– Oregon running backs Byron Marshall and Thomas Tyner were named to the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award on Thursday. The Doak Walker award is given to the best running back in the nation.

– Oregon landed its first recruit of its 2016 recruiting class on Friday afternoon. Brady Breeze, a six-foot, 185 pound safety from Central Catholic, called defensive backs coach John Neal to announce his commitment, according to Justin Hopkins of 247Sports. “God was telling me to go there,” Breeze told 247sports. “Oregon is the only shirt I’ve ever worn, the only school I wanted to go to. It’s actually a dream come true for me and my family.”

– Former Oregon basketball player Brandon Austin will not be admitted to Hutchinson Community College, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.

– Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu were named to the preseason Walter Camp award watch list on Friday.

– The Eugene Emeralds used three pitchers to shutout the Vancouver Candians 3-0 on Wednesday.

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– As the preseason rolls on, more Oregon football players are being added to major award watch lists. Wednesday morning, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota was named to the Davey O’Brien award watch list, which is given to the past passer in college football. Mariota finished as a semi-finalist for the award in 2013.

– Along with Mariota, linebacker Derrick Malone was added to both the Butkus, and the Lombardi Award watch lists. Malone was joined by teammates Hroniss Grasu and Tyler Johnstone on the Lombardi Award watch list. This is the third nomination for Malone who was previously named to the Nagurski Trophy watch list which is given to the best defensive player in the nation.

– Senior defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu was named to the watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award last Friday, which is given to the best defensive back in the nation. This is the third watch list Ekpre-Olomu has been named to after being added to the Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award.

– Emerald sports reporter Hayden Kim teamed up with David Cohn of the Stanford Daily and Kevin Bowman of the Daily Bruin to discuss the upcoming Pac-12 football season.

– Former Oregon basketball player Brandon Austin was not charged with sexual assault for an incident stemming back to his days at Providence College. A grand jury found “legally insufficient evidence” in the case to charge Austin.

– The Eugene Emeralds lost for the third consecutive game last night.

– Oregon women’s soccer player Bri Pugh was one of 24 players selected to compete in the U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team’s third training camp on Monday. Pugh is entering her senior year after earning honorable mention All-Pac-12 last season for the Ducks.

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The Eugene Emeralds’ recent struggles at the plate carried over into Sunday’s 6-2 loss against the visiting Boise Hawks.

The Emeralds, who combined to go 5-for-30 with runners in scoring position over the course of the weekend home series, went 1-for-1 to start off the game. Shortstop Franchy Cordero led-off the Eugene offensive attack with a walk in the bottom of the first. A stolen base from Cordero and a RBI-double to left field from second baseman Jalen Goree, and the Emeralds were on the scoreboard with a 1-0 lead.

The first inning RBI from Goree was his twelfth of the season and his eighth in the last ten games.

Boise got a runner into scoring position the following inning on a double to lead-off the inning from second baseman Chesny Young. The Hawks, however, didn’t need a hit to bring Young home from second. First baseman Alex Tomasovich flied out to right field in the following at bat, allowing Young to tag up and make it safely to third. A pass ball later in the inning allowed him to score and tie the game at one.

Thomas Dorminy got the start for the Emeralds, but it was reliever Travis Radke who took the most damage from the Boise lineup. In the top of the fourth, the Hawks scored four runs with a fielding error from Goree, two bunts that went for singles and three solid singles.

Boise designated hitter Mark Malave singled in run in the top of the eighth inning to bring the score to 6-1. The hit from Malave encapsulated a combined 5-12 effort with runners in scoring position for the Hawks on the evening.

Eugene left fielder Jose Urena hit his first home run of the season  — a solo shot to center field  —  to begin the bottom of the ninth, but Boise reliever Josh Davis got the next three batters out to end the game.

With the loss, Eugene falls to 13-17  and will now head to Canada for a five-game road series with the Vancouver Canadians. The road hasn’t been kind to the Emeralds so far this season. The team is just 5-11 away from PK Park.

Notes:

– Trea Turner, who was promoted from Eugene to high-class single A Fort Wayne after the game on Friday, batted lead-off and started at shortstop in his debut on Sunday. Turner went 1-for-5.

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Eugene Emeralds right fielder Nick Torres has had a hectic start to his Minor League baseball career.

After signing with the San Diego Padres last week, Torres flew to Eugene before immediately hitting the road with his new club. With a month off from the game, Torres struggled in his first four games. He had two hits in his first 16 at bats.

“I was a little impatient with myself and that’s just a part of the growing process and the maturing process,” Torres said after the loss. “I have to learn that I can’t expect to have time off and make an impact right away.”

While Torres has struggled, so has the entire Emeralds team. Eugene fell to the visiting Boise Hawks by a final score of 5-3 on Friday night, marking the fifth time that the Emeralds have fallen short in the last six games.

Despite the loss, Torres was able to play in front of his new home crowd for the first time. Finally comfortable after a week of travel, Torres delivered a memorable home debut. Torres went 2-for-4 on the evening, including a home run to deep left field in the bottom of the sixth.

“It feels good to have a good night and get that first home run,” Torres said. “Hopefully everything just starts to flow from here.”

Eugene got a solid performance from starting pitcher Michael Kelly. The Emeralds right-handed pitcher threw five innings while allowing just one run on three hits.

“He threw well,” manager Rob Wine said. “I think his pitch count went up there a little bit with a little lapse of concentration. He got tough when he needed to and it was a good outing for him.”

Kelly’s lone earned run came in the top of the third.

After Hawks shortstop Giuseppe Papaccio walked and advanced to second base to start the inning, right fielder Jeffrey Baez singled past a diving attempt from third baseman Chase Jensen. With Jensen still on the ground and in the base path, Papaccio leaped over him and sprinted home before the throw could reach the plate. The score evened the game at one.

Wine elected to go with reliever Max Beatty to replace Kelly. Beatty entered the gam who has not allowed a single run in 13 innings pitched this season. Against the Hawks lineup, Beatty struggled.

In the top of the seventh, Boise designated hitter Mark Zagunis hit a two run double to left field off of Beatty to give the Hawks their first lead of the night. The next batter, First baseman Danny Canela, brought Zagunis home with a bloop single into right field to make the score 4-2.

“It was an opportunity for (Beatty) to stop the bleeding and it didn’t work out in our favor tonight,” Wine said.

Eugene got one run back in the bottom of the seventh when shortstop Franchy Cordero beat out an infield single to third base that brought home Austin Bousfield. However, the Emeralds could never put together enough base runners to mount a legitimate comeback. Only one more Emeralds batter would reach base on the evening.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Emeralds designated hitter Trea Turner stepped to the plate for what would end up being his last at bat before moving up to the Fort Wayne Tin Caps, the high-class single A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Turner, the 13th overall selection in the 2014 MLB Draft, smacked a line drive into left field to close this stint with the Emeralds. Despite struggling in 22 games with Eugene, Wine believes being called up will be a nice change of pace for Turner.

“Fort Wayne is looking for some defense and he’s going to hit,” Wine said.  ‘I think with the slow start here — if you can call it a slow start — it’s good to have a fresh start and he’s going to help them out a lot. He has a future.”

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-Three more Oregon football players were added to college football award watch lists this week. The Ducks tight end duo of Johnny Mundt and Pharaoh Brown appeared on the preseason John Mackey Award watch list — an award given to the best tight end in college football — while Hroniss Grasu was named to the Rimington Trophy watch list. Grasu was a finialst for the Rimington Trophy last season. The Rimington Trophy is awarded to the best center in college football.

– Brandon Austin isn’t joining the Hutchinson Community College basketball team yet. After it was reported on Monday evening that Austin, a former Oregon and Providence basketball player, would transfer to Hutchinson, head coach Steve Eck told The Emerald, “There’s no truth to that right now.” A representative for Laura Fine Moro, the lawyer for Austin, told The Emerald that Austin was indeed transferring to Hutchinson but that Eck probably had more information on the matter.

– The Eugene Emeralds fell in their third consecutive game Tuesday night to the Salem-Keizur Volcanoes 4-3.

– Oregon men’s tennis player Robin Cambier added another award to his resume.

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Zac Schuller’s phone showed a Phoenix, Arizona area code. Not knowing whom it could be, the former City College of San Francisco wide receiver ignored the call.

The next morning, Schuller was awakened by another phone call. This time it was George Rush, the head football coach at CCSF.

“I just got off the phone with Oregon,” Rush told Schuller. “Write this number down.”

Dazed and still half-asleep, Schuller wrote the number down. Coincidentally, it was the same number that he ignored the day before. He had been waiting for months to figure out his upcoming college destination, and finally, Schuller got the call he had been hoping for.

“I was just kind of waiting and waiting and trying to keep my head up and then I got this call,” Schuller said. “It’s the dream school.”

The phone belonged to Oregon wide receiver’s coach Matt Lubick. Lubick and the rest of the Oregon coaching staff had heard about Schuller’s successful junior college career and his elite track speed. They offered him a tryout.

On his way to dinner in Florence, Oregon, Schuller once again received a call from Lubick. Lubick opened the conversation by saying he had good news for Schuller. After that, Schuller was too excited to remember what the rest of the phone call entailed.

“I was too excited,” Schuller said with a smile. “I don’t even remember what he said after that.”

A week later, Schuller returned to Oregon as a scholarship athlete.

“It sort of came out of the blue,” Schuller’s father Elden recalled. “Things changed overnight with that one phone call. It was a whirlwind.”

Growing up, Schuller didn’t look at football as something he’d pursue after high school. While at St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco, California, Schuller split time in the offensive backfield with Gabe Manzanares. After seeing him play, Manzanares told Schuller that he had a future in the game.

“Back in high school I saw how explosive he was,” Manzanares said. “I knew it was going to be hard, but I always had high hopes.”

Against rival Sacred Heart Cathedral, Schuller recorded three touchdowns including an interception returned for a touchdown. That was the first time on the field Manzanares saw Schuller’s potential play out.

“I thought, ‘Man, this guy is special,’” Manzanares said.

Manzanares saw Schuller’s ability firsthand. That’s why when Schuller called to tell Manzanres he was heading to Oregon, Manzanares wasn’t surprised. Manzanres was proud of Schuller, but told him there was still a lot of work left to do.

“I appreciate that from him,” Schuller said. “It keeps my mind right and my head on my shoulders.”

With just two years of eligibility remaining, Schuller understands that he is at Oregon to compete. After the loss of former Oregon wide receiver Josh Huff to the Philadelphia Eagles, and the severe knee injury to Bralon Addison, the receiver and returning positions are wide open.

“As a JUCO transfer, they brought me in to get me in the mix,” Schuller said. “I’m going to try and fight for a starting job.”

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The Eugene Emeralds were one pitch away from beating the Spokane Indians last night before eventually falling 7-5. Tonight, it only took the Emeralds, and second baseman Jalen Goree, one swing of the bat to get the victory.

In the bottom of the twelfth inning, Goree sent a pitch from Indians reliever Nick Dignacco over the left field wall to give the Emeralds a 2-1 walk-off victory. The walk-off shot from Goree was the fourth in his Minor League career and his second of the season.

Franchy Cordero got things going for the Emeralds offensively.

Spokane starting pitcher Andrew Barnett cruised through the Eugene lineup the first time by allowing just one hit in the process. In his first plate appearance against Barnett, Cordero struck out swinging. In his second at bat, Cordero homered to deep center field to put the Emeralds up 1-0.

True to their form all season, the Emeralds and manager Rob Wine utilized a plethora of pitchers throughout the night. Thomas Dorminy got the start for Eugene, but the Emeralds ultimately used seven pitchers. Collectively, the group allowed just seven hits and one run. The equalizing score from Spokane came in the top of the sixth.

With Spokane designated hitter Marcus Greene at the plate, and runners at first and third, Emeralds reliever Colby Blueberg threw a wild pitch that allowed Trevino to score to tie the game. It was the second night in a row that Eugene had a pass ball equate to a run. The Emeralds allowed two runs on two pass balls the previous night.

Eugene got runners in scoring position in both the tenth and eleventh innings, but couldn’t bring home the game-winning run. The home run from Goree in the twelfth was his first hit of the game.

With the victory, the Emeralds improve their record to 9-11 and now trail the first place Hillsboro Hops by four games. Spokane and Eugene will finish off their six game tomorrow. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

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The Eugene Emeralds and reliever Travis Radke were one strike away from their fourth win in the last five games. Instead, with the bases loaded, Spokane Indians designated hitter Jose Trevino slapped bases clearing  line drive down the right field line to give Spokane a 7-5 lead that it would never relinquish.

The Indians jumped on the scoreboard first. Against Eugene starting pitcher Logan Jernigan, lead-off hitter Seth Spivey hit a double to center field that put him in scoring position. Garrett then proceeded to throw two balls past catcher Miguel Del Castillo to bring Spivey all the way home from second without a Spokane hitter putting a ball in play.

In the bottom of the second, with Del Castillo at the plate, Spokane starting pitcher Reed Garrett had a pass ball of his own to bring home Trae Santos. Del Castillo then doubled to left field to bring home Auston Bousfield, a fifth round pick in this year’s draft out of Ole Miss who made his Emerald debut on Tuesday night. Felipe Blanco later singled to bring home Del Castillo to give the Emeralds a 3-1 lead.

After already striking for one run in the inning, Spokane shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a two-RBI double to right field that gave the Indians a 4-3 advantage.

The Emeralds tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to give them a 5-4 lead. However, the advnatge would eventually be conceded as Spokane pulled away in the ninth on Trevino’s three-RBI triple.

The Emeralds and Indians will play tomorrow night in the fifth game of a six game series. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

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Three-star safety PJ Locke announced his decision to verbally commit to the University of Oregon Tuesday afternoon.

Beaumont Central (TX) 2015 DB James PJ Locke (@PjLocke4) commits to #Oregon. #GoDucks @AJ_Jacobson pic.twitter.com/lXJxtA99hO

— Matt Clare (@MattClareRivals) July 1, 2014

Locke became the second recruit to commit to Oregon on Tuesday after four-star dual-threat quarterback Travis Waller announced his choice to play for Mark Helfrich and the Ducks.

Out of Beaumont Central high school in Beaumont, Texas, Locke was ranked as the No. 34 overall safety in the 2015 recruiting class, according to ESPN.

Locke chose to commit to Oregon over Notre Dame, Baylor, ASU, and Michigan State.

According to Justin Hopkins of 247Sports, Oregon made a “huge impression” on Locke after he visited on June 10.

Locke became the 11th player and the second defensive back to verbally commit to Oregon in the 2015 recruiting class. Three-star cornerback Jihree Stewart committed to Oregon on June 12.

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Due to their scheduled game being postponed for rain on June 17, the Eugene Emeralds and the Spokane Indians faced-off in a double-header at PK Park on Monday.

Here are the recaps from each of the games:

Game one

In the first game of the double-header, Eugene raced out to an early lead and never looked back. The Emeralds beat Spokane by a final score of 5-1.

Emeralds starting pitcher Michael Kelly got all the run support he needed before he even stepped foot on the mound. The first game of the double-header was slated as the makeup game for the one rained out in Spokane. So, the Indians took the role as the home team despite the game being played in Eugene.

The Emeralds took full advantage of being the away team in their home park. With two outs in the top of the first, Jalen Goree started a rally with a single to right field. Eugene followed up Goree’s single with four consecutive hits including a two-RBI double by Chase Jensen that gave the Emeralds a 3-0 lead early on Spokane.

Eugene designated hitter Cory Spangenberg tripled in the top of the second to score Rod Boykin before a sacrifice fly by Goree brought him home to put the Emeralds up 5-0.

Kelly took full advantage of the lead his offense gave him by allowing  one run  — a solo home run by Spokane center fielder Zach Cone in the bottom of the second — and four hits in six innings pitched.

In the Northwest League, each game of a double-header only has a duration of seven innings. So after Kelly threw six dominant innings, reliever Seth Lucio came in to pitch and the bottom of the seventh and closed the door on Spokane with a perfect 1-2-3 inning.

Former University of Oregon pitcher Darrell hunter made his first appearance back at PK Park since leaving the University. He pitched a perfect inning of relief in the top of the seventh.

Game two

While Eugene handled the Indians in the first contest, the second game of the double-header was an entirely different story. Behind a 10-run scoring effort, the visiting Indians shutout the Emeralds by a final score of 10-0.

Eugene starting pitcher Griffin Russell struggled early against the Spokane lineup. With a man on base in the top of the first, Spokane designated hitter Jose Trevino homered to left field to start off the offensive outburst. Russell lasted just 2.2 innings and gave up five runs on five hits and three walks.

The bullpen didn’t fair much better against the Indians. Collectively, the group also allowed five runs on five hits.

The Indians’ pitching staff combined to throw seven shutout innings, allowing just five Eugene batters to reach base all afternoon.

The Indians and Emeralds will play again tomorrow night for the fourth game of the six game series. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

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