Saturday Night was disappointing for the Oregon Baseball team as the Ducks suffered an 11-3 loss to Texas to kick off the Austin Super Regional. The loss pushes Oregon to the brink of elimination for the first time, and now Mark Wasikowski will have an even bigger obstacle to overcome. Part of what made the loss sting even more was the fact that the Ducks had every chance to make it a close game, and maybe even flip the game.
The fact that Oregon put 20 runners on base in the game is part of the reason not to write this team off just yet. Along with the promise at the plate, there's plenty to believe in as Oregon fights to keep the season alive for atleast one more game.
The 3 reasons to believe in an Oregon win in Game 2
Oregon sends the ace to the mound
Mark Wasikowski made the decision to start Cal Scolari in Game 1, which flopped as he was only able to deliver 3.2 innings while allowing 5 runs. If there's one bright spot from Wasikowski's decision, it's the fact that Will Sanford will take the mound in the biggest game of the season for the Ducks.
The last time we saw Will Sanford, he was incredible, delivering 6.2 innings pitched with 14 strikeouts while allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks. After Oregon walked a small army against Texas in Game 1, if Sanford can keep traffic off the bases while delivering length, the Ducks should force a Game 3, and keep the pitching staff intact.
The offense just lacked the big hits
The issue for Oregon in this game on offense wasn't reaching base, as the Ducks had 9 hits and walked 11 times. Instead, across almost every inning, the Ducks put runners in scoring position, but never could get that big hit to drive in runs, and really put the pressure on Texas when it looked like they could unravel. In Game 2, the offense is going to need to find hits in those big moments, and we've seen it all season long, which should be encouraging.
Texas' bullpen concerns could've cost the Longhorns for Game 2
Texas made the shocking decision to bring in their 3rd starter, Luke Harrison, out of the bullpen, and brought him back out for a 2nd inning despite the lead extending. Considering that Harrison threw 27 pitches, he's likely out of the equation to pitch a long outing in Game 2, and if he does pitch again, he likely won't start Game 3.
Ruger Riojas will start in Game 2 for the Longhorns with 70 innings pitched on the season to a 3.86 ERA on the year. If Oregon can get to Riojas early, it'll force Jim Schlossnagle to make some major decisions with his bullpen over to push for a win or to preserve arms for Game 3. If Harrison can't pitch because of wasted pitches in a blowout, it could end up swinging the Super Regional.
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