During Oregon baseball season, our sports staff will discuss various topics surrounding an upcoming series. Today, Emerald associate sports editor Victor Flores and sports reporters Andrew Bantly and Madison Guernsey reflect on Oregon’s regular season and preview the Ducks’ games in the Nashville Regional.
1) Grade Oregon’s regular season and give a reason for that grade?
Flores — A-. The Ducks lost several key players over the offseason, mainly Ryon Healy, Brett Thomas, J.J. Altobelli and Jimmie Sherfy. They also lost starting pitcher Cole Irvin for the entire season, Scott Heineman for almost all 0f it and Matt Krook for half of it. Through all this adversity, Oregon won three less regular season games than last season. The Ducks were able to replace these players with freshman and other unproven players, a sign of good recruiting. The Ducks certainly weren’t perfect but every area was solid. They overachieved.
Bantly — I think the Ducks have exceeded expectations after Heineman, Irvin and Krook all went down, to say nothing of the star players that moved on. I think they deserve a B+ because any higher grade would be for a team that is hosting Regionals. Though they were very close, they still missed the opportunity to play in front of their home fans at PK Park — a place where they won 24 out of 32 games.
Guernsey — B+. Given the injury circumstances, Oregon played well and won most of the games they should have. However, they came up short against better competition such as Cal State Fullerton, Washington and Oregon State. Oregon teams of the past played up to their competition and this year’s Ducks did not. Several young players were forced to fill in for injured and departed veterans, which will benefit the team in the long run, but that was obviously disadvantageous at times this year.
2) Which player surprised you the most, in a good or bad way?
Flores — As much as I want to say Mark Karaviotis or Jeff Gold, it has to be Shaun Chase. The catcher hit .207 last season and split time behind the plate with Jack Kruger and Josh Graham. Now, he owns the catching job and leads the Pac-12 with 12 home runs. Plus, he’s hitting .281 with decent defense. He’s turned into one of Oregon’s best players, a sentence I — like most people — didn’t expect to read when the season began.
Bantly — Entering the season, I asked head coach George Horton a question that was commonly asked the year before: What’s the catching situation going to be like? At the time, Horton said he would give time to the player who had the hot hand, which basically meant they would all share time until Horton saw someone step up. Chase stepped up. Chase has made himself an everyday catcher now, which is something not many colleges have. It wasn’t just his 12 home runs and his .281 average, it was when he hit his home runs and eight doubles. He was possibly the most clutch player on this Oregon team during the regular season.
Guernsey — Without a doubt, Chase. The catcher depth was muddled at the beginning of the season, but at some point something clicked, and Chase elevated himself to the top of the depth chart and became indispensable. Coming into this year, Chase was a career .194 hitter and had more strikeouts than runs, hits and walks combined. Fast forward a few short months and the junior backstop leads the Pac-12 in home runs and is a consistent bat in the middle of Oregon’s lineup.
3) Who has been Oregon’s most valuable player?
Flores — Mitchell Tolman. He’s been the cleanup-hitter all season, with a slash line of .315/.441/.458. He’s also had to move between third base and first after Heineman was lost for the year, and his defense wasn’t bad at either position. He’s Oregon’s best, most consistent hitter and versatile, a trait not even Chase owns.
Bantly — To me, it’s clear: Gold. Without Gold, this team would have tanked. There is absolutely no way Thorpe is able to carry this pitching staff when he can only pitch one game a week, and that’s assuming he wins every game. Gold has been the glue to this pitching staff for a team that is led by, you guessed it, pitching. Gold changed from a midweek starter, who would give this Oregon team five or six solid innings to a weaker team, to a guy who had to be a shut-down Saturday starter.
Guernsey — My vote goes to Tommy Thorpe. Injuries to Irvin and Krook really put the starting pitching rotation in shambles, but Thorpe stepped up and pitched like an ace. He led the pitching staff in innings pitched, strikeouts and ERA (2.20) and was tied for the lead in wins (10). Without Thorpe pitching the way he did, the Ducks would have been out of a lot more ball games and wouldn’t have been such a lock for the postseason. My offensive MVP is Tolman, and my defensive MVP is Karaviotis.
4) How far does Oregon have to go for this season to be deemed successful?
Flores — The Ducks have already had a successful season. Even if they’re horrible in Regionals, they’ve gotten through so much to get here, anything more would be gravy.
Bantly — Oregon’s had a successful season already. The offense really came together this year because up and down this lineup are tough outs. But their realistic expectations were no doubt lowered when Krook went down. That was the final straw. Earlier in the season, I would have said it wouldn’t be a successful season if the Ducks didn’t go to Omaha and I’m sure Horton and the players would agree with me. But now, it just doesn’t seem realistic.
Guernsey — Super Regionals. Sure, Oregon’s season is already successful in terms of total wins and making the postseason, but weren’t they expected to do those things anyway? The Ducks also lost three more games than last season and underachieved against Pac-12 foes. The Ducks still have the talent to play deep into the postseason even given the injuries, but it will really depend how much heart this team shows.
5) How will the Ducks fare in Regionals?
Flores — The Ducks will play Vanderbilt — the top seed in the Nashville Regional — with a chance to advance to Super Regionals, but they’ll fall short. The Ducks are too banged up and Vanderbilt is too good.
Bantly — The Ducks take Vanderbilt to the finals but fall and fly back to Eugene. Their pitching staff is just too wounded to beat a team like Vanderbilt multiple times — which is what they would need to do.
Guernsey — Oregon drew a tough Regional, pooled with Vanderbilt, Clemson and Xavier. The only sure thing Oregon has in terms of starting pitching is Thorpe, as Gold and Brando Tessar have been sub-par lately, Tessar to the point that Horton may remove him from a starting role. I think Oregon loses its first game to Clemson, then beats Xavier to draw Clemson again. The Ducks beat Clemson to force a deciding game with Vanderbilt and fall short.
Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415
Follow Andrew Bantly on Twitter @abant3
Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd