– Oregon baseball head coach George Horton and junior outfielder Scott Heineman have been suspended after getting ejected from Sunday’s game vs. USC. Horton was suspended for the first two games of the Ducks’ upcoming series with Washington, while Heineman was suspended for Friday’s game.

– The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association named Jenna Prandini the Division 1 Women’s Athlete of the Week after running a 10.92 100-meter dash and a 22.42 200-meter dash at the Mt. SAC Relays this weekend.

The mark in the 100 tied the fastest time in the world this season in the event and the second-fastest in NCAA history, while her 200 time broke her own school record and is the world leading time in the event.

– Oregon signee Matthew Maton broke Galen Rupp’s Oregon high school record in the 1500-meter race at the Oregon Relays this weekend, making the Prefontaine Classic’s recent decision to add an elite high school mile event to the meet even more interesting.

– Janie Takeda tied the Oregon career hit record in the top-ranked Duck softball team’s 6-3 victory over Stanford Monday. Takeda picked up career hit number 288 on an RBI single in the fourth inning to tie Courtney Ceo in Oregon’s record book.

– Mark Helfrich thinks Chip Kelly ‘has a plan’ for Tim Tebow. Tebow was signed by the Eagles Sunday, sparking a bit of excitement amongst football analysts. However in 2011, Kelly said at a coaches clinic he wasn’t looking for a quarterback like Tebow.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

Jimmy Grabow ran his first marathon at the 2012 Olympic Trials in 2:12:29.

That’s the 16th fastest debut marathon in American history.

Grabow finished in 10th place, missing the Olympic roster by just three seconds, and moved from off the radar to center stage in the distance running world overnight.

But with a whirlwind of expectations hanging over his head, Grabow ran a disappointing 2:19:03 at the Chicago Marathon a few months later.

Since then, Grabow decided to make the move from southern California to Track Town U.S.A. to continue his career both as an academic advisor in the School of Journalism and Communications and as a runner with the expanding Team Run Eugene.

The Emerald got a chance to catch up with Grabow to discuss his career, his training regiment and plans for the looming 2016 Olympic Trials.

After leaving college, what were some of the challenges that came with being an up-and-coming independent distance runner?

It’s not like the NBA or the NFL where there’s a professional organization to follow and so forth. As a distance runner, you have to make your own path.

But the big thing a lot of runners struggle with and I don’t is I actually have an income that’s not tied to running.

It’s kind of like being a freelance journalist. You want to make sure you still have an emergency stash of ramen noodles in the pantry, so it’s kind of like that. Not having to worry about that has kind of been a benefit and it’s allowed me to pursue my running goals even more because I could take more risks. I could try a completely new environment like what I did with Eugene.

What drove your decision to move to Eugene? Running, or work?

A little bit of both. My wife also goes to school here, she’s getting her P.H.D. in counseling and psychology. When she was looking at programs, I was like, ‘We should look at UO too.’

So it’s a little bit of both, because I can do what I have two passions for – working with students and running – and I can do it at a great university and a great community that supports both sides of my spectrum. The social, professional side of working with students and also the physical running side, beating myself up every day.

If you could change one thing you did in the Chicago Marathon, what would it be?

My mindset going into that race. I thought too much about it. I was going into that race knowing that I need to run fast and when my gameplay got messed up, I wasn’t able to adjust to it. I got nervous and made stupid errors.

Honestly, you can have a plan, but be able to be flexible. Like Bruce Lee, be like water. Getting to that starting line in a good place physically and mentally prepared, just knowing to have fun out there too, because I also didn’t have fun going into that race.

Do you think you’re going to make the Olympics?

At this rate, I would say if I get to the line healthy and in a good spot, I’ll be competitive. There’s a lot of great runners out there, and my goal is always to compete.

If being competitive gets me that spot, great. If being competitive gets me in the top 10 again, great.

Would I like to be in the Olympics? Sure, but I’ve reached a lot of the goals I’ve set out for myself for running. I would like to represent the U.S. internationally once, whether that’s the Olympics or Worlds, don’t care as long as it’s that once. The Olympics would be nice, but it is not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to still have fun with it and enjoy every step of the way, because there’s a lot of steps. And not crap my pants, that’s always the goal.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

Oregon baseball suffered numerous blunders in its 7-3 loss to No. 10 USC on Sunday at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles.

The Ducks played well enough on both side of the field to win Sunday’s contest, but six walks, three hit batters and a critical error pushed home two unearned runs to bury Oregon in the rubber match.

After putting up 15 runs against the Trojans (29-10, 10-5) on Saturday, Oregon (23-18, 5-10) was shut down by USC’s Sunday starter Mitch Hart (6-1), who allowed just one run on three hits in six innings.

Conor Harber (3-2) got the start for Oregon, but turned in his second shaky outing since suffering a shoulder injury against Michigan State two weekends ago. The junior lasted just one inning and gave up three runs on two hits, two walks and two hit batters.

For the second series in a row, Josh Graham provided plenty of long-relief for Harber. Graham nearly matched his six inning relief outing last Sunday against Oregon State and pitched for five innings, giving up one run on four hits.

Jakob Goldfarb opened the game with a bang and sent the first pitch of the game over the right field fence to give Oregon a 1-0 lead, but USC’s second baseman Dante Flores responded with a 2 RBI single in the bottom half of the first to claim a 2-1 lead.

Harber walked a batter then beaned another to end his outing in the second inning, but Graham did his best to limit the damage. Graham allowed just one run on a Garrett Stubbs sacrifice fly, giving USC a 3-1 advantage.

In the fourth, Stubbs picked up another RBI via the sacrifice fly after left fielder Bobby Stahel hit a one-out triple to push the lead to 4-1.

Oregon finally responded in the seventh inning as Nick Catalano scored Tim Susnara and Mark Karaviotis on a 2 RBI single, but the Ducks stranded the tying and go-ahead runs on base and settled with a one run deficit.

Graham turned the ball over to Stephen Nogosek in the seventh with the game in reach, but Nogosek would have a rough go with the top of the Trojan lineup.

Nogosek walked the No. 2 hitter Stubbs to start the inning, then a Karaviotis error allowed Jeremy Martinez to reach. Center fielder Timmy Robinson executed a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position, then Flores walked to load the bases.

Nogosek hit third baseman Blake Lacey to force home an unearned run, then right fielder David Oppenheim followed up with a sacrifice fly to push the lead up back up to three runs.

Garrett Cleavinger relieved Nogosek in the eighth, but gave up a manufactured insurance run to make the score 7-3.

Oregon dropped the weekend series, but continued to show flashes of improved play in the pitching department and on offense. Even so, the Ducks can’t afford losing another Pac-12 series if they have any plans of making the NCAA Tournament.

Next up, the Ducks return home for a three game weekend series with Washington at P.K. Park.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

Oregon baseball utilized 11 base hits to pick up a 5-2 road win over the Portland Pilots on Wednesday afternoon.

Second baseman Mitchell Tolman led the way with a three-for-four, two RBI day at the plate, while Scott Heineman, Mark Karaviotis, Austin Grebeck and Nick Catalano each had two hits to provide plenty of offense from the bottom of the Oregon lineup.

Tolman got the scoring started in the first inning with an RBI double to right center field, then Phil Craig-St. Louis picked up his 26th RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly, giving Oregon a 2-0 lead in the first frame.

Portland would answer with an RBI single set up by an Oregon error in the bottom of the second inning before both pitching staffs settled into four consecutive scoreless innings.

The Ducks (22-16, 4-8) got back on the board in the sixth inning on a Grebeck two RBI double down the left field line, then pegged their fifth run when Tolman walked with the bases loaded to push Oregon’s lead to 5-1.

In the bottom of the eighth, Portland did its best to make things interesting when Michael Lucarelli cut the lead to 5-2 with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the eighth,

Coach George Horton decided to use a committee of pitchers to get through the midweek contest, but gave freshman Kohl Hostert the first start of his career.

Hostert (1-0) gave up one unearned run in two innings and picked up his first career win. Jacob Corn came in second and lasted for two innings, then Trent Paddon, Brac Warren, Cooper Stiles and Stephen Nogosek each pitched one inning before handing the lead to Cleavinger in the ninth.

Oregon heads to Los Angeles this weekend for a critical three game series against No. 12 USC.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

Oregon overcame a six-run deficit to defeat Oregon State 10-9 at PK Park on Sunday afternoon, marking the first time since 2011 that the Ducks have won a three game series against their in-state rivals.

“As disappointed in my ball club as I was last night, I’m that much more proud of them today,” head coach George Horton said. “We were the antithesis of last night. We battled and put ourselves in a position to win the game. ”

Oregon (21-16, 4-8) starter Conor Harber, who was making his first appearance since suffering a shoulder injury last weekend, had a rough start. The junior lasted just two innings before the Beaver (23-11, 6-6) lineup started crushing his pitches all over the ballpark.

Horton called on reliever/catcher Josh Graham to carry his team through at least the next few innings.

Graham – who finished catching a nine-inning game on Saturday night – went to work and turned in more than just middle relief. The junior utility-man pitched a career-high 6.0 innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits and five strikeouts.

“I didn’t expect to go that long,” Graham said. “I was trying not to strike everybody out, just pitch to contact, keep the ball low in the zone and let my defense do the work.”

After scoring nine runs in the first three innings, Graham shut the Beavers down for the rest of the way and posted scoreless frames in innings four-through-eight. Garrett Cleavinger picked up where Graham left off with a scoreless ninth to pick up the save (4).

Oregon’s offense was equally impressive, as the Ducks’ struggling offense found a way to score 10 runs against the Pac-12’s third best pitching staff.

The Ducks manufactured three runs in the second inning, then found themselves down 9-3 in the third inning after an Oregon State double, single and back-to-back wild pitches plated six more runs.

With plenty of time left on their hands, the Ducks got to work.

Brandon Cuddy started things off with a 3-run home run to cut the Beavers’ lead to 9-6. Then Phil Craig-St. Louis followed suit with a 3-run dinger of his own in the fourth to tie the game.

Both teams watched their pitchers settle in and kept each other off the scoreboard until an Oregon State error pushed an Oregon runner into scoring position in the eighth inning.

With the win in sight, Craig-St. Louis hacked at the first pitch he saw and shot a hard grounder into right field to give Oregon its first lead of the game.

To Horton, Oregon’s first series win over Oregon State since 2011 can’t be understated.

“Hopefully it’s a springboard,” Horton said. “I’m going to remind them to keep that feeling and that tenacity and that battle mentality on Wednesday when we go against Portland.”

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

As Oregon State’s Drew Rasmussen stepped off the rubber for the third time in the at bat, fans started to get a bit restless.

“This is ridiculous,” one fan said as she stood up to collect her belongings. “It’s way too cold out here.”

Rasmussen was pitching well, but Oregon’s batters were pushing the freshman’s pitch count to the limit. Almost two hours into the 7:30 p.m. start time, Rasmussen was rapidly approaching 100 pitches, but was still stuck in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Baseball is a deliberate sport, and for many fans the game’s pace is meditative and methodical. But on Saturday night, the Beavers and Ducks slowed to a snail’s pace to resolve game two of the Civil War series at P.K. Park.

The game, which was televised on the Pac-12 Networks, took 3 hours, 42 minutes to complete.

That’s a long time, particularly when compared to other college sports.

College basketball games are wrapped up in 2 hours, 15 minutes on average, while college football games inundated with media stoppages average 3 hours, 23 minutes.

Major League Baseball has already made efforts to speed games up with a “pitch clock” and new batter behavior rules. Pitchers have 2 minutes, 25 seconds to finish their warm-up period each inning, while batters are required to keep a foot in the batter’s box during each at bat.

Through 35 games, MLB has cut its nine-inning game times to 2 hours, 52 minutes on average, 10 minutes less than 2014’s 3:02 average in the same block of games to open the season.

While the NCAA won’t be able to fine batters if they step out of the batter’s box, something has to be done about the unnecessary pauses between each pitch and at bat.

Under the current rule set, time between pitches cannot exceed 20 seconds. However, the limit is removed when runners are on base, where most of the extra time piles up. Still, the 20 second clock is rarely kept by umpires and pitchers routinely pass through the 20 second limit.

Maybe college baseball could look to the minor leagues for answers. Triple-A and Double-A baseball leagues are testing a physical 20-second pitch clock to continue to press the tempo of games, which would ensure that the rules are followed.

It’s only a matter of time before more pace-of-play rules infiltrate college baseball, but until then, fans better get used to BBCOR snooze-fests.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

By nature, baseball is supposed to be a steady sport.

Baseball’s continuity lends itself to the sport’s simple nature. Compared to other sports, baseball contains very few variables at any juncture in a game.

It’s the pitcher versus the batter. Everything in between – fielders, the dimensions of the ballpark and the weather – are essentially statistical white noise when examining one snapshot of the game at a time.

But there is one variable that has a significant impact on how each at bat plays out: equipment.

In 1975, the NCAA decided to implement metal bats into college baseball. Compared to wooden ones, metal bats generate significantly higher exit speeds when a batter makes contact with a baseball. This leads to more offense and by extension, a more exciting sport.

For years college baseball was known for its ridiculous run totals, even at the sport’s highest levels. In fact, pitchers were heralded for keeping their ERA under 7.00 during the postseason.

But ERAs weren’t the only things getting blasted by the composite aluminum bats. Every time a batter squared up on the ball, every infielder was put at risk of getting beaned by a baseball traveling over 130 miles per hour.

In 2009, the NCAA decided that its previous model for measuring the amount of power in a bat, called Ball Exit Speed Ratio was no longer suitable for the sport. BSER’s equation failed to analyze the power of a bat that was “broken in.”

So in comes the Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution. The new ratio measured the force of the bat hitting the ball during the brief moment that the two instruments actually collide, leading to sweeping changes in how metal bats were made.

If BESR composite bats were trampolines, BBCOR alloy bats were hardwood floors.

By 2011, BBCOR was the standard across nearly every prep-level baseball league and by 2014, college baseball had its lowest home run rate since before aluminum bats were introduced in 1975.

Just when pitchers started to solidify their dominance at the college level, another equipment change made its way into the rule book.

This time, the NCAA introduced a flat-seam baseball, which are harder for pitchers to grip, to counteract the powerless BBCOR bats.

Early returns show that the new ball has helped offenses, but hasn’t necessarily affected pitchers when it comes to control.

Home runs have returned to normal levels, leading to higher isolated power levels and runs per game, but strikeout and walk rates have stayed relatively steady.

Of course, Oregon’s offense has regressed since the introduction of the new baseballs, while its defense has felt the sting of opposing offenses. Oregon’s slugging percentage, batting average and home run rate are all down from a year ago. The Ducks’ ERA has ballooned from 3.06 to 3.72, while Oregon has already allowed 13 home runs this season after allowing just 16 the year before.

It’s still too early to tell if flat seam baseballs are the answer to reversing the damage of BBCOR bats. At the very least, the new baseballs are doing something to make the game more exciting outside of Eugene.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

With UCLA, USC and Arizona State in the top 10 of the six major ranking systems, it’s not too hard to expect at least one team to represent the Pac-12 in Omaha, Nebraska this spring.

1. UCLA (23-6, 10-2)

The Bruins have returned to championship form with a combination of elite pitching and consistent offense. Kevin Kramer and Ty Moore are batting .387 and .378 respectively at the top of the UCLA lineup, while ace starter James Kaprielian (6-2, 2.09 ERA) and closer David Berg (3-0, 1.21 ERA) have kept teams off the scoreboard.

2. USC (25-6, 7-2)

USC got off to a hot start, beating then No. 6 TCU and then No.1 Vanderbilt in March en route to a 15-1 record before the start of conference. The Trojans have come back down to earth a bit, but still have one of the best rosters in the conference.

Bobby Stahel is second in the Pac-12 with a .435 batting average and Garrett Stubbs is right behind him with a .377 average, while southpaw Kyle Twomey (5-1, 2.23 ERA) has developed into a bona-fide ace.

3. Arizona State (21-8, 9-3)

The Phoenix Municipal Stadium era got off to a bang as the Sun Devils took two of three against Oklahoma State to start the season before dropping two of three against TCU a week later. Since then, ASU has used a balanced attack to pick up nine conference wins right away.

Johnny Sewald is No. 2 in the conference with 15 stolen bases, while closer Ryan Burr leads the conference with 17.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

4. California (21-9, 8-4)

The Golden Bears are in the middle of one of the best starts in program history having won 21 of their first 30 games, their best mark since reaching the second round of the College World Series in 2011.

First baseman Chris Paul leads the way on offense with a .355 average, six home runs and 26 RBI while freshman starter Jeff Bain (4-1, 1.88 ERA) holds down the front of Cal’s rotation.

5. Arizona (22-9, 7-5)

The Wildcats have used a potent offense and a favorable schedule to pick up steam in the first half of the season. Arizona leads the nation with a .327 batting average, but fell out of several polls after getting swept by USC last weekend.

6. Oregon State (22-9, 5-4)

With a solid .978 fielding percentage and a mix of decent pitching and offense, the Beavers aren’t quite as dangerous as they were a year ago, but still pose a threat to any Pac-12 team brave enough to underestimate them.

7. Washington (18-12, 5-7)

Led by Braden Bishop (.344, 18 RBI) and Tyler Davis (5-2, 1.89 ERA), the Huskies have picked up key sweeps against conference foes to keep themselves in the hunt for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

8. Utah (10-19, 4-8)

9. Washington State (14-16, 3-9)

10. Oregon (18-15, 2-7)

11. Stanford (11-18, 0-9)

 Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @JoshSchlichter

No. 8 Oregon men’s golf was looking to make the most of its home course advantage at the Duck Invitational at the Eugene Country Club, but stumbled to a fifth place finish with a combined three round score of 20-over 884 (299, 297, 288).

No. 4 Arizona State took the team title with a one-under 863, while No. 13 Washington came in second at five-over. Arizona State’s Jon Rahm took the individual title with a four-under 212, while his teammate Max Rottluff finished in second place with a three-under 213.

Brandon McIver and Aaron Wise led the way for Oregon as the duo both fired three-over 219’s. Thomas Lim, Zach Foushee and Jonathan Woo rounded out Oregon’s scorecard at eight-over, 11-over and 14-over respectively. Nigel Lett, who competed as an individual, finished with a 10-over 226.

Oregon had boasted a significant edge over its competition when faced with adverse weather conditions, but this time – on its home course – rain and wind contributed to Oregon’s mediocre scorecard over the first two rounds.

When the sun came out for the final round on Tuesday, the team battled back to tally a even par round to finish the event.

Former Duck Ryann Ree used his experience at the Eugene Country Club to his advantage. Ree finished one stroke ahead of McIver and Wise at two-over and led San Diego State to a third place finish, fives strokes ahead of his former team.

Up next, Oregon will make the quick turnaround and head to the Stanford Golf Course to participate in The Goodwin this weekend.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

The post Oregon men’s golf struggles to fourth place finish at Duck Invitational appeared first on Emerald Media.

If Oregon needed a miracle to just compete with Arizona in the Pac-12 championship game last weekend, the Ducks will need a miracle and then some to pull off the upset over the West bracket’s No. 1 seed Wisconsin.

Much like Arizona, the Badgers represent the antithesis of Oregon’s program. Wisconsin has a low-post presence, runs a fluid offense with lots of motion, never turns the ball over and rebounds better than nearly every team in the country.

It’s a terrible matchup for Oregon and it’s going to take herculean efforts from Joseph Young, Elgin Cook and Dillon Brooks to keep this game close.

While Oregon might have comparable offensive metrics, Wisconsin owns the nation’s most efficient offense. With a combination of interior and exterior scoring options, the Badgers are No. 16 in the country in effective field goal percentage – all while running fluid, calculated sets that boast the nation’s best turnover rate at 12.5 percent.

Obviously, most of Wisconsin’s gaudy statistics are thanks to the contributions of Frank Kaminsky. The seven-footer shoots 60 percent from the field, can lead the fast break, operate as a ball-handler or a screener in the pick and roll, rebound and play defense. That uncanny versatility has led to 18.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.

Sam Dekker (13.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Nigel Hayes (12.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg) join Kaminsky in the front court. At 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-8, respectively, the two forwards are just as versatile as Kaminsky.

Bronson Koenig (8.5 ppg, 2.4 apg) and Josh Gasser (6.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg) make up the backcourt, with Koenig running the point and Gasser playing shooting guard. Not surprisingly, the two guards are merely role players, as the front court dominates the Badgers’ offensive production. As a result, Gasser owns the nation’s third best offensive rating at 133.7, but is only involved in 10.8 percent of Wisconsin’s possessions.

Wisconsin isn’t nearly as efficient on defense as it is on offense. But, the Badgers still own some of the nation’s best defensive metrics.

The Badgers are 46.9 percent in effective field goal percentage against. They are close to the bottom of the barrel in defensive turnover rate at just 16.5 percent, but are No. 3 in the country in defensive rebounding percentage at 76.4 percent.

Even if Wisconsin allows relatively high field goal percentages, the Badgers don’t allow teams to operate from the perimeter. Teams shoot just 26.5 percent of their field goals from three-point range against the Badgers (34.2 percent is the national average) and can only convert 40.4 percent of assists into field goals (53.1 percent is the national average).

So while Wisconsin is a far cry from being as intimidating as Arizona is on defense, the Badgers are going to force Oregon out of its usual flow on offense.

Oregon’s only chance at keeping up would be a bad day from Wisconsin’s offense. It’s hard enough to expect Jordan Bell to play more than 15 minutes against Josh Scott from Colorado. It’s another thing to expect him to keep Kaminsky, Dekker and Hayes from abusing Oregon’s interior for 40 minutes.

While Joseph Young might put up 25 points against Wisconsin’s lesser backcourt, this game will be won and lost on the boards.

If the Ducks can’t find a way to keep up on the boards, expect this game to look a lot like the Pac-12 Championship.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

The post NCAA Tournament Four Factors: No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 1 Wisconsin appeared first on Emerald Media.