After a thrilling overtime victory against Washington last night, the Ducks men’s basketball team will continue their chase for the Pac-12 title Friday night against Utah. Oregon beat the Utes the first time they played but lost the second match in the final game of the season. The Emerald’s Jackson Long has a full preview.

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Oregon baseball, fresh of a series sweep of Texas State, is taking to the road this weekend to start their conference play against USC. The first of three games takes place Friday night at six. The starter for game one will be Jake Reed, who will try and kick a three game losing streak. Saturday’s starter will be Tommy Thorpe, followed by Cole Irvin on Sunday.

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Oregon State released the financial details of their new contract with Nike.

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Offensive guru Chip Kelly is building the Eagles defense first.

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The Denver Broncos have released Elvis Dumervil after he refused to restructure his contract.

Going into the season, Oregon pitching had defined itself as the top aspect of the team and had higher expectations than the offense, and probably even the defense. Jake Reed was coming off of a strong freshman year when he went 8-4 with 15 starts and a 2.92 ERA and took on the role of the ace, getting Friday night starts. Tommy Thorpe was going to be transitioned from the set-up role he thrived in freshman year to a full-fledged starter. Christian Jones was going to try to come back from Tommy John surgery and eventually start again. But after 17 games it is freshman Cole Irvin who has been most successful on the mound.

Cole Irvin didn’t come to Oregon as an unknown. ESPN had him as one of the highest-ranked pitchers in high school during his senior year, and after high school he was drafted in the 29th round to the Toronto Blue Jays. He still was a freshman, though, so expectations were only so high.

However, once he turned down his minor league deal to sign with Oregon, head coach George Horton said he knew he would do great things as a Duck.

“My confidence in him started when he said, ‘Yes, I want to be a Duck,’” Horton said. “Then it just got better and better from the fall. What has surprised me most about Cole Irvin, not that I thought anything else, but he’s laser focused.”

Irvin’s season isn’t impressive purely because of statistics, though they are good. His 2.76 ERA is second on the team, his 29.1 innings pitched is the most among Ducks pitchers, and he has only walked three batters, which leads the club. But with the good usually come the bad; he has struck out 15 batters, which is the fewest out of the starters, and has given up a team high 28 hits.

What makes Irvin so impressive is how the team has won with him on the mound. In his first start in Hawaii, the team put up nine runs, second-highest this year. In his second start against Loyola Marymount, the team gave him six runs while he only gave up one.

His third start is perhaps the most impressive. After getting slapped around in the first two games of the series against Horton’s alma mater, No. 17 Cal State Fullerton, the Ducks rallied behind Irvin to get a 9-1 win and avoid the sweep.

A similar situation transpired this past weekend against No. 2 Vanderbilt. The Ducks went into the Sunday game without a win. Irvin was unable to pick up the win because the Ducks were down when he left the mound, but he pitched well enough to keep the team in the game and they eventually came back to win.

“With this team there is a lot of trust, a lot of desire to win,” Irvin said. “The power this team has is very unique and I always believe that as a team, anything can be accomplished.”

As modest as he is, it’s impossible to ignore the composure he has shown as a freshman going against two ranked teams when the top two starters had failed to pick up a win. Irvin dismissed that he enjoys the pressure but did say he feels there is something special about a Sunday start.

“I want to close the door on the series,” Irvin said. “I think the most important job, not to take away from Friday or Saturday, but I think the most important job is Sunday. You either have a series sweep in your hands, a series win in your hands, or you have one win to take away from the series.”

A lot of the success Irvin has experienced comes from pure hard work. Coming in as a freshman with a coach like Horton, everything must be earned. Irvin admits that he would like the Friday role, but is humble in saying that success aside, he is just happy to have a spot in the rotation.

That humbleness and relentless work ethic is a big reason Horton speaks so highly of him.

“He came in here not entitled like some of those high-profile guys,” Horton said. “(There was no) ‘Give me a weekend start coach.’ He decided he was going to earn it and he has been equally as focused as the Tyler Andersons and the Scott McGoughs right from day one. He came in with huge upside and didn’t rely on what he has done in the past. He gets better every week and is mature beyond his years.”

That hard work has developed a versatile pitch repertoire. His most dependable is a fast ball topping out at 90 mph that he claims to be able to locate in any count. His change-up is his favorite pitch to throw, and he says he has a filthy curve ball that he will start bringing out in a 3-2 count when batters will least expect it.

Through all the hard work, Irvin has still found time to embrace the University of Oregon and find pleasure in the little things. When asked how he felt about starting Pac-12 play this weekend, his eyes lit up.

“I’m excited for this opening series against SC,” Irvin said. “That’s my grandfather’s alma mater and I’m excited to see him wearing green and yellow. That should be a sight to see.”

With the raw talent, composure and work ethic that Irvin has, the biggest worry for Ducks fans might not be the young pitcher crumbling under the pressure of conference play, but leaving for the minors before his four years of eligibility are up. With what he has accomplished so far, Irvin will likely give Ducks fans many memorable moments during his time at Oregon.

“What he has done so far doesn’t surprise me one bit,” Horton said. “I guess that’s the best way to explain that.”

Oregon took the first of a two-game series at PK Park against Texas State 4-3 Tuesday night.

Jeff Gold got the start and went six innings, giving up three earned runs while striking out five. The Ducks again didn’t have loud bats, they collected five hits, but they were effective and took advantage of the two errors committed by TSU. That, paired with decent pitching, was enough to get the win.

Ryon Healy again showed that he is the best Duck offensively in the young season, going 2-4 with a solo home run to left field. The homer was his third of the season, accounting for three of the four Oregon home runs. Healy has been an offensive constant, hitting .375, on a team struggling from the plate.

“Healy keeps just killing the ball, so hopefully some guys can join him,” Horton said. “He is just in the zone, and he’s a good hitter. He was a good hitter when he arrived here and just keeps getting better and better every year. He works very hard on his hitting.”

Duck fans got a surprise in the top of the eighth inning when Christian Jones came in to relieve Garrett Cleavinger with two outs and two on for TSU. Jones hadn’t pitched since Horton started him against Portland two weeks prior as he felt tightness in his throwing arm. Jones struck out the only batter he faced, Brode Boyd, to end the inning.

“Jones hasn’t done a lot of that,” Horton said of Jones coming in to face one batter. “But Christian is awfully good.”

Horton said that he has been cleared by the doctors and will return as a regular reliever.

“He had some tightness so we wanted to have him evaluated,” Horton said. “He got a clean bill of health so it was just a case of when he felt ready to go. He was ready tonight and he will be ready this weekend.”

TSU struck first with an RBI single to right center field from Matt Smith. The Ducks fought back and took the lead in the bottom of the third on an uncanny series of hits just beyond the reach of the TSU outfield. The first of which came on a double from Connor Hofmann, which touched the tip of the glove of the TSU center fielder.

J.J. Altobelli then hit to right field that again touched the glove of the fielder while still being out of grasp. The hit scored Hofmann. Scott Heineman then scored Altobelli on a hit to deep left field that shot no more than a foot out of reach for TSU. Oregon left the inning up 2-1.

Turning Point. Texas State rallyed to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning on a RBI double from Ben McElroy before Healy stepped to the plate in the bottom of the inning to blast a solo shot and tie the game. Tyler Baumgartner, who got the start at DH, got on base with a double and was driven in by a single past TSU short stop Garrett Mattlage from Ryan Hambright.

“We have nine hitters in the line up and a bunch of guys on the bench that can all spurt out at any moment,” Healy said. “We took on the motto of ‘pass on the baton’ to steal the track motto. It’s been working for us lately and we’re going to keep it going.”

With help from Jones, the Ducks got out of a possible rally from TSU in the eighth inning and then sent star closer Jimmie Sherfy in to get the save in the ninth.

“It was a no brainer in a one-run game to bring Jimmie in,” Horton said. “Jimmie didn’t have his good slider, but he found a way to get through that inning.”

On the horizon. The Ducks will finish off the series with Texas State tomorrow night at PK Park. Horton has yet to confirm the starter, saying the game will be “pitched by committee.”

Oregon will host Texas State at PK Park this week for a two-game series, the first of which comes Tuesday evening. The showdowns will be the last matchups of a seven-game home stand before Oregon takes to the road to play USC to start their Pac-12 schedule this weekend.

This is the second year in a row that Oregon and Texas State have gone head-to-head in a two-game series, with Texas State sweeping the Ducks last year in Texas. Coach George Horton frequently uses that series as a reminder to go into every game prepared.

For Oregon, Jeff Gold (2-0, 0.51 ERA) will take the mound and face off against Michael Pitts (0-1, 4.50 ERA).

First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.

Fifteen games into the season, the Oregon baseball team has created an identity. They pitch well and have a strong bullpen. They play great defense. They capitalize on mistakes from the opposition and find unique ways to score. Finding ways to score has become crucial because the most apparent part of the Ducks’ identity is their inability to hit the ball and to leave runners stranded in big moments.

“Yes, very much so,” first baseman Ryon Healy responded when asked if frustration is building in the dugout. “I think there are a lot of guys who are frustrated, including myself, that we aren’t getting results in big situations. It’s the game of baseball, we’re not going to be successful every time but there comes a point in time when we need to clutch up.”

Stranding runners was the problem again for the Ducks in a 4-2 losing effort against No. 2 Vanderbilt Saturday. The Ducks managed to get on base even though they only had five hits, but left 12 runners on base, seven of whom were in scoring position.

For a team that simply struggles to hit the ball, having 12 players to strand as a result of only five hits is impressive in some ways. That’s what the Ducks have done all year though; they work counts and get walked. Once on base, they thrive on errors from the opposition. Unfortunately, for a team who came into the season with such high expectations, more often than not those players never reach the home plate.

As a team they have just a .321 on base percentage and have stranded 103 runners in fifteen games. They are also hitting just .221 on the year, making each of those 103 stranded runners more important. Oftentimes, the Ducks will load the bases and seemingly have rhythm offensively only to end the inning without scoring a run.

“We are in that funk when guys are taking responsibility themselves and trying to do too much,” head coach George Horton said. “It looks to me like we are trying to have the special, two strike contact instead of just putting the ball in play. They are trying hard to win but are in a funk. We try to keep our eyes off the scoreboard, but that is impossible.”

In the bottom of the seventh inning the Ducks were trailing Vanderbilt 3-1 when the second batter, Connor Hofmann, gets walked. Next, J.J. Altobelli gets a bunt single. Scott Heineman then strikes out, but Hofmann and Altobelli advance to scoring position. Aaron Payne is then walked to load the bases. With two outs and the bases loaded, to go-ahead run comes to the plate in the form of Ryon Healy. Healy leads the Ducks in batting average, slugging percentage, hits, home runs, doubles and RBI. Essentially, he was who the Ducks would ideally have hit in that situation. Healy struck out swinging on a pitch that he probably wouldn’t have chased without the pressure of that moment.

After the out, Healy was visibly furious, throwing his helmet and batting gloves to the turf as he headed for the dugout.

“Our mentality isn’t where it needs to be,” Healy said after the game. “We’re not being tough outs right now, and that’s from top to bottom, myself included. I’m not helping this team at all right now with my at-bats and I am very disappointed in myself.”

The Ducks saw a similar rally in the bottom of the eighth inning when Hofmann scored Ryan Hambright on a double up the left baseline. Altobelli then came to the plate with two outs and runners on second and third. He struck out.

In the ninth Steven Packard flew out stranding two runners, one in scoring position.

Simply put, the Ducks can ill afford stranding runners. When hits are such a rarity, they have to capitalize on runnings in scoring position. They consider themselves a top team and they are playing a schedule chock-full of talent. If they continue leaving runners on base at this cadence, they won’t be a top team much longer.

Despite putting up a tougher fight than most probably anticipated, Oregon endured a second-half rally from the Washington Huskies and fell 69-62 to end their season. The Ducks finished the year at 4-27.

Oregon got off to a hot start, leading the Huskies by as many as 22 points in the first half. The Ducks had three players in double figures with Danielle Love scoring ten, Jillian Alleyne with 11, and Ariel Thomas leading the Ducks with 13 points. Alleyne and Liz Brenner both had 15 boards.

Jazmine Davis led the Huskies with 28 points, Talia Walton had 18points and 9 rebounds, and Aminah Williams had 11 and 17.

Turning point. It was certainly a tale of two halves with the Ducks shooting 44 percent in the first half, holding the Huskies to 23 percent and leading 39-28 at the break. However, Oregon lost their offense in the second half, going just 9-38 (23 percent) in the final 20 minutes. The Huskies shot 42 percent in the second half and 32 percent for the game.

With 4:17 left in the game, Walton hit a jumper to put the Huskies up 61-60, a lead they did not surrender.

On the horizon. With the season over, the Ducks can finally look to next year where the grass is a bit greener. Alleyne will have a full season under her belt and will likely improve. The Ducks top scorer, Lexi Peterson, should be back and healthy while Laura Stanulis, the starting point guard from the beginning of the season, will decide if she wants to use her final year of eligibility and play next season.

Oregon’s athletic department will have to decide the fait  of head coach Paul Westhead. Westhead has a long past full of accomplishments, but a 4-27 record is hard to forget about.

Westhead has a final year on his contract worth $675,000.

The Ducks (4-26) will have their last shot at giving their disappointing season some redemption in the Pac-12 Tournament held in Seattle, Wash.

Oregon finished last in the conference and will therefore be No. 12 against Washington, a five seed in their first game.

Washington finished the year going 19-10 and leads the series against Oregon all-time, 45-43.

Since the tournament is single elimination, the game could very well be the final appearance for a Duck team that was tortured early by injury and late by inconsistent play. Many players were forced to play out of position, and without a go-to scorer, the Ducks often settled for deep, heavily guarded three-pointers or wild, off-balance shots in the lane.

Rarely were they able to shoot over 30 percent, and they averaged nearly twice as many turnovers (20) as assists (11).

The bright spot for the Ducks was rebounding, with most of the damage coming from sensational rookie Jillian Alleyne.Alleyne averaged 11.8 boards per game, which came in second in the Pac-12 and was voted Honorable Mention to the 2012-13 All-Pac-12 team.

Tip off against Washington will come Thursday at 8:30 p.m. from Key Arena in Seattle, Wash.

The Ducks got a 4-1 win in their final game of a two game series against Cal State Northridge Tuesday in a rainy afternoon at PK Park. In the game, the Ducks, now 10-3 on the season, showed their true colors, getting four runs on just five hits. This was stark contrast to the 21 runs they put up in their two previous games.

In a game where no player had more than one hit, the star was starter Jeff Gold, who went seven innings, giving up six hits and one run.

“Gold was probably the biggest thing today,” coach George Horton said. “We won the strike throwing contest today, which we didn’t yesterday. He’s a four pitch mix guy. (CSUN) has a lot of right-handed hitters and they like to hit the fast ball so I felt good about the match up going into it. I don’t always feel good about Jeff because he doesn’t have electric stuff but as long as he keeps his arm slot on he can throw any pitch in any count.”

Gold’s role on the team has been a bit undefined so far with both starting and relieving appearances, however, he says that it hasn’t bothered him and that he will always be ready to go when called upon.

“Throw strikes,” Gold said of how he deals with an undefined role. “Throw quality strikes. I’ve been going about my work the same way, just grinding and waiting for opportunities. Putting myself in the best position for when I get called upon.”

Gold had a very solid and consistent outing, even through Oregon’s fielding was a little sub par due to the rainy conditions. However, it wasn’t always shaky. On one play, Ryan Raslowsky hit a grounder sharply into Gold’s glove. The ball fell into a weird spot and Gold had to throw the entire glove, ball and all, to first baseman Ryon Healy.

“I looked down and (the ball) was stuck,” Gold said. “I went to get it out and I heard Shaun (Chase) yell, ‘throw your glove!’ I went to throw my ball and I was like, ‘the ball is going to come out the second I throw it’ and it did. Luckily, Healy had great focus on it and was able to catch the ball and not my glove.”

Healy’s ability to avoid the glove, which came at him first, and field the ball to get the out at first base was just one of the many unique plays that Oregon has been able to make so far this season to make up for their poor offense.

Turning Point. For the second straight game, Oregon was able to connect with the ball in the fourth and establish a lead. Tuesday, it started with a double up the center for Healy, followed by an RBI single from Brett Thomas. Then Steven Packard walked. Ryan Hambright then hit a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners before Shaun Chase hit a sacrifice fly to score Thomas.

“Coach (Wasikowski) and coach Uhlman, they didn’t invent the game, but they’re awfully smart. Finding a way to win and finding a way to create runs has kind of been us.”

The Ducks found insurance runs in the fifth and eighth when Aaron Payne brought in Scott Heineman on a ground out and Packard hit an RBI double to the left corner to score Brett Thomas but still found themselves nervous in the top of the ninth when Jordan Spencer walked his first batter and then was pulled for Garrett Cleavinger. Cleavinger gets two outs before a 14-pitch battle with Michael Najera, who inevitably reached base on an error.

The Ducks got out of the inning and finished the game on a grounder to first fielded by Healy.

On the Horizon. The Ducks (10-3) will face their toughest opponent yet, and possibly the toughest one they will see all season, when they take on No. 2 Vanderbilt (12-1) this weekend for a three game series at PK Park. The first game will be Friday at 6 p.m. The game will feature an incredibly pitching match up between Oregon ace Jake Reed (1-2) and Vanderbilt ace Kevin Ziomek (3-0), who is one of the most highly rated players in college baseball.

After disappointing losses in the first two games against Cal State Fullerton, Oregon rebounded in the final game of the series and beat Cal State Northridge Monday night to net a two game win streak heading into the final game against CSUN. In the two wins, the Ducks had no trouble finding offense, scoring a combined 21 runs.

Ryon Healy, who has been the best hitter so far this year, will look to keep it rolling, possibly with the help of Ryan Hambright, who has recently emerged from a batting slump.

Tuesday’s game will be an early one, 12 p.m. at PK Park. After the Cal State Northridge series, the Ducks will enjoy two days off before they face Vanderbilt on Friday.

Oregon’s hot start to the season continued as they improved to 3-1 with a 14-13 win over Vermont in triple overtime.

It was a back-and-fourth game which included six lead changes and ten ties with Oregon never leading by more than one point. Oregon attempted 12 more shots than Vermont, 25-37, and had one fewer turnover, 15-16. Kate Cathell, Nikki Puszcz, and Devon Frazer led the Ducks in scoring with three goals a piece.

Vermont scored the first two goals, but Oregon was able to take their first lead with 4:43 gone in the first half. At half time, the Ducks were down 7-6. The game continued in a back-and-fourth manor and with 7:02 left to play, Vermont tied the game at 12-12.

Over the remaining seven minutes, neither team found the net, and the game headed into overtime at 12-12. Oregon failed to score in the first half of overtime and lost both draw controls. Headed into the second half of overtime, the Ducks trailed 13-12.

Oregon had several opportunities to score in the second half of overtime, but wasn’t able to score until the final seven seconds. The goal came courtesy of Carly O’Connell, who netted the ball off of rebound from a Kate Cathell miss.

The Turning Point. The teams took to the second overtime, where the golden goal rule was in play, but neither scored. In the third overtime, it wasn’t until there was only 1:47 left in the period when Puszcz was fouled and found herself in position to make a play in a free-position attempt. She did just that, rifling a shot past Vermont goalie Charlotte Lyons to win the sudden death game 14-13 in triple-overtime.

On the Horizon. The Ducks next game will come Friday at 5p.m. against Davidson at Pape Field.