now tied and a victory on Tuesday secures somewhat of a moral victory for Oregon vs their in state rivals.

GoDucks.com

In the latest Baseball America Poll the Ducks drop to #11 and UCLA, who is tied with the Ducks in the Pac 12 Standings moves up to #8 after sweeping USC over the weekend.

Oregon still has a lot to play for and should be able to take care of business in the final weekend of the regular season at Utah.

The Ducks are on a roll and closer Jimmie Sherfy has an Oregon record 20 saves on the season. According to GoDucks.com the ‘rotation’ switch with Tommy Thorpe in front was a good thing and actually lowered the staff ERA:

Since Oregon changed its weekend rotation before the California series; the three starters– Tommy Thorpe, Cole Irvin and Jake Reed— have combined for a 1.84 ERA and the Ducks have gone 14-4 in those starts. All three have lowered their ERAs with Thorpe posting a 1.29 ERA after the change compared to a 3.35 before. Irvin has a 2.05 ERA in the six starts since the change was made opposed to a 3.11 before the move. Reed has a 2.23 after and a 3.75 before. Oregon was 16-8 in their starts when the rotation went Reed, Thorpe and Irvin.

Baseball is a funny game and has its ups and downs. Oregon should get back on track to close out the season and this upcoming Sunday is important as well:

(Update) The Oregon State game scheduled for Tuesday has been cancelled due to rain and will not be made up. This is not a good sign for the Ducks. They will split the season series with Oregon State for who reigns supreme in the State of Oregon. With Baseball America seeing the Ducks ranked 11th, there won’t be much of an opportunity to be considered for a Super Regional, although Oregon does have an outside chance. There is more likelyhood the Ducks will host a Regional next weekend at PK Park.

The 16 regional hosts and sites will be announced Sunday at www.ncaa.com/cws at approximately 6 p.m. The 2013 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Selection Show will be broadcast on ESPNU next Monday at 9 a.m.

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