Oregon took the first game of its three game series with Oregon State 3-0 behind a career night for pitcher Tommy Thorpe and some blistering offense to start the game.

Oregon, notoriously slow starters at home, came ready to play Friday night. Brett Thomas hit a strong line drive up centerfield to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Aaron Payne then hit a textbook bunt up the third base line, safely arriving on first and advancing Thomas to second.

Ryon Healy hit a single to left field, scoring Thomas. Next Mitchell Tolman moved Payne and Healy into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Heineman followed with another sacrifice bunt, this time scoring Payne.

“Obviously you want to score first,” said Healy. “Definitely playing at home, you want to make the score feel like it’s more. I feel like with the atmosphere we had here tonight it definitely felt like it was more than 3-0.”

Oregon picked up where they left off to start the second with Nick Catalano hitting a double to the left field corner and then moving to third on a sacrifice bunt courtesy of Josh Graham. J.J. Altobelli then drove him in on a high pop single to shallow center.

Through three innings, the Ducks had six hits. On the season, they average 8.5 hits per game.

After the third inning, Oregon State starter Matt Boyd (10-3, 2.04 ERA) tightened things up, allowing just one more hit through the rest of the game.

“He was cross-count a lot,” said Healy of Boyd. “He got me on a 2-0 (count) and on a 3-1 change-up, got me to swing and miss. He was doing a great job mixing speeds. He was pounding in fast balls and did a real good job not missing with those. Hats off to him, he’s threw one heck of a game.”

The lively bats in the first two innings separated Oregon from Oregon State, but the true MVP of the game was Thorpe. Thorpe threw eight innings and allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out seven.

Most impressive, though, was his efficiency. He flew through innings, working his slider and curve ball, he kept his pitches low, forcing batters to ground out. He finished eight innings on an incredible 92 pitch count.

“Tommy! That was unreal,” said closer Jimmie Sherfy of Thorpe’s impressive start. “Our pitching staff here is so great, to have him Friday night and then Cole (Irvin) Saturday, Jake (Reed) Sunday … I think we have the best starting staff in the nation. Tommy was just dominant like he usually is. It was no surprise at all.”

Since Oregon head coach George Horton made the change in the starting rotation, putting Thorpe in the Friday spot and moving Jake Reed to the Sunday spot, the Ducks have swept every weekend series. Thorpe has been fantastic against other Friday guys, but this was his most impressive performance of the year.

“I felt awesome,” said Thorpe. “Going out and throwing a shut out was awesome. I couldn’t ask for anything more. I was on top of the ball. My slider and fast ball were low in the zone so I was able to get a lot of ground balls and pop ups.”

Perhaps the only hiccup of the night came in the ninth after Thorpe walked his first batter . Horton pulled Thorpe and sent Sherfy, a usual guaranteed save, in to close out the game. He struck out his first batter but plunked the second, sending him on base. He then struck out the next batter.

Ryan Barnes came to the plate and after a bit of a count battle, Sherfy lost command and hit Barnes square in the helmet, sending him to the ground.

Sherfy was notorious for hitting batters last season. The 13 he hit prompted the “Wild Thing” nickname that had become so popular. However, this season he found his control and hadn’t hit a single batter until Friday night.

He battled back though, getting the final out on a pop up from Oregon State’s Danny Hayes. The save was his 20th, eclipsing the school record of 19 he set last season.

“We had planned that if one guy got on we were going to go to Sherfy,” said Horton of his decision to pull Thorpe. “(Sherfy) wobbled a little bit but he gets that last out more times than he doesn’t.”

The Civil War series will pick back up Saturday at 2 p.m. Cole Irvin will take the mound for the Ducks.

Oregon softball took care of business in their second-straight game in regional play as they took a 3-0 victory over UNC.

Star pitcher Jessica Moore had her second start in under 12 hours but was effective as always.

The Emerald’s Hayden Kim has a full recap.

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Oregon baseball will take on Oregon State in a Civil War with Pac-12 title implications. The two teams have separated themselves from the rest of the conference and both are looking to host super regional play.

Here is a full preview.

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The list of awards Jimmie Sherfy is contending for is growing by the day. Earlier today it was announced that Sherfy has been made a semifinalist, one of 40, for the Dick Howser Trophy. Other awards Sherfy is being considered for include the Golden Spikes Award for the top player in the country, the NCBWA Stopper of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, which now has only 22 candidates.

No. 6 Oregon baseball kicks off their biggest series of the season this weekend: the Civil War. The Civil War series always has hype surrounding it, but this year it’s justified. The winner of the series will likely win the Pac-12 and earn the right to host super regionals.

No. 4 Oregon State has been nothing short of spectacular this season, sitting atop the conference and boasting the lowest ERA in the Pac-12 (2.06).

Oregon has won the only game between the two this season; a non-conference game in Corvallis. Over the past three years the home team has swept the series. Oregon, the home team this weekend, will look to keep that streak intact.

Oregon’s top hitter, Ryon Healy, has sat out the last three games due to a back strain but is expected to be available for the Ducks Friday night.

First pitch will be Friday night at 6 p.m. at PK Park.

No. 6 Oregon baseball kicks off their biggest series of the season this weekend: the Civil War. The Civil War series always has hype surrounding it, but this year it’s justified. The winner of the series will likely win the Pac-12 and earn the right to host super regionals.

No. 4 Oregon State has been nothing short of spectacular this season, sitting atop the conference and boasting the lowest ERA in the Pac-12 (2.06).

Oregon has won the only game between the two this season; a non-conference game in Corvallis. Over the past three years the home team has swept the series. Oregon, the home team this weekend, will look to keep that streak intact.

Oregon’s top hitter, Ryon Healy, has sat out the last three games due to a back strain but is expected to be available for the Ducks Friday night.

First pitch will be Friday night at 6 p.m. at PK Park.

Oregon softball came out on top Thursday night in their first game of regionals as they beat BYU, 5-2. Oregon struggled at times but, as they have come to expect, were helped by a strong game from pitcher Jessica Moore.

Moore, the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, threw her 12th complete game of the season.

The Emerald’s Hayden Kim has a full recap. First pitch between Oregon and North Carolina on Friday starts at 11 a.m. at Howe Field. The game can be watched via live-stream here.

In addition to the Ducks’ 17 All-Pac-12 honors, the softball team was also recognized with six All-Region honors. The six awards — five first-team honors and one second-team honor — leads the nation.

First-team recipients: Jessica Moore, Kaylan Howard, Courtney Ceo, Alexa Peterson and Janie Takeda.

Second-team recipient: Cheridan Hawkins.

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The strong first-round play at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional Thursday from Oregon men’s golf gives them a tie for fourth place heading into round two.

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The Oregon club ultimate men’s team is ranked No. 1 as they head into the USA Ultimate College Championships. It is the third time in the past four seasons they have headed into the championships with this ranking.

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The Maloof brothers have decided to keep the Kings in Sacramento, selling controlling stake of the team to a group of Sacramento investors Thursday for a reported $348 million.

Chris Hansen and his group of Seattle-based investors were offering $406 million for the team, but with pressure from NBA commissioner David Stern, the bros gave the Sacramento group a home-town discount.

Oregon’s All-American closer Jimmie Sherfy is one of 22 names currently on the 2013 Pitcher of the Year award watch list. He is also on the Golden Spikes Player of the Year watch list and the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list.

He leads the nation in saves with 19, tying the school record he set last season as a sophomore. He also boasts a 1.00 ERA and leads the nation with 13.05 strikeouts per nine innings.

With seven games — four against Oregon State and a series against Utah — left in the regular season, he will surely eclipse his record of 19 saves in a season.

The baseball rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State was born before even the former reinstated its baseball program in 2009.

It started when the Beavers won back-to-back College World Series titles in 2006 and 2007,which back then made Oregon look like “little brother.” It intensified when Oregon brought baseball back, and now, with both programs vying to host Super Regional play, the series between the two is more important than ever.

The Beavers bullied the Ducks during Oregon’s first reinstated season, taking five of six games. The next year, the Beavers swept the Ducks in Corvallis and went 1-1 in two nonconference games.

Over the next two years, the teams traded sweeps with the home team always coming out on top. This year Oregon has taken the only game, a 6-3 victory, a non-conference matchup in Corvallis.

The teams will go at it four times between Friday and Tuesday, three coming in a weekend series in Eugene and the fourth being a final nonconference game on Tuesday in Corvallis.

The Beavers and Ducks — ranked fourth and sixth in the nation in the USA Today Coaches Poll, respectively — have much more to play for this year than pride. Both teams are a virtual lock to host regional play in the postseason, but that isn’t the final goal.

Oregon head coach George Horton, when asked about the teams hosting Regionals and Super Regionals, said it’s possible both teams can host. He hopes, however, the two teams won’t face off in the postseason until the last game of the post-season.

“I’ve said often that I hope one of these days that we both go to the College World Series,” Horton said. “In a perfect storm, we’d play each other for the National Championship. There’s room for both of us in Omaha, and there’s room for both of us to host.”

A perfect storm is a great description for the two teams going head to head. The similarities between them are uncanny.

They have the best records in the conference, and both rely heavily on their pitching, sitting atop the Pac-12 in:

— collective ERA, Oregon State at 2.06 and Oregon at 2.62;

— saves, Oregon with 23 and Oregon State with 17; and

— the top four in strike outs, with Oregon leading the conference with 362 and Oregon State coming in fourth with 335.

Neither team is extraordinary from the batter’s box, coming in middle of the pack in most batting statistical categories, with the Beavers generally slightly ahead of the Ducks — but each finds a way to make up for their offensive struggles. Oregon falls back on their defense, ranked second in the conference, while Oregon State has a stellar on-base percentage of .379.

Both teams have nearly identical season records, with the main difference being Oregon scheduling more games for their 2013 season. Neither has dropped three games in a row, and both have been able to limit losing consecutive games.

Perhaps most interesting is the hot streak both seem to be on: Oregon State has won 12 in a row, and Oregon took 12 of its last 13.

Statistics and records, like those above, can show the differences between the teams, which doesn’t separate one from the other. That point will have to be proven on the field.

No. 3 Oregon softball needed no regular season awards to prove they had a historically great season, their 46-9, 19-5 Pac-12 record and their first-ever conference title spoke for them. The record 17 All-Pac-12 honors are just a bonus.

Senior Jessica Moore, one of the most decorated pitchers in Oregon history, received the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year award. She is only the second Oregon pitcher to do so. Her 25-4 record, nine wins against top 25 opponents and finishing the season with a 1.59 ERA proved most impressive in the conference.

Senior second baseman Kaylan Howard, junior shortstop Courtney Ceo, junior catcher Alexa Peterson, sophomore center fielder Janie Takeda and freshman pitcher Cheridan Hawkins all joined Moore on the All-Pac-12 First Team.

Senior right fielder Samantha Pappas made the All-Pac-12 Second Team, and junior first baseman Kailee Cuico, freshman utility player Koral Costa and catcher Janelle Lindvall received honorable mentions.

Costa, Hawkins and Lindvall, in addition to their All-Pac-12 honors, made the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team with Danica Mercado getting an honorable mention.

Head coach Mike White won Pac-12 Coach of the Year. It was just the second time an Oregon coach won the award and came in his fourth year on the job.

The awards are tangible proof of the stellar year for the softball team, but they still have much to accomplish before they’re done on the year. Oregon, who won the right to host Regional play, will kick off the postseason Thursday at 6 p.m. against BYU at Howe Field.

It wasn’t the prettiest win of the season, but Oregon gutted out a tough game against Gonzaga and found solace in a walk off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth with two outs off the bat of Ryan Hambright to get the 4-3 victory.

Zach Abbruzza was set to take the mound for the Bulldogs when he felt discomfort and swelling in his eye and had to be taken to a local hospital after seeing both teams’ trainers. Billy Moon stepped in, pitching a strong six and a third innings, giving up just three hits and three runs while striking out eight.

“It was a great effort by their little left hander,” Oregon coach George Horton said of Moon. “He wasn’t supposed to start the game, but got pressed into action. Mood did a great job of keeping us off-balance and we didn’t make many runs at him.”

Jordan Spencer got the start for the Ducks, going a full four innings giving up just two hits and one run, but didn’t have much support offensively. Oregon didn’t get a hit until the bottom of the fourth when Hambright hit a double to shallow center field.

It wasn’t until the sixth inning when Oregon corralled another hit, this one a single from Nick Catalano. Hambright then was walked to load the bases before Scott Heineman scored on a wild pitch to Josh Graham. Graham then drove in Catalano, allowing the Ducks to tie the game 2-2.

“We were a little comatose at first,” Horton said. “I didn’t like it, especially the first six innings. We didn’t pitch very well, out bats were uncharacteristic. I think we struck out eight times in the first five or six innings.”

Oregon came back in the seventh to take a 3-2 lead on an RBI single from Mitchell Tolman to center field, scoring J.J. Altobelli. However, in the eighth inning Mitchell Gunsolus got on first due to a fielding error by Hambright at third base, and was later driven in by Cory Lebrun on a double to right field, tying the game.

Turning point. The game seemed destined for extra innings when Hambright stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. Two at-bats prior, Tolman singled, seemingly loading the bases, when Brett Thomas got caught in a chase down trying to steal home. It seemed as though their best shot was gone. Tyler Baumgartner was then walked to load the bases with two outs before Hambright stepped to the plate and hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Heineman and winning the game.

“That guy was throwing a lot of sliders with runners in scoring position,” Hambright said of the pitch. “I just wanted to get a pitch up and get a good swing on it.”

On the horizon. Oregon and Gonzaga will finish off the series tomorrow at PK Park, first pitch coming at 6 p.m. Clayton Crum will get the start. Ryon Healy, who has missed the past two games, will again be unavailable for Oregon with a back strain. Horton said he expects he will be ready Friday when Oregon takes on Oregon State.

Oregon baseball picks back up Tuesday evening, starting a two-game home series against Gonzaga. The series with the Bulldogs will be part of a five-game homestand, the final three coming this weekend against the Beavers. Oregon is coming off a sweep of Ohio State and has been victorious in 12 of their last 13 games.

The series with Gonzaga might prove more difficult than most non-conference, mid-week series. Oregon head coach George Horton said that due to them not having a weekend series this week, the Ducks could face their top starters.

“Gonzaga has already clinched their conference, they don’t have a full weekend,” said Horton. “We might see Marco Gonzalez, a Team USA guy on a team that I coached, we might see their weekend pitching.”

Jordan Spencer (2-0, 4.50) will take the mound for Oregon to start the first game against Gonzaga, going against RHP Zach Abbruzza (0-2, 3.80). Horton will likely stick to his routine in midweek games and take a pitch-by-committee approach with Christian Jones, Garrett Cleavinger and Darrell Hunter likely seeing a couple innings apiece. Neither team has announced their Wednesday starter. 

First pitch will be at 6 p.m. at PK Park.