The No. 23 Oregon baseball team (28-10, 7-5 Pac-12) will host Washington State (16-16, 7-5) for a three-game series starting Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Ducks’ last conference game was a heartbreaking 10th inning loss to Washington on April 6 in which Oregon’s bullpen surrendered a 4-2 lead in the final inning. Since then, Oregon has won six straight games led by third baseman Mitchell Tolman, who was named Pac-12 player of the week and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association hitter of the week.
“Once he got in the lineup (last year) it was evident to us that he was a very clutch hitter and liked to be in the box with the game on the line,” head coach George Horton said to reporters before practice on Wednesday. “What he is doing doesn’t surprise me.”
The Cougars’ last Pac-12 series was against Oregon State where they lost two out of three — a 12-5 loss and a 8-1 loss on Saturday and Sunday.
The Cougars have struggled against Pac-12 hitting, allowing a 4.22 ERA in conference. Their staff is led by junior left-hander Joe Pistorese, who enters with a 3-1 record and a 2.76 ERA. The Kalispell, Mont., native pitched a complete game on April 11, allowing just one run (earned) with four walks and four strikeouts in a win over the Beavers. The Cougars will send junior righty Tanner Chleborad (2-3, 4.09 ERA) and senior lefty Jason Monda (1-3, 3.55 ERA) for the remaining two games against Oregon.
Yale Rosen (.376 batting average, 4 home runs, and 22 RBIs) leads the Cougars offensively. The junior out of Oak Harbor, Wash., ranks ninth in the Pac-12 in hits (44), tied for second in home runs (4) and tied for sixth in doubles (10). As a team, the Cougars are hitting .272 — sixth best in the conference.
The Ducks will be without starting pitcher Matt Krook again, allowing Trent Paddon (0-2, 3.38 ERA) to pitch in the rotation as the third starter for the second week in a row. Last week, Paddon pitched 4.0 innings giving up three runs (all earned) and striking out three without allowing a single walk against UC Riverside.
The Ducks and Cougars are currently tied for fourth place in the conference behind Washington, Oregon State. and Arizona State.
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