Since the days of Chip Kelly, the Oregon football program has preached the concept of competing against a nameless, faceless opponent.
For coach George Horton and the No. 9 Oregon baseball team, the focus is always on self-improvement, but they aren’t blind to the significance of this weekend’s matchup against No. 5 Cal State Fullerton.
“The excitement about Cal State Fullerton is the respect that I have for them,” said Horton, who coached at Fullerton from 1990-2007. “It isn’t just another opponent. It would be ludicrous to say that for me on a personal basis. But like any other top-10 team, it’s exciting. That’s why I coach at Oregon is to play these kind of games.”
The Ducks will face one of the top pitching staffs in the country and one that prides itself on attacking hitters early in the count and limiting walks. Fullerton ace, Thomas Eshelman, had a miniscule 1.48 ERA and 0.77 WHIP last season and issued a mind-boggling three walks in 115.2 innings. Nearly as impressive is Saturday starter Justin Garza, who boasted a 2.03 ERA and 0.88 WHIP with 17 walks in 115 innings.
“We try not to beat ourselves, and part of the way you lose is giving away free 90 foot bases,” Titans head coach Rick Vanderhook said.
Eshelman doesn’t possess an overpowering fastball (it sits in the high-80’s) but is armed with a four-pitch mix for which he has incredible command. Vanderhook said that Garza “probably has the best arm” on the staff and can run his fastball up to 93-94 miles per hour.
“Obviously they’re two really good pitchers and I kind of know how they like to attack hitters,” Oregon corner infielder Mitchell Tolman said. “They love going after guys with fastballs and they make you beat them. So I think that’s what we’ve been working on lately is getting after pitchers. If they’re going to throw strikes, let’s go ahead and hit it.”
Often forgotten on the Titans’ staff is Sunday starter Grahamm Wiest, but the junior right-hander has given up just two runs (one earned) through his first two starts of the season and is fresh off a complete game, 10-strikeout performance against San Francisco.
The Ducks will counter with the weekend rotation of Tommy Thorpe, Matt Krook and Porter Clayton.
Thorpe has given up four runs (two earned) through two starts but has struggled somewhat with walks (six). Krook has flashed elite swing-and-miss ability through his first two collegiate starts, striking out 19 batters in 13.1 innings. For Porter Clayton, Sunday will be his first start since 2011, but he’s been dominant out of the Oregon bullpen, retiring all 14 batters he’s faced this season.
The real challenge for Oregon this weekend will be finding a way to manufacture runs. Through the first eight games, Kyle Garlick, Tyler Baumgartner and A.J. Balta have been excellent sources of gap-to-gap power, but the rest of Oregon’s offense has been predicated on small ball – singles, bunting and aggressive baserunning.
That strategy will be more difficult to implement against Fullerton, who does a terrific job of controlling the running game. Last year, the Titans allowed just 19 steals in 61 games and threw out 44 percent of runners attempting to steal. The trend has continued in 2014, with the unit holding opponents to just two steals in eight attempts.
“It might be tougher (to run),” Horton said. “First of all, getting on base against the pitchers is a little more of a challenge. Those first two guys don’t walk you at all and Wiest was really good on Sunday … So it’s going to be harder to get on first and foremost and then once we get on it’ll be harder to do things that we’ve been extremely successful at, stealing bases and picking the right time.”
“The challenge is they play the game and certain parts of the game extremely well,” Horton added. “We’re going to be have to be on it and take advantage of whatever crack in the armor we can take advantage of.”
Notes:
– Horton revealed on Wednesday that third baseman Scott Heineman missed Tuesday’s game against Portland due to a left shoulder strain and is considered day-to-day. Should Heineman miss time this weekend, expect Tolman to man the hot corner and for freshman A.J. Balta to play first base. Balta played second base and outfield during high school and played at first base on Tuesday.
– A potential matchup to keep an eye on this weekend is one between Oregon freshman catcher Jack Kruger and Cal State Fullerton freshman reliever Phil Bickford. Kruger and Bickford were battery mates at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, Calif., and a matchup between the two would be the first time they’ve faced off as opponents. Kruger said that spending two years catching a talent like Bickford (who was drafted 10th overall in last year’s draft) has helped prepare him to catch Oregon pitchers with electric repertoires including Krook, Thorpe and Garrett Cleavinger. When asked who he thought would have the upper hand in a potential matchup against Bickford, Kruger laughed and replied, “I don’t know. It will be interesting if that happens, that’s for sure. I think we’re probably both looking forward to it.”
Follow Chris Mosch on Twitter @chris_mosch