As Oregon looks to regionals, specifically a Friday matchup with South Dakota State, the team can’t help but be reminded of the heartbreak the Ducks suffered in the ninth inning of their final game in Super Regionals and how they finished just shy of a trip to Omaha.
For senior J.J. Altobelli, this is his last chance to get to the College World Series. With the Ducks getting a national seed and an opportunity to play the next two weeks in Eugene, he couldn’t be happier.
“It’s the best case senario,” Altobelli said. “You can’t really ask for having anything else. Having the national seed is great but we still need to take care of business and reach our end goal which is go to Omaha. As a senior, that’s all I can ask for.”
Throughout his four years with the Ducks, Altobelli has become more than just a senior. He is the leader of the team. Horton has the highest confidence in him and believes that Altobelli plays the best in big game situations.
“J.J.’s a big piece of the puzzle,” Horton said. “He’s a young man we don’t worry a whole lot about. He’s always played his best in the biggest environment. He’ll be as focused today in practice as he will in the game Friday night. We have a little cliche that we like to use, ‘J.J. gets big in the box, big in the circle and big in big games.’”
One slight change for the Ducks headed into the postseason will be the starting pitching rotation. All-American Jake Reed, who started the season as the Friday starter, will get the nod for the first game.
Reed has struggled this season, prompting Horton to push him back to the Sunday slot. The change is in part due to the structure of regionals. In a double-elimination tournament, often times the second game, which could possibly be the second loss, is the most important.
Reed said that he texted his coaches after they got the national seed to tell them that he would be ready to go whenever they wanted him, hoping that he would get the nod to throw Friday. When Horton told him that he would be going Friday, Reed was excited. This has been a disappointing season for Reed, but now, in the postseason, he has a fresh start.
“It’s a clean slate,” Reed said. “I’ve had success in the postseason in the past, I’ve had success in the regular season in the past. It’s nice to just kind of put my struggles of the season behind me and just kind of get to start over.”
Oregon will face South Dakota State on Friday at 6 p.m. at PK Park. If the Ducks win, they will move into the winners bracket and go again on Saturday at 6 p.m., facing either Rice or San Francisco.