No. 16 Oregon beat No. 6 Oregon State 6-3 in Corvallis on Tuesday evening on a triple from Aaron Payne in the ninth inning to improve to 24-8. The game was the first of five match ups throughout the season. Two of the five, including this one, are considered nonconference games.

Pitching was done by committee in this mid-week game, with Spender Jordan getting the start but only going two and two-thirds innings, giving up one run. Jeff Gold game in on relief and pitched the rest of the third and the fourth inning, letting two score. Darrell Hunter came in for the fifth and sixth, giving up just two hits and no runs.

Christian Jones, Garrett Cleavinger and Jimmie Sherfy all came in and pitched an inning apiece, denying any hits and striking out five batters between the three of them.

Payne had a loud bat for Oregon, going 2-3 with two RBI. Tyler Baumgartner continued his strong work as the designated hitter, going 2-4 and driving in a run.

Turning Point. The game was tied 3-3 going into the ninth before Payne drilled a triple to the right field corner, scoring J.J. Altobelli and Brett Thomas and giving the Ducks a 5-3 lead.

Ryon Healy hit a sacrifice fly to score Payne, pushing the margin to three runs.

On the Horizon. Oregon picks back up on Friday with a three game series at Cal. Jake Reed will get the Friday start for the Ducks. First pitch is at 6 p.m.

The No. 16 Ducks will travel to Corvallis Tuesday for a single game against the No. 6 Beavers. Oregon and Oregon State will play a total of five games over the course of the season — three coming in a series being held between May 17-19 and two non-conference single games, which won’t affect their Pac-12 records.

Oregon State has had an impressive season so far, going 25-5, including winning series against Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA.

First pitch will be at 4 p.m., with the starters not yet announced.

Oregon avoided being swept by Arizona State on Sunday in a 16-3 win. With the win, Oregon is now 23-8 overall, 9-3 in the Pac-12.

Freshman Col Irvin (6-1) got the win for Oregon, going seven innings while giving up three runs on six hits with two strikeouts. It wasn’t his most dominant performance, but the offense certainly picked up any slack left by the pitching.

Oregon scored the 16 runs on 20 hits, with each starter getting at least one hit. Aaron Payne (4-5, 3 RBI) and Scot Heineman (4-6, 3 RBI) led the Ducks, but Ryon Healy (3-for-6, 1 RBI, 3 runs scored),  Josh Graham (2-for-5, 3 RBI, 3 runs scored), Connor Hoffman (2-for-5, two runs scored) and Brett Thomas (2-for-6, 3 RBI, 1 run scored) all helped in the blowout victory.

ASU struggled from both the mound and the plate, using six pitchers, three of whom went less than an inning, and getting just seven hits in the game.

Turning Point. The Ducks led 8-3 headed into the eighth inning before a barrage of hits that resulted in eight runs scored. Six players drove in at least one run in the inning, all but ensuring the victory.

On the Horizon. The Ducks next contest will come Tuesday in Corvallis for a single game against Oregon State at 4 p.m.

Nine runs ended up being less than sufficient for Oregon in their second of three games against Arizona State as they fell 14-9 to the Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz. With the loss, No. 11 Oregon is now 22-8 on the year.

The bats awoke for Oregon, compiling 14 hits including four doubles. J.J. Altobelli had a big night, going 3-4 from the plate with three RBIs. Mitchell Tolman continued to hit well in the series, going 3-5. Ryon Healy and Tyler Baumgartner both went 2-5.

ASU matched Oregon with 14 hits of their own, but also had seven doubles and two triples.

Tommy Thorpe had a less than stellar outing, giving up five earned runs in four-and-two-thirds innings. Oregon was forced to go deep into their bullpen, using a total of six pitchers in the contest.

Turning Point. Down 10-4 headed into the eighth inning, Oregon put on an impressive show, getting five runs to pull within one of the Sun Devils. However, ASU compiled four more runs in the bottom of the eighth to ice the victory.

On the Horizon. The Ducks will have one last shot at ASU to avoid a sweep on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Freshman Cole Irvin will take the mound for Oregon.

Oregon lost their first of three games against Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., Friday night in a 6-5 loss.

Oregon rallied back from a four-run deficit to put the game into extra innings, but eventually gave up an RBI single to pinch hitter RJ Ybarra in the bottom of the 11th inning to end the game.

Jake Reed took the mound for Oregon, giving up five earned runs on seven hits in five-and-two-thirds innings. This disappointing outing came as a bit of a surprise. Reed was coming off three wins in a row and recently said he felt like he had settled down on the mound and could produce.

Offensively, Oregon was lead by freshman Mitchell Tolman, who went 3-6 with an RBI and a run scored. Brett Thomas and Tyler Baumgartner both went 2-6, while Ryon Healy and Steven Packard went 2-5. The rest of the club was held hitless.

For ASU, the offense was well distributed, getting 13 hits from nine batters.

Turning Point. Oregon was trailing 5-1 in the eighth before their barrage of hits (5) scored four runs to tie the game. Eventually, the game went into extra innings tied at 5-5. Jimmie Sherfy came in to close out the ninth and pitch the tenth. Christian Jones came in for a third of an inning in the 11th inning when he gave up the game-winning single.

On the Horizon. The Ducks will have a shot at redemption Saturday. Tommy Thorpe will be on the mound for Oregon, taking on ASU’s Ryan Kellogg.

No. 11 Oregon (22-6, 8-1 Pac-12), fresh off a seven-game win streak, will take to the road Friday for a three-game series against No. 24 Arizona State (16-8-1, 4-5 Pac-12) in Tempe, Ariz., this weekend.

The Sun Devils are an accomplished team with a strong pitching staff including Ryan Kellogg, who threw a no-hitter in a 4-0 victory against Oregon State earlier in the season. First baseman Ryon Healy, Oregon’s top offensive player, said it’s best to keep things simple when facing such a strong rotation.

“One of the things we have adopted is the mentality of just play the game of baseball,” Healy said. “The less information the better: See ball, hit ball. I think a lot of us have grasped that and enjoyed it because it’s less to think about. You go into this game, and you have all this information on a guy, you’re thinking about it. It’s kind of simplifying the game down as much as possible.”

Arizona State’s pitching staff is undoubtedly an obstacle but the ball park at Packard Stadium can also cause fits. Oregon head coach George Horton said the intentionally dim lighting causes outfielders to lose balls in the sky and the dirt field makes it difficult to field grounders.

“The environment is almost the exact opposite of ours here,” Horton said. “Their lights are the crumbiest in the Pac-12, and they like it that way. There you have that high, purplish sky. It’s hard for a visiting team to adjust to that, and inevitably, a team will lose a ball a game. Whenever you lose a ball in the outfield, that’s expensive.”

Fortunately for the Ducks, the series’ timing seems ideal. Oregon is on a seven-game win streak, including series sweeps over Arizona and Washington, and members of the pitching staff seem to have hit their stride.

Freshman pitcher Cole Irvin was recently named National Pitcher of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association after his complete game shutout against Washington featuring 11 Ks. He said it feels good to win the award, but it is more reflective of the team than of himself as an individual player.

“It’s pretty cool,” Irvin said. “It just goes to show how hard I’ve been working and how hard this team has been working. It’s a group effort. I did have 11 Ks, but there were many defensive plays that were made, and that’s credit to the defense.”

Oregon ace Jake Reed struggled earlier in the season, losing three in a row after winning his first contest — but has now strung together three-straight wins and feels like he, and the entire staff, is zoned in.

“I think just seeing how all three of us going out there and having the success that we’ve had and having confidence has helped all of us,” Reed said. “Our starting staff collectively is a little stronger than last year. With the success that we had last year, with the guys that we had, us being a little better this year just goes to show how much we can do this year.”

He also mentioned how the Sun Devils will present a test: The dimensions of the park are smaller than most, making it conducive to hitters. Also, he is a ground-ball pitcher, and with the Arizona State infield being brick dust and the outfield being live grass, it makes it much harder for the fielders to corral the grounders. He said these factors, coupled with his recent success on the mound and the strong lineup for the Sun Devils, will serve as a measuring stick to where his stuff is.

“They have a lot of lefties in that lineup,” he said. “The wind blows out there toward right field. I think it will be a good test to not only me, but for every pitcher that goes out there and faces those hitters. I think they are one of the more underrated teams, not only in the conference, but in the country. They have a lot of bats and a lot of pitching. They haven’t had the success that we’ve had, but I think they have a good chance at turning that around and having a really successful season. We’re prepared to play an extremely good baseball team.”

The first of the three games will be Friday at 6:30 p.m. when Jake Reed (3-3, 3.22 ERA) will take on Trevor Williams (4-2, 2.54 ERA).

Oregon had their first spring practice on Tuesday. The practice was also the first taste of being a head coach for Mark Helfrich. The Emerald’s Eddie Pascal has more.

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Oregon softball continues to see success with a sweep in a double-header Tuesday against Utah. The Ducks won the first game 11-3 and the second 11-1. With the win, the softball team improves to 30-5 overall. David Saez of The Register-Guard has a full recap.

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With Mark Helfrich moving from offensive coordinator to head coach of the Oregon football team, Scott Frost also changed titles. After four years of being the receivers coach, Frost is now the new offensive coordinator. Rob Mosley of The Register-Guard has more on Frost’s first day on the job.

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With the overachieving season over for Oregon men’s basketball after a disappointing loss to No.1 Louisville, the Ducks look optimistically to next year, hoping this season wasn’t a fluke. Freshman Ben Carter says the work toward success next year “Starts right now.”

Cole Irvin, fresh off his impressive 6-0 victory over Washington, was named National Pitcher of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, as well as Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week.

Irvin is just a freshman but came in as a top prospect. Coach George Horton has repeatedly praised Irvin, saying that he has earned his spot in the rotation and has taken nothing for granted. He has put together many impressive wins, including one against Cal State Fullerton, but this was by far the best composure he, or any Duck starter for that matter, has shown on the mound this year.

Irvin pitched a complete game, the first of the year for the Ducks, shutting out the Huskies while allowing just four hits with 11 strikeouts.

With the shutout, Irvin dropped his ERA to 3.00 in 48 innings pitched to lead the team. He also leads the team in wins with a 5-1 record on the year.

The win gave Oregon (22-6) the sweep over Washington and their seventh win in a row, including a sweep over the defending champion Arizona Wildcats.

In a recent interview, Irvin told The Emerald that he relishes the opportunity to pitch on Sundays because of the chance to get a sweep.

When the Ducks tip off Saturday against Saint Louis in the third round of the NCAA tournament, at least one Oregon fan will find it bittersweet. This time last year, Oregon soccer coach Kat Mertz was the head coach for Saint Louis, and during her time there she became acquainted with the basketball program.

“I have a lot of respect for that program,” Mertz said of Saint Louis. “They’re a good team and I am very proud of what they have done. (Saint Louis) is a very tight knit athletic department, and it’s a smaller school so you see the players in study hall and the weight room. It’s pretty much a little family in the athletic department, so I know some of the players and obviously I know the coaching staff.”

Mertz’s office at Oregon is located right across the hall from the basketball department, so although she has only been a Duck for a few months, she has found time to get to know the coaches. She has also kept up with the team and even found a way to make it to the Pac-12 Tournament.

“My assistant and I were down in Vegas recruiting,” Mertz said. “It happened to be the same time as the Pac-12 tournament, so we were able to go to the game against Washington and then the championship game. It was definitely fun to watch.”

Mertz’s affinity for basketball came long before she became a college coach. She says that she first started paying attention to basketball when a young Grant Hill played for South Lakes High School in Renton, Va., down the road from where Mertz lived.

She followed his career at Duke closely, and while attending North Carolina State University, her love for ACC basketball only grew.

“Growing up in Virginia, I have always been an ACC/Duke fan,” Mertz said. “Going to school at NC State, it was ACC basketball, so I have always been a fan of college basketball.”

Mertz doesn’t always find herself on a recruiting trip in the same city where the Ducks are playing, but she still finds a way to watch the games. However, she was caught off guard when she went to a local Eugene establishment with some co-workers to watch Oregon take on Oklahoma State and couldn’t find a seat. She claims she won’t underestimate the Oregon fans again.

“(Saturday) we’re going to leave early to find a place to watch the game,” Mertz said. “I can’t wait to watch it.”

Mertz admits that she has a lot of admiration for both teams and generally finds herself to be a fan of the mid-major, especially after coaching at UNLV. Although Saint Louis is a much higher seed than Oregon, a No. 4 compared to a No. 12 seed, Oregon seems to have a lot of momentum going into the game, and she sees Saint Louis as being a bit of an underdog. That being said, she didn’t hesitate to say who she is rooting for come Saturday.

“I’m always a mid-major fan at heart,” Mertz said. “I always try and support the mid-major, but in this situation I have nothing but Duck respect, and I can’t wait to see them be successful. I’m going to have to pull for the Ducks.”

Her final prediction?

“Ducks all the way!”

Many college basketball analysts and Duck fans had Oregon slated somewhere between the eight and five seed for the NCAA tournament after winning the Pac-12 and getting their second win of the year over UCLA. Many of these same people were shocked when it was announced that the Ducks were handed a 12 seed. It seemed as though the committee was weighing the last two regular season games, losses to Colorado and Utah, over the three tournament victories.

However, analysts have already noted that Oregon could very well win this game. After all, the 12/5 seed matchup is a famous one. Often times sports fans look straight to the 12-5 games when filling out their bracket and looking for an upset.

Bob Clark of the Register Guard has more on why the Ducks might be fortunate to be a 12 seed.

Winning their first game against Oklahoma State is one thing, but looking down the road, according to the New York Times’ Nate Silver, the Ducks only have a .3 percent chance of making the Final Four.

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After a deflating, last second, one point loss for the Blazers last night against the 76ers, the Blazers find themselves in an undesirable position. Currently they hold the 11th slot in the Western Conference, three and a half games back from the eight seed Los Angeles Lakers. A late push into the playoffs is becoming less and less likely with each game, but they have shown they are likely too competitive to slip to the floor of the NBA. Joe Freeman of the Oregonian explains that if they don’t finish as a bottom 12 team, they will have to ship their first round draft pick to Charlotte.

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Nearly half of the NBA has started using SportVU, a camera system that tracks and records player movement in games. We know that they use this data to deconstruct the game in film sessions, but up until now, that was all we knew. NBA teams were very secretive about what they did with the date. Recently, the Toronto Raptors let Zach Lowe of Grantland in on the value of SportVU