Oregon's Big Ten Tournament championship loss is the latest in long list of heartbreaks

The Oregon Baseball team went through a thrilling Saturday, beating Washington and Nebraska in order to book a date with the Nation's top-seeded UCLA Bruins for the Big Ten Tournament Championship. Two weeks ago, the Ducks dropped the series against the Bruins 2 games to 1, but the way that Oregon played in the series likely gave the team confidence heading into this matchup.

The series two weeks ago was filled with emotions and a ton of hits, but the start to the Big Ten Tournament was a pitcher's duel. Angel Cervantes took the mound for the Bruins while Oregon turned to Miles Gosztola in the pivotal clash.

After Gosztola hit the leadoff batter and walked another to start the 2nd inning, UCLA looked to turn to small ball to put the pressure on Oregon. Instead of putting two runners in scoring position, Oregon took two off the bases as the Ducks executed the "wheel play" to perfection to turn a double play leading to a scoreless inning.

The UCLA Bruins finally started the scoring in the bottom of the 4th inning as a leadoff walk to Payton Brennan proved costly when Will Gasparino tripled down the line in left. That triple may have been more costly for UCLA as Gasparino would get caught in a rundown for the second out of the inning, and was ejected for contact with malicious intent in his attempt to get back to 3rd base which means the Bruins will be without one of their biggest stars to start regionals.

The Ducks had a chance to instantly get the run back in the top of the 5th loading the bases with two outs, but Brayden Jaksa grounded out to Roch Cholowsky who was bailed out by an incredible play by UCLA 1st baseman Mulivai Levu.

Burke-Lee Mabeus and Junior Lauaki power Oregon before 9th inning let down

In the 6th inning, Oregon's home run parade finally resumed as Burke-Lee Mabeues sent a blast to right field tying the game at 1-1.

After Mabeus tied the game Junior Lauaki blasted a back-to-back home run into the stands in left center to give the Ducks the lead.

Following back-to-back big blasts, the Ducks turned to small ball as Maddox Molony worked a walk which allowed Brooks to bunt him into scoring position, but the Ducks were unable to stretch the lead.

The bottom of the 6th inning brought Gosztola's day to an end, turning the game over to Collin Clarke after he was a key piece of the drama in the regular season series. A 1-out triple to left field could've proved costly, but Clarke struck one Bruin out before forcing a fly out to eliminate the threat.

In the bottom of the 7th, Oregon avoided a game tying home run by Phoenix Call by the slimmest of margins as the ball drifted just foul allowing Clarke to post two scoreless innings. Tanner Bradley then took the ball in the 8th, hitting Cholowsky with a pitch before striking out Levu who walked two games off this weekend which felt like a major out for the Ducks setting up for an inning ending double play.

The bottom of the 9th started in scary fashion as Bradley issued a walk, allowing the Bruins to bunt the tying run into scoring position. After the bunt out, Bradley rebounded perfectly with a beautiful strikeout to move the Ducks within an out of winning the Tournament. Just when Oregon fans thought the win was within reach, the UCLA magic continued with a game-tying liner to right field.

Controversial ending costs Oregon in extra innings

After being an out away from winning, the Ducks' offense had to rebound quickly to start extra innings. Easton Hawk showed no signs of fatigue with all the work he's put in thus far, shutting the Ducks down in the top of the 10th. Luckily, Oregon still had closer Devin Bell at its disposal, and he got a ton of help from his defense as Drew Smith snagged Levu's liner to double up Cholowsky and shut down UCLA's deadly top 3.

Oregon looked to scratch a run across in the 11th inning, but Easton Hawk continued to look untouchable with his 3rd shutdown inning. Bell returned for the 11th inning, and quickly found himself in trouble, allowing a pair of singles to start the inning. The Ducks took a risk on a bunt back to Bell, trying to cut down the lead runner at 3rd, but the throw was just late, loading the bases with none out.

Bell came up in the biggest of ways with a strikeout on a 3-2 fastball to allow the Ducks to get some hope back, followed by a strikeout of Espinoza for the second out. The game then ended on an all-time controversial call as the home plate umpire ruled that Devin Bell hit Alex Call with a pitch up and in which he clearly never saw for himself.

What Oregon's Big Ten Tournament Championship heartbreaker means for the NCAA Tournament

Coming into the week, it seemed as if Oregon may need to win a game to secure Regional Host status, then just make the Championship, and then it appeared that the Ducks may need to knock off UCLA. Losing the Big Ten Tournament should still be enough for the Ducks to earn a host status, but it's certainly not certain.

The Ducks are now in the top 16 in the RPI Rankings with a conference tournament win in one of the best leagues. There hasn't been a team that's played top seeded UCLA better than the Ducks, and that should factor into the decision.

If the NCAA Tournament committee were to grant a team like Nebraska regional host status after the Ducks went 3-1 against them this season, it would be a major disservice. The Ducks should hear their names called as a Regional Host on Sunday Night, and it'll be because of their run in the Big Ten Tournament.

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