Steven Packard’s hustle did more than give No. 12 Oregon the lead in the ninth inning against San Diego State during the season opener.

After Oregon lefty Cole Irvin pitched seven shutout innings and entrusted the bullpen a 2-0 lead last Friday, the Ducks quickly lost it.

In the eighth, freshman shortstop Travis Moniot committed an error that freshman Isaiah Carranza struggled to pitch out of. It was the pair’s first collegiate game. The Aztecs eventually tied the game, after appearing ineffective offensively.

Oregon coaches help Oregon outfielder Steven Packard (29) off the field after hurting his arm. The Oregon Ducks play the New Mexico State Aggies at PK Park in Eugene, Oregon on February 20, 2015. (Cole Elsasser/Emerald)

Enter Packard, Oregon’s leadoff man in the final frame of the recently tied contest and a redshirt senior playing in his first game since Feb. 20 of last year.

The designated hitter singled on an 0-2 pitch for his second hit of the night.

After catcher Tim Susnara failed to bunt Packard over to second, Matt Eureste wore a pitch on his right leg that helped Packard move into scoring position.

Give Eureste credit for his role in the story.

Moniot was up next, and the freshman hit a deep fly ball to right field for a routine fly out. What happened in this moment revealed Packard as a wise and decisive baserunner.

Any intuitive baseball player knows to tag up from second on a fly ball to right field with less than two outs.

Packard never once broke stride en fervent route to the plate. Yes, an 180-feet bout from second base to home.

And Packard did it safely.

It was a close play at the plate and required every bit of effort. If Packard, even for a step, let up, he’s out — resulting in a runner on second base with two outs, a much less preferred situation if you’re the Ducks.

Packard’s sprint gave Oregon a crucial 3-2 lead, before the team exploded for five more runs, which perhaps overshadowed the significance of Packard’s play. Hustle doesn’t show up in the box score, and fans, unless watching the live stream online, likely didn’t get a chance to appreciate Packard’s sprint.

Packard being ruled safe supplied confidence to an offense and team that struggled a year ago. To say Packard’s hustle played a role in the following game is bold.

But it set a tone other Ducks followed.

The following game Oregon’s offense erupted again to score in each of the first four innings for seven total runs. Packard himself picked up 2 RBIs and 2 more runs scored on Saturday.

So what really happened?

Packard gave Oregon a reason to never stop hustling in 2016:

It may catalyst a win, or two.

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In the season opener, No. 14 ranked Oregon nearly discarded Cole Irvin’s superb starting pitching performance in vain. A sloppy eighth inning allowed San Diego State to tie the score 2-2 at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Friday night. However, an explosive six-run ninth inning finale was more than enough to make up for the spoiled inning, sealing an 8-2 victory.

Irvin set the tone early. The lefty struck out six of the first nine hitters he faced and only allowed two runners on base once in the fifth inning. In total, Irvin allowed just six hits and no walks while striking out nine in seven shutout innings.

In the top of third, his offense aided his efforts with two runs. True freshman shortstop Travis Moniot doubled to center field in his first-ever collegiate at-bat to leadoff the inning. Sophomore Daniel Patzlaff, a switch hitter electing the right-handed side, singled Moniot to third.

Austin Grebeck chopped a ground ball to second that scored Moniot and moved Patzlaff to second. Grebeck credited an RBI. A.J. Balta, in his first at-bat since missing all of 2015 with a knee injury, reached on a fielders choice that sent Patzlaff safely home.

The score wouldn’t change until the bottom of the eighth with SDSU starter Marcus Reyes competing with Irvin admirably. Reyes’ outing lasted seven innings, allowed two runs, four hits and two walks, while punching out five Ducks.

In the bottom of the eighth, Oregon head coach George Horton deemed it time to call upon freshman right hander Isaiah Carranza, whom Horton and pitching coach Mitch Karraker have touted prior to opening day.

Carranza’s first pitch was a wildly high fastball and led to CJ Saylor taking a base on balls. Carranza’s nerves seemed to settle when Alan Trejo grounded to shortstop Moniot for a routine-looking double play opportunity. Instead, Moniot committed his first career error by over throwing Patzlaff at second base. Both Saylor and Trejo advanced into scoring position.

SDSU’s Chase Calabuig flied out to shallow left field, keeping the runners on base. Against SDSU’s Andrew Brown, the Aztecs No. 3 hitter in the lineup, Carranza couldn’t find the strike zone on four pitches.

Horton sent veteran closer Stephen Nogosek to the mound. The junior got Spencer Thorton to fly out to right field, but this time Saylor took off for the plate and wasn’t to be caught.

Next, Justin Wylie tied the game at two with a single. Then Nogosek retired the side with a strikeout.

Heading into the ninth inning, the game was tied at two and reminiscent of a disappointing 2015 Oregon campaign. That is, until the Ducks stepped into the batters box.

Designated hitter Steven Packard singled on an 0-2 count to start the rally. After Tim Susnara couldn’t lay a bunt down and later struck out, pinch hitter Matt Eureste was hit in the leg by a pitch.

To the plate, Moniot. The freshman redeemed his error with a deep fly ball which, in the box score, went down as a sacrifice fly. While Moniot made the contact, give credit to Packard for giving Oregon the lead. The senior never broke stride in his 180-feet sprint from second to home.

Following the hustle were six consecutive Ducks reaching base on two hits, two walks and one error. Any competent motivational speech first-year SDSU head coach Mark Martinez could implore was quieted when the senior Nick Catalano doubled home two runs, making the score 8-2.

Junior right-hander Cooper Stiles sent the Aztecs home in 1-2-3 fashion with two strikeouts.

Pretty or not, Oregon opened its highly anticipated 2016 season with solid pitching and timely hitting and was led by the outing of its starting pitcher.

Fifty-five more to go.

Oregon will play next on Saturday, February 20, against San Diego State at 1 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

Notable stats:

Win: Stephen Nogosek (1-0)

Loss: Jacob Erickson (0-1)

Daniel Patzlaff: 2-3, 1 RBI

Steven Packard: 2-5, 2B

Cole Irvin: 7.0 IP, 0 R, 6 H, 0 BB, 9 K

The Oregon baseball team is a day away from the first pitch of the 2016 season. The Ducks will begin the season in San Diego, California, on Friday against the San Diego State Aztecs. It’s the first time since 2010 Oregon hasn’t opened up its season in Hawaii.

“Poor us, we get to go to San Diego,” head coach George Horton said sarcastically, as the team was forced to move its Wednesday practice to the Moshofsky Center due to rain.

There was no breaking news when the team talked about its starting rotation for the upcoming series. Junior Cole Irvin will pitch Friday night. Then sophomores Matt Krook and David Peterson will start the Saturday and Sunday games, respectively.

Krook will be making his first start in an Oregon uniform since April 5, 2014, when the former 35th overall selection in the 2013 MLB Draft sustained an injury requiring Tommy John surgery.

“It was a long road, and I’m happy where I am at now,” Krook said.

Krook pitched over the summer in the Cape Cod League, but is “a lot more excited to pitch here.” The southpaw feels good, and if he’s not 100-percent recovered, he’s “very close.” Krook recently threw five innings in a scrimmage and felt strong the entire way.

Offensively, the official lineup won’t be announced until game time on Friday. However, Horton did reveal the majority of starters around the diamond.

Freshman Travis Moniot will be Oregon’s starting shortstop in San Diego. Moniot was drafted out of high school but opted to play for the Ducks. He  earned first-team all-state and first-team all-league honors  during his senior season at Palm Desert High School.

“Beyond physical ability, Travis has shown an ability to be a quick thinker and transfer information and be in the right place, take the defensive scheme and run with it, so to speak,” Horton said. “He showed up on the defensive side and think he’s going to be a fine shortstop.”

Previously, Mark Karaviotis manned the shortstop position for the Ducks. Karaviotis will start at third base this year, though.

“Mark’s had a tremendous two years here,” Horton said. “We think he’s flexible enough to move over to third.”

Phil Craig-St.Louis will be Oregon’s starting first baseman. Craig-St.Louis is the Ducks’ best hitter returning from 2015. The Quebec native hit .296 last season with 38 RBIs and two home runs.

The outfield will be full of veterans to begin the year. Sophmore Jakob Goldfarb will start in right field, junior Austin Grebeck in center and redshirt sophomore A.J. Balta in left.

Balta missed the entirety of last season with an preseason knee injury. The Valencia, California native hit .242 with three home runs and 29 RBIs as a freshman, good for freshman All-America honors.

Horton named Steven Packard the Ducks’ designated hitter to begin the season. Packard played in only six games in 2015 before an injury benched him for the remainder of the season. Horton said his recovery is affecting his ability to throw the ball from the outfield, hence the designated hitter position.

Sophomore Tim Susnara will be the starting catcher.

In summary, here’s what the likely defensive arrangement will look like to start the 2016 season:

• C – Tim Susnara
• 1b – Phil Craig-St.Louis
• 2b – Daniel Patzlaff*
• 3b – Mark Karaviotis
• SS – Travis Moniot
• LF – A.J. Balta
• CF – Austin Grebeck
• RF – Jakob Goldfarb
• DH – Steven Packard

Friday’s game will begin at 6 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium in San Diego.

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Pitching has always been a staple of Oregon baseball.

There are currently 10 former Ducks pitching professionally, despite the program being around for seven years, after being reinstated in 2009.

Still, for one reason or the other, the Oregon baseball team’s starting rotation has regressed the last two years, resulting in the program’s worst two earned run averages since 2010. But that trend is likely to change this season, with the Ducks returning a healthy pitching staff full of talent and high expectations.

Junior starting pitcher Cole Irvin missed the entire 2014 season due to an injury that required Tommy John surgery the season before. In 2015, the same was true of Matt Krook. Both left-handers were some of Oregon’s best arms and proved irreplaceable.

Irvin was a unanimous freshman All-American in 2013, a season in which he won 12 games – a single-season program record – with a 2.48 ERA in 116.0 innings, the second-most in school history. His sophomore year was distracted, he says, by the MLB draft.

“That was my problem, focusing on the scouts and my draft,” Irvin said. “And that was selfish … There’s no ‘I’ guys this year, and that includes me.”

In the offseason, the Yorba Linda, California, native improved his changeup command and fastball velocity so that he can better “finish hitters” – which is to say, strike them out.

Oregon lost Krook to injury with two months remaining in the 2014 season — he didn’t play in 2015 because of it — but still the San Mateo, Calif. native earned Louisville Slugger freshman All-American recognition. Krook, a former No. 35 pick in the MLB draft, struck out 60 batters in 45.1 innings with a 1.79 ERA and 22 hits allowed his freshman season.

And there’s no doubting the ability of his arm to begin the season.

“I’m planning on going 100 percent right out of the gate,” Krook said. “Expectations are still very high for myself. I plan to get going right where I left off.”

David Peterson’s another left-handed starting pitcher, who developed a Friday night-type of arm during his freshman season. The Denver product set an Oregon freshman record with 81 strikeouts over 82.0 innings, while finishing the season with five straight quality starts.

“A rotation like this has been something we haven’t had,” first-year pitching coach Mitch Karraker said. “Three left-handers that have first- or second-round potential … It’s a pretty special staff.”

For Karraker, a former catcher at Oregon, the focus has turned from getting these aces healthy to getting them to their highest potential — potential that might prove to be the greatest since the program’s reinstatement.

“Like everybody’s talking about, the potential is unbelievable,” he said. “We’re really excited about what it could be. We still have a lot of work to do.”

Though the exact rotation of the three isn’t concrete, that holds little significance to the left-handers. Each are fighting to be the spade of the bunch.

“It’s definitely healthy competition of course,” Krook said. “We don’t bicker, we’re all friends and work hard for each other, for the team. We would all love to throw Friday, but I don’t think anyone is going to be super upset if they’re throwing Saturday or Sunday because we’re all Friday guys and we’re all good.”

Or as Peterson briefly put it,“The weekend is the weekend.

“Every game is important,” he said.

And they’ll be backed up by a bullpen packed with veterans, including preseason All-American closer Stephen Nogosek, and plenty of talented freshmen. After the offense saw a majority of its production graduate or get drafted a season ago, the consensus is that the team is looking to the starting rotation to lead them.

“Having those three lefties coming back all healthy this year is going to be tough to face if you’re the other team,” junior infielder Mark Karaviotis said. “I think those guys are really going to carry us where we need to go.”

Where they need to go was clear to Irvin. It’s somewhere Oregon baseball hasn’t been since it was resurrected.

“We’re going to Omaha,” Irvin said. “We have the best pitching staff in the country and we’re going to make a statement … Two or three runs is all we’re going to need. The hitters know it, so the pressure’s off them.”

If one asks Irvin, Peterson or Krook of the other’s stuff, words like “electric” and “sharp” are used. And now, days ahead of the 2016 season, they can also be described as “healthy.” It’s perhaps the most important world of them all in the Ducks’ route to the College World Series. 

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Former Oregon catcher Mitch Karraker became Oregon’s pitching coach on Jan. 12, just four days after Dean Stiles departed for the same position with Florida International.

Karraker, a former undergraduate assistant and student manager, is now in charge of what many believe is the best starting rotation Oregon has seen since the team’s reinstatement in 2009. It features three left-handers: Cole Irvin, Matt Krook and David Peterson. Krook and Irvin both suffered injuries that required Tommy John surgery in 2014. 

The Emerald took some time to catch up with Karraker and welcome him to his new position:

Emerald: Welcome back. How’s it been?

Mitch Karraker: It’s been good, y’ know? Thrown into the job pretty quickly, but I’ve been around here for a long time, I know the guys.

E: You’re walking into a pretty strong staff. How does it look to you? What are your thoughts early on?

MK: It’s a pretty special staff. Like everybody’s talking about, the potential is unbelievable. We’re really excited about what it could be. We still have a lot of work to do. We still need to get them on track, we need to get the results in.

E: What’s your focus with your staff? Getting healthy, shaking off the rust?

MK: We’re actually pretty healthy, it’s just kind of building those guys back up. A couple guys are coming back from surgery and some freshmen are coming back from stuff they had in high school. Getting them game ready is the key: make sure we’re throwing strikes and giving our defense a chance.

E: On the injuries: is there a different long-term strategy this season? With Krook and Irvin both getting hurt over the past couple years, that’s some hefty losses. Are you going to do things differently?

MK: We’re always looking on how we can improve not only our performance, but our injury prevention. With the pitching side of it, nowadays Tommy John has become pretty common. We’re doing our best to avoid that as much as possible and we’re trying to design our program so that we don’t have those issues anymore. That being said, things are going to happen and we’re going to do our best to deal with it, learn from it and make ourselves better.

E: You obviously played here and kept tabs on the team. What would it be like for you catching this staff? Is it the best staff Oregon’s shown since the reinstatement?

MK: Catching it would be pretty fun. I’ve caught some pretty good guys when I was here, we’ve had some good staffs throughout the years. A rotation like this has been something we haven’t had. Three left-handers that have first- or second-round potential.

E: How’s catcher Tim Susnara doing handling this staff?

MK: He’s fantastic. He’s made huge steps forward in the catching position. As a freshman it’s very difficult to come into the Pac-12 and be a productive catcher, not to say he wasn’t productive last year, but I feel like this could be a real big year for him.

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A season ago, the Ducks finished sixth in the Pac-12 with a 16-14 conference record, 38-25 overall and an early exit at the NCAA Regional Tournament.

Last Wednesday, the season objective was revealed immediately:

“We are going to Omaha,” junior starting pitcher Cole Irvin said to media. “I want to make that statement clear.”

And there is good reason to believe this Ducks team will be the first to reach Omaha since the program was reinstated in 2009.

In addition to Irvin, sophomores Matt Krook and David Peterson bolster what could be the best weekend rotation Oregon has featured. First-year pitching coach Mitch Karraker labeled the three lefties all with first- or second-round potential as pitchers that could go in next year’s MLB draft.

“The potential is unbelievable,” first-year pitching coach Mitch Karraker said. “We’re really excited about what it could be. We still have a lot of work to do. We need to get the results in.”

The back end of the bullpen seems to be solidified too. Junior Cooper Stiles will likely set-up closer Stephen Nogosek, who has been honored twice this preseason with All-American recognition.

Of course, there are freshmen arms from Oregon’s N0. 8-ranked recruiting class that head coach George Horton and Karraker plan to send to the mound. That group is highlighted by lefty Kyle Robeiol and right handers Isaiah Carranza and Jacob Bennet.

The offense will be without Mitchell Tolman, who led Oregon in nearly every offensive category last season. That said, freshmen who have impressed Horton include Matt Kroon and Travis Moniot, two infielders selected in the 2015 MLB draft out of high school.

“The infusion of that youth and talent into the returning guys looks like it could be a really successful mix as we move forward,” Horton said. “We’ve got a lot of jobs that are still out there.”

Oregon ranks No. 14 in the Baseball America preseason poll. Conference foes Oregon State (No. 5), California (No. 8) and UCLA (N0. 10) rank better. USC (No. 16) is the only other Pac-12 program ranked in the same poll.

Oregon will face five teams ranked in Baseball America’s preseason top 25. Its first currently-ranked opponent will come on March 11, when it faces No. 20 Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi, for a three-game series. It’s the first and only ranked non-conference opponent Oregon will face before Pac-12 play.

For the Ducks, in-conference baseball begins March 18 when Utah visits PK Park. It’ll be an early test as Oregon plays the meat of its conference schedule in April. The always intriguing Civil War series will be in Corvallis this season, but not before the Beavers drive south to Eugene twice for out-of-conference meetings.

If the Ducks are to have a date with Omaha in June, it’s going to require a lot more than confidence. Yet it looks to be a talented Oregon baseball team in 2016.

“The only thing we haven’t done is walk the walk,” Horton said.

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The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) named starting pitcher Matt Krook and closer Stephen Nogosek to preseason All-America teams, according to a press release Tuesday.

Nogosek earned second-team honors after he went 6-3 with a 2.02 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 58.0 innings as Oregon’s set-up man in 2015. This year, he’ll pitch the ninth innings as the Ducks closer.

Nogosek played for the U.S. National Team last summer. In six appearances, he struck out 11 and allowed just one walk in 10.2 innings pitched.

Krook, who missed last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, was named to the third-team roster. Before his injury, the 6-foot-3 lefty struck out 60 hitters in 45.1 innings with a 1.79 ERA in eight starts and earned first-team Freshman All-America honors, despite missing the final two months of the season.

Before arriving in Eugene, Krook was drafted 35th overall by the Miami Marlins in the 2014 MLB draft.

For both Nogosek and Krook, the All-America recognition is their second of the preseason. Perfect Game named Nogosek to its third team; Krook was also a third-team selection by Collegiate Baseball.

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-Oregon’s men’s basketball team swept the Arizona schools over the weekend, including a top-25 matchup against then-ranked No. 18 Arizona on Friday that snapped the Wildcats’ 49-game home winning streak. On Sunday Oregon completed the sweep against the Sun Devils, 91-74 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.

-Oregon’s women’s basketball evened the weekend series against the Arizona schools after the Ducks beat the Wildcats 74-54 on Sunday, even though their roster was limited to nine. On Friday Oregon fell to Arizona State 63-58 after relinquishing another half time lead.

-Oregon track and field had a successful trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Razorback Invitational on Saturday. The Ducks broke a pair of school records and won six events on final day of the event. Oregon won three events on Friday, with thrower Brittany Mann dominating the weight throw with personal best 68-7.25.

-The women’s tennis team enjoyed its first home match against Idaho on Saturday, sweeping singles en route to a 6-1 victory. The Ducks (2-1) have now won consecutive matches beginning with their upsetting of No. 30 Virginia Tech a week ago.

-The men’s tennis team took care of Nebraska on Sunday, defeating the Cornhuskers 6-1. Oregon moves to 6-1 on the season and will play next on Friday against Northern Arizona in Eugene.

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Ron Finley coached the Oregon wrestling program to its first conference title in 1975 and its highest ever NCAA tournament finish (11) in 1980. He saw his players win 22 All-America awards and 44 conference titles while winning conference coach of the year twice.

He still shakes his head when he thinks about the day the Oregon athletic department cut its wrestling team in 2007.

“They weren’t supposed to cut programs; they were supposed to add programs,” Finley said.

It’s been eight years since Oregon competed in the sport. But this 2015-2016 school year, senior Daniel Larman successfully brought the sport back to the UO as a new club team.

“The history of the program is a big source of motivation for me with the club,” said Larman. “What I’m doing is worthwhile for the sport because it’s helping bring back something that was a great program and was lost.”

The club team’s path to recognition wasn’t easy, though. It began when Larman was a sophomore and submitted the required paperwork to create the team. According to Larman, the club office “would not look at the request for two terms.”

In the fall term of 2014 – his junior year –  the team was put on a year-long “probation.”

“We couldn’t rent out practice facilities and we couldn’t compete,” Larman said. “We couldn’t even say we were a club, even though we secretly were.”

The club office did not comment on the policy for new teams.

It took a year and a half for Larman to say he’s officially an Oregon club wrestler.

When Finley thinks about the new club team, he’s met with a crossroad of joy and concern.

“I think the guys definitely deserve a right to wrestle,” Finley said. “But I think it’s hard to get it back into a varsity sport once it’s in a club sport.”

Finley is concerned about another factor of Oregon’s new team: practicing.

Larman, in his original application, requested for five practice days per week. Yet the team is allowed only two practices, a total of four hours per week.

“You can’t get good working out two days a week,” Finley said.  “You got to train. Wrestling is a conditioning sport – you’ve got to train every day.”

The team is “still developing,” says Larman, with a small group of committed wrestlers. But they’re missing a leader.

“We’ve tried just about everything [to get a coach],” Larman said. “Occasionally a name will pop-up, but people have stuff in their lives, so, surprisingly, no one has been open to coach.”

Without a coach, an official roster or competitions scheduled, the club team remains in the maturation phase. But what can be said for certain about wrestling at the University of Oregon:

Welcome back.

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It’s easy to compare the Oregon men’s club ultimate frisbee team to something from another planet due to the way its white discs zoom back and forth with eye-opening precision, as if a magnetic pull was involved.

They have the name to back it up too: Ego.

The past five seasons Ego has finished in the final four of the USA Ultimate D-1 College Championships. A season ago it made it to the finals with just 14 healthy bodies able to compete.

“The story of the season for us was that we were a really small team,” Janin said. “We had a whole handful of people quit right after Christmas break. It was a big surprise.”

Oregon holds its annual tryouts in the fall with final cuts made in November. However, last year’s squad of 27 shaved down to 18 men before winter practices began. It varied from personality problems, money and commitment issues, according to head coach Jay Janin and captain Will Watkins.

“If things are good, we usually have 18 or 20 returners,” Janin said. “In a good year, we’re only picking up six or eight guys.”

The team’s roster was thin for the first time in Janin’s eight years as coach.

It affected how the team practiced, with players taking less rest then they’d get normally. During games, Ego’s strategy was constantly tuned to pick when it wanted to attack and when to slow the game down to rest the sidelined players.

“We didn’t win very many games in blow outs,” captain Chris Strub said. “Even against teams we knew we were better than we let them get points because we didn’t want to waste our players energy on defense. It was an offensive strategy.”

And it was incredibly successful. Oregon blew through its first two tournaments without a loss. It wasn’t until its 18th game, in the final of the Stanford Invite, when Oregon came up empty handed.

In the championship tournament held in Milwaukee, Ego played seven games in three days before its eventual demise to North Carolina for the national title.

“You play a bunch of points and the chances of getting hit, tackled, mis-planting, or someone just going down is pretty high,” Strub said. “Especially when you only have 18 who are getting more playing time than a regular team.”

Ego recently began practicing with the goal to return to the title game and claim its first national championship since 1992. This time, with a full roster.

“This year we got a lot of new players, they’re all really talented – we only knew of a couple of them (before tryouts),” Janin said. “I think we’re going to surprise some people.”

While half the team is new to Ego, the culture hasn’t altered a bit. Where pajama pants and snapback hats are unquestioned practice uniform, affable sideline chatter is boundless, and comradeship is obvious.

All they need is a disk.

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