Oregon sophomore David Peterson picked up his first weekly honor of his collegiate career on Tuesday when Collegiate Baseball named the southpaw a Louisville Slugger Player of the Week.

The Denver native earned recognition with his Sunday afternoon outing against UCSB, highlighted by a career-high 13 strikeouts. He lasted 7.0 IP, allowing 6 hits, a walk and a single run (unearned) after the Ducks used seven pitches on Saturday.

“We were a little thin,” head coach George Horton said on Sunday. “We needed David to get deep into the game and he was real good again.”

After three starts, Peterson (2-0) owns a team-leading 0.45 ERA in 20.0 innings of work while holding opposing batters to a .176 batting average.

No. 11 Oregon (8-2) plays next on Thursday against Alabama before a three-game series versus Mississippi State beginning Friday at 4:35 p.m. PST in Starkville, Mississippi.

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Oregon men’s basketball, fresh off earning the Pac-12 regular season title Saturday, moved to No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. It’s the highest ranking during head coach Dana Altman’s tenure at Oregon and the program’s best since the 2006-07 season (No. 7).

The Ducks finished the season on a five-game winning streak, including a sweep of UCLA and USC in Los Angeles this past weekend to claim the conference title outright for the first time since 2002.

The Ducks finished a perfect 18-0 at Matthew Knight Arena while also beating Arizona, Utah and USC on the road. Those teams went a collective 48-1 in games in home against teams not named Oregon.

Oregon is the top seed in the upcoming Pac-12 Tournament this week. The Ducks have a first round bye and will play either Washington or Stanford in the second round on Thursday.

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After using seven pitchers in yesterday’s 14 inning duel, No. 11 Oregon baseball needed starting pitcher David Peterson to guzzle crucial innings on Sunday against UCSB to preserve a thin bullpen. Peterson wound up and delivered.

“We were a little thin,” head coach George Horton said. “We needed David to get deep into the game and he was real good again.”

The Denver native pitched seven innings and struck out a career-high 13 Gauchos at PK Park leading Oregon (8-1) to a 3-1 win to claim the series. Peterson’s season earned run average dropped to 0.45 on the season.

“Yesterday really fired me up with the 13 scoreless innings that we put up as a staff,” said Peterson. “It’s incredible to have guys starting with you and then in the pen, as well to be able to do that 13 times in a row. And it didn’t go our way and got me that much more fired up.”

His masterpiece didn’t shine from the get-go, though. The Gauchos’ Andrew Calica stood for a four-pitch walk in the game’s first at-bat before Peterson misaimed a pickoff attempt that advanced Calica around to third. Two batters later, Grover Dempsey singled Calica home for an early UCSB lead.

“The dugout kind of got quiet,” Horton said. “That kind of shows you how not confident we are offensively right now. The deflation of one run in the first.”

But that’s all the runs UCSB could muster in the rubber match series finale.

The Ducks responded immediately in the bottom of the first through a similar formula. Leadoff man Austin Grebeck walked and took second on a failed pickoff attempt by UCSB starter Joe Record. Two batters later, Jakob Goldfarb singled Grebeck in to tie the game.

“I screwed up in the first inning, I walked the first guy on four pitches, which is unacceptable; I threw a pick away, which is unacceptable” Peterson said. “Then the offense picked me up. Today, they had my back and the whole bullpen’s back.”

But Oregon wasn’t finished. The following at-bat, Goldfarb reached third base on Phil Craig-St.Louis’ single. With Goldfarb on third and Steven Packard at the plate, the pair successfully maneuvered a safety squeeze that gave Oregon a 2-1 lead after the first inning.

“That was Duck baseball right there in my opinion,” Packard said. “Moving guys over, safety, getting guys in… I love it. It’s what we practice every day.”

In the third, catcher Tim Susnara sparked a two-out rally with a single. UCSB third basemen JJ Muno then committed two separate errors – one a fielding error and the other a throwing error – that catalyzed Susnara to score.

Relievers Matt Mercer and Stephen Nogosek picked up where Peterson left off to close the final two innings. Nogosek earned his fourth save of the season by striking out two of the three batters in the ninth. Peterson claimed his second win of the season.

The Ducks travel to SEC territory on Tuesday for a Thursday night game against Alabama and a three-game series versus Mississippi State beginning Friday at 4:35 p.m. PST in Starkville, Mississippi.

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A modo of Oregon baseball is to win the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Saturday presented “a lot of seventh, eighth and ninths to win” said Ducks’ skipper George Horton after the Ducks failed to score in 14 inning at PK Park.

“We have to play better.”

Oregon starting pitcher Matt Krook set a trend immediately by hitting leadoff Gaucho Andrew Calica with the second pitch of the game before retiring the next three at-bats. All together, Oregon pitchers drilled eight Gauchos. None proved damaging until the 14th inning when a free pass enabled UCSB to best No. 11 Oregon, 1-0.

Krook pitched six no-hit innings with a career-high 12 strike outs against a team with a collective .327 batting average.

“I had pretty good stuff today, it was working,” Krook said. “I threw way too many pitches. I got to cut that down so I can go deeper into the game.”

While Krook racked up punch outs, UCSB starter Noah Davis was nearly as dominant but every bit as impressive.

Davis, a freshman, lowered his 7.27 ERA to 3.78 after 8.0 shutout innings. The Ducks’ lone hit off Davis was an infield single beat out by the speedy Austin Grebeck.

In the seventh, Krook handed the ball to Kyle Robeniol, who kept the no-no alive until the eighth inning. In total, Oregon used seven pitchers that combined for 17 strikeouts, 5 hits, 8 walks, 8 hits batsman and one run.

“We pitched well but obviously not well enough,” Krook said. “We needed one more zero because our offense would have picked us up. ”

In relief of Davis, UCSB needed just Kyle Nelson to keep Oregon eternally scoreless. The sophomore reliever allowed three hits and a single walk in 6.0 innings of work, all but one in extra innings.

“When he settled in, (Nelson) was awfully good,” Horton said.

In the 13th, Nelson almost lost control. Tim Susnara, who entered the game defensively in the ninth, singled with one out and stole second base while Matt Kroon struck out. At the time, Susnara was responsible for two of Oregon’s three total hits. Freshman Travis Moniot then beat out an infield single for his first hit in 21 at-bats to place runners on the corners with two away. It was the first and only time a Duck reached third base.

Mark Karaviotis then pinch hit for Carson Breshears, who entered as a pinch runner in the ninth. Karaviotis wore the first pitch and was immediately replaced by Kyle Kasser on the base paths.

Next up, Grebeck, with 13 innings of pitching brilliance to save and 13 innings of absent offense to redeem. He pulled a deep fly ball that was beat down by the heavy air, rain and unobliging wind.

Cooper Stiles entered to pitch the 14th inning and drilled the first batter he saw, JJ Muno. With it, Oregon set a program record with eight hit batsmen. More importantly, it was the fourth time a Gaucho reached base to leadoff an inning without having to swing the bat. And by far the most costly.

“We put ourselves in too many of those situations,” Krook said. “Those guys are really on the plate and really disciplined about staying in and wearing those (pitches).”

Muno advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and then to third on a passed ball. UCSB’s Michael McAdoo came to the plate with the best chance either team had to score all game. After fouling off pitches and working a 2-2 count, McAdoo singled to right field that easily crossed Muno home, four hours after first pitch.

“What a quality at-bat,” Horton said of McAdoo, “he stayed back and did what we’re trying to do – let the ball travel.”

Grebeck came through with a mighty throw from center to assist a double play to end the inning and prevent any further scoring. But the damage was done and the Ducks went down 1-2-3 in the bottom half to end the game.

“They deserved to win and they got the win,” Horton said.

As a team, Oregon (7-2) collected four hits in 44 at-bats – a .091 batting average. It’s No. 2 – No. 5 hitters went 0-for-21. All less than 24 hours after Oregon combined for 12 hit and 13 runs.

The series will be determined in Sunday’s finale, slated for a 12 p.m. first pitch at PK Park.

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No. 11 Oregon welcomes UC Santa Barbara for the second phase of the home-and-home series that began last season in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Gauchos enter the 2016 matchup 8-1 with a team batting average of .341.

Last season the Ducks took two of three games on the road against then ranked No. 14 UCSB. It was a series where Oregon pitchers dominated the Gauchos. The Ducks ended it with a 1.38 ERA and held the Gauchos to a .138 BA.

“They’re always going to be good team, they were a good team last year when we went down there,” starting pitcher Cole Irvin said. “They’re going to battle during at-bats so it’s important for us to throw strikes and as many as we can.”

UCSB is coming to Eugene swinging a hot bat. Last weekend, the Gauchos won the first Tony Gwynn Classic by scoring 36 runs in three games.

UCSB has also slugged seven home runs, five triples and 19 doubles this season. Sophomore Austin Bush is the most dangerous bat in the lineup with a .542 BA, three doubles, a home run and 12 RBIs. Leadoff man Andrew Calica, and last summer’s Cape Cod Baseball League batting title winner, will also be a challenge against Oregon’s arms.

“I think it’s a small sample of what offensive team they’re going to be,” Oregon head coach George Horton said. “But they’re sure scoring a lot of runs.”

The Gauchos’ only loss came on Feb. 23 against St. Mary’s. Most recently, UCSB beat No. 14 UCLA at home, 11-6, on Tuesday.

The Ducks (6-1) took a series win last weekend over Illinois State, winning three of the four games.

The touted southpaw starting rotation has allowed just 6 earned runs in 38.0 innings pitched for a collective 1.42 ERA. In other words, Oregon’s three weekend starters – Cole Irvin, Matt Krook and David Peterson – average an outing of 6 and 1/3 innings, allowing a single earned run.

“I think it’s important to focus on what each individual pitcher needs to do because we’re all different types,” Irvin said. “The deeper in the ballgames we can get our club will benefit.”

Closer Stephen Nogosek hasn’t allowed a run in 5.1 innings of work, either. As a team, Oregon boasts a 2.29 ERA in its seven games.

“Nogosek has been lights out,” Horton said. “Hopefully we can reveal some other guys on the mound that seem to be in character.”

Second baseman Daniel Patzlaff is the only Duck hitting over .300, at .304. Jakob Goldfarb’s 5-for-15 (.333) production against Illinois State led the Ducks at the plate.

Horton says the lineup issues exist because of over eagerness to swing and is confident it’ll straighten itself out. Oregon is hitting .211 as a team.

“Small sampling is, we’re not hitting and they are,” Horton said. “We’ve had some give away at-bats… They get a little over anxious. We think a lot of them are getting themselves out.”

The series begins at PK Park on Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.

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German exchange student Marvin Waldvogel thinks he’s a sophomore, even though he’s on the verge of attaining an economics degree. But that doesn’t matter as much to him because he’s in the United States and at the University of Oregon, playing ultimate frisbee for Ego, UO’s  3rd ranked men’s club ultimate frisbee team.

“I’m here and I’m super glad,” Waldvogel said. “It’s an opportunity to get in circles I wouldn’t get without (frisbee).”

Waldvogel first flicked a disk when his best friend, Florian Böhler, asked if he wanted to play. He was nine years old growing up in a small German town that offered a strong youth ultimate program.

Both joined Bad Skid when it was founded in 2007. The team is filled with nicknames – Waldvogel goes by “Grande,” Böhler is “T-Rex.” It’s talent rich and has won five consecutive German national titles.

At 17, Waldvogel made the U20 German national team and was the youngest player on the squad. That season, with Böhler, Waldvogel won a gold medal in the European Championships. Three years later he was assigned to the chief German national squad for the 2011 Slovakia European tournament. The 20-year-old started on offense.

He’s been to Japan, Canada and nearly every European country with the German national team and Bad Skid. The United States only recently joined the list.

“I couldn’t see half of the places I’ve been without frisbee,” Waldvogel, 25, said in well-practiced English.

When he first landed in Portland, Waldvogel struggled expressing his emotions. Detailed communication wasn’t yet in his arsenal. However, just two weeks accustomed and on a whim, Waldvogel tried out for the Portland Rhino.

“The coach talked really fast,” Waldvogel said.

Selected, Waldvogel traveled to Colorado and Minnesota with the team. The skywalk in Minneapolis amazed the traveler.

Playing with Bad Skid against top-tier American clubs in international tournaments is how Waldvogel first heard of Ego. He asked Americans for recommendations on where he can study and play frisbee at a high level.

“I wanted to be part of a good program and learn something new,” Waldvogel said. “The (international) frisbee community knows about Oregon.”

One of the people Waldvogel approached was Jacob Janin, son of Ego head coach Jay Janin.

The Portland Rhino cut Waldvogel right before playoffs, but Waldvogel says it was good it did because he would have missed the first week of fall term. And Ego tryouts were around the corner.

“He made the team very easily, we knew he’d be able to play,” senior Nicholas Heaton said.

Waldvogel is purposfully a quiet player. Heaton sees him lead by example instead of assertion, a role Waldvogel wanted from day one.

“I didn’t want to come here and change something,” Waldvogel said. “We have three captains who do their jobs super good.”

Waldvogel starts on the defensive line and handles the disk more than any other defensive player.

“He’s really hard working,” Jay said of his first European player, “not really flamboyant or flashy, just really steady and plays within himself – doesn’t try and do too much or more than he can do.

“He’s pretty talented.”

Next summer, it could be in London if Waldvogel chooses to play for Germany in 2016 World Ultimate Championships. Or perhaps it’ll be back in Germany with Bad Skid.

For the time being, he’s with Ego.

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-The Oregon baseball team won its home opener against Illinois State 8-5 on Thursday. The Ducks scored five runs in the opening inning, before the offensive quieted for an all-important final three innings. The four-game series continues tonight at 6 p.m. Read our series predictions here.

-Oregon women’s basketball awaits the final weekend of the season agains the Bay Area schools beginning tonight at 7 p.m. The Ducks are in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in recent memory after going 9-2 against conference opponents since Jan. 17.

-The Oregon softball season is in full swing and star pitcher Cheridan Hawkins has struggled uncharacteristically to begin the 2016 season. The Ducks are 8-3 on the season and ranked No. 7 in the country. Two of their losses came against No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette.

-Oregon Equestrian rider Hannah Gray received news that she qualified for nationals in the Open Horsemanship category in her first year preforming in that category and her first on the team. Gray is also going to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Western semi-final in Ohio.

-The Emerald’s Chris Keizur sat down with Oregon lacrosse head coach Jen Beck to talk about the team’s hot start to 2016 after going 10-8 the season before.

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The No. 12 ranked Oregon baseball team opened its season at PK Park with a five-run first inning that set the tone for a long, punishing affair. While the game proved to be a rather close one against Illinois State, the Ducks’ seventh inning offensive burst eventually propelled them to a 8-5 win.

In the first inning, Oregon backed every bit of its ranking. The Ducks sent 11 batters to the plate and five crossed to score in the opening frame on three hits, four walks and a hit batsman. The big blow came on Phil Craig-St.Louis’ three RBI triple in his at-bat since going 1-11 in San Diego.

“I’ve been waiting for that moment,” Craig-St.Louis said. “I was happy I got the opportunity to do it and I delivered.”

Illinois St. starter Jeffrey Barton lasted just one out and tagged with all five earned runs.

Oregon’s next hit came in the third inning. Tim Susnara dropped a bunt down the third-base line and beat it out. It would be Oregon’s last hit until the seventh.

“I don’t think we adjusted very well offensively,” head coach George Horton said.

The Ducks were sent down in 1-2-3 fashion the following three innings.

“They started throwing more off speed stuff,” Craig St.Louis said. “I think our swings got a little out of control.”

All the while, the Redbirds came scratching back into the game. Against freshman starter Isaiah Carranza, who’s made his first start in college baseball Thursday, ISU responded in the second inning with two runs after Carranza walked the leadoff batter.

“Those first couple of I was pitching a little timid, I wasn’t myself,” Carranza said. “After I got more comfortable I was pounding the zone more.”

In the fourth, the Redbirds added two more runs. In both innings ISU scored runs off of Carranza, the right-hander allowed the leadoff man to reach base. In the four other innings that Carranza outed the leadoff man, the former Texas Rangers draft pick allowed a single baserunner.

“It’s so much easier when there’s not someone on to leadoff,” Carranza said.

Jacob Bennett was sent to relief Carranza in the seventh.

With two outs, Illinois St. tied the game after Austin Grebeck over ran a line drive to right center field. Redbirds’ leadoff man Daniel Dwyer never stopped running around the bases as the ball rolled to the wall and would slide safely for an inside-the-park home run. Grebeck’s throw to Travis Moniot, the cut-off man, bounced and got away from the freshman shortstop.

“I think if we play catch, it’s a triple,” Horton said.

In the bottom half of the recently tied game, Oregon picked up its first hit since Susnara’s bunt single. It was another bunt single beat out by Jakob Goldfarb that started a three-run inning. Phil Craig-St.Louis and Steven Packard both earned walks to load the bases with one out.

Illinois State reliever Jack Czeszewski threw a wild pitch that scored Goldfarb from third and gave Oregon a 6-5 lead. In relief of Czeszewski was Jack Landwehr, who threw another pitch that sent home an Oregon run. Jean Ramirez is credited with the past ball.

Following Susnara’s strike out, third baseman Matt Kroon singled to right field for a two-out RBI that concluded the three-run inning. Kroon was starting in his first game as a Duck.

“He looks like he belongs,” Horton said. “He’s not scared. Looks good at third base, looks good on the bases. I thought that was one of our best at-bats.”

Cooper Stiles pitched the final two innings without allowing a hit to earn his first save of the year.

Oregon improves to 4-0 on the season and will play Illinois State again on Friday at 6 p.m. at PK Park.

Contact Andrew on Twitter @AndrewBantly