The No. 23 Oregon Ducks (31-10, 10-5) will head to Corvallis, Ore. for a three-game series against Oregon State (27-7, 11-4) starting Friday, April 25 with a nine-game winning streak on the line.
The streak started after the tough road trip to Seattle, Wash., when the Ducks lost two of three to Washington, including a devastating loss in extra innings.
“Ever since Seattle all we could do is try to win every game we play one at a time,” head coach George Horton said after Oregon’s 2-1 win over Washington State Saturday.
A big question for the Ducks heading into the Oregon State series is if Trent Paddon will be the Sunday starter against their in-state rival. Paddon, who picked up his first collegiate win Saturday, entered the rotation due to the injury to fellow freshman Matt Krook.
“If I am (called upon), I’ll be right back up throwing strikes,” Paddon said after Saturday’s game.
Horton said Krook is seeking a second opinion on his MRI Monday and the Ducks will make the decision for the starting spot after the update on Krook’s health.
But two other Oregon freshmen think the team has a lot of momentum going into the series.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” A.J. Balta said. “But I think we’re pretty solid going in. We definitely have a lot of momentum.”
Austin Grebeck echoed Balta’s thoughts.
“First time going into a series against them,” Grebeck said. “I’m excited and I think we have a good chance to win the series.”
No. 5 Oregon State hasn’t played since its series finale with Washington State on April 13. The Beavers will however, have two games prior to Oregon at Sacramento State on April 21-22.
The Beavers have the seventh lowest earned run average (2.20) in the nation and an elite starting pitcher in senior Ben Wetzler, whose 0.69 ERA ranks fourth best in the nation (both numbers are through April 16).
The pitching staff is accompanied by a powerful offense. The Pac-12′s 2013 player of the year, Michael Conforto leads the Beavers with a .395 batting average along with 38 RBIs. Kavin Keyes’ .325 batting average is another that presents a difficult task for the Ducks. As a team, the Beavers are hitting .287 and average 6.35 runs per game.
Oregon sits just a game behind the Beavers in the Pac-12 standings and enter with their nine-game winning streak on the line. But the momentum the Ducks bring to Corvallis will be tested at the get-go.
“As they say in baseball: Momentum is as good as the next starting pitcher,” Horton said.
This series will be the biggest road test the Ducks have seen and will see for the remainder of the season, a task Horton recognized.
“Are we worthy of playing good baseball?” Horton said. “We are about ready to find out.”
Follow Andrew Bantly on Twitter @abant3