Even in the “offseason,” Aaron Wise is still making some serious noise on the golf course.

The Oregon men’s golf star, whose 2014-15 season was arguably the best for a freshman in team history, won the prestigious Pacific Coast Amateur Tournament on Friday after shooting a four-under 66 in the fourth and final round. Wise beat out many other ranked amateur golfers and several Oregon teammates.

The prestigious tournament, in its 49th year, took place at the Eugene Country Club, one of Wise and the Ducks’ home courses.

“I knew it was a big week for me to do well, especially on my home course,” Wise said. “It was a great opportunity. I was happy I was able to take it.”

A great opportunity was also a great challenge for Wise. The Pacific Coast Amateur featured three of the four top-ranked amateur golfers in the world, according to Golfweek.

Beau Hossler of Texas, ranked second in the world, shot a six-under 64 Friday and nearly came back to defeat Wise. SMU’s third-ranked Bryson DeChambeau, the individual 2015 NCAA Division I Champion, tied for fourth and finished four strokes back from the lead. Fourth-ranked Maverick McNealy, the Stanford standout who won this year’s Pac-12 Championships, tied Hossler for second place.

Though Wise and fellow teammates have played the Eugene Country Club course many times, they see much less of it during the summer. Wise said he noticed a difference in the surface early this week.

“We don’t play the course like this very often,” Wise said. “It was a lot firmer and faster than we ever see it. It was actually an adjustment period to realize that. You can’t go after every tee,  can’t make birdie on every hole. You’ve got to play conservative.”

To the casual observer, Wise’s fourth-round performance didn’t appear conservative at all. He birdied four of the first nine holes, and added to more on 10 and 15, par 4’s on the back-nine.

But Wise maintained a careful approach.

“It may not seem like it, but it definitely was (conservative),” Wise said. “I was just trying to play the greens and take my two-puts, but luckily I was able to get a few putts to drop, and it turned into something special.”

Wise commanded a two-stroke lead heading into the back nine. After a birdie on 15, Wise suffered a setback with a double-bogey on 16. With McNealy and Hossler right on his tail, Wise maintained his cool.

“I knew that would be a big hole for me and, unfortunately, I didn’t play it very well,” Wise said. “But I knew once I saw the leaderboard of Mav (McNealy’s) group coming up behind me that he was at four-under. If I could just par out, I would have a pretty good chance at winning.”

Wise did just that, shooting par on 17 and 18, as did McNealy.

Other Oregon men’s golfers in the field included Brandon McIver, Zach Foushee, Sulman Raza, Thomas Lim and Nigel Lett. Raza, a Eugene native who redshirted last season, finished the tournament tied for twelfth with a combined four-over scorecard.

Wise will play in two more amateur championship tournaments this summer before starting his sophomore campaign at Oregon. Next for Wise is the Western Amateur Golf Championship, which will take place August 3-8 in Sugar Grove, Ill.

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The day after it appeared to turn a corner, the Eugene Emeralds once again looked like the team in weeks prior that struggled so mightily on offense. The Emeralds were shut out for only the third time this season in a 5-1 loss to the Boise Hawks Tuesday at PK Park.

Emeralds starting pitcher Jose Paulino conceded two early runs in the top of the first. After a wild pitch advanced Boise leadoff hitter Carlos Herrera to third base, Marcos Derkes singled in an RBI. Four batters later, Terry McClure’s single allowed Derkes to score and the Hawks held a 2-0 lead.

Paulino settled in after a rocky start. The lefty pitched six complete innings allowing no more runs and just one hit after the first inning.

“That first inning, we barely made it out alive and I thought it was going to be one of those nights,” Emeralds manager Gary Van Tol said. “(Paulino) found it, got into a rhythm and started pitching. Once he did that, he did an outstanding job.”

So too did the Hawks’ pitching staff.

Colin Welmon pitched five complete shutout innings of his own, striking out six and allowing only two hits.

The Emeralds (18-22) are still looking for consistent bats since Cubs first-rounder Ian Happ was called up to South Bend. Tuesday’s contest against the Hawks (15-25) left a great deal to be desired on offense, but there were a couple positive takeaways.

Andrew Ely, playing in just his second game as an Emerald, batted number two in the order and got two of the team’s four hits. The Cubs’ 2014 32nd round draft pick from the University of Washington already has a lot of minor league experience.

“He’s been at Triple A, Double A, Long A,” Van Tol said. “He’s a guy that can play multiple positions in the infield which is huge, especially with (Ho-young) Son and Frandy (De La Rosa) playing the majority of the games, it gives us some depth there in the middle.”

Alex Bautista hit his second home run in three days for the Emeralds after coming in for Eloy Jimenez, who left the game after “tweaking something” while swinging the bat, according to Van Tol.

“He said he was fine, but you could tell something wasn’t right,” Van Tol said. “I don’t think it’s anything serious, but we’ll definitely err on the side of caution and take a good look at it tonight.”

The Emeralds have now dropped five series in a row, dating back to a road series with Tri-Cities earlier in July.

The Emeralds travel to Spokane for a five-game series beginning Wednesday evening. They have a combined 5-13 road record this season.

“The crazy thing about it is, we’ve gone on the road and won that first game of the series,” Van Tol said. “After getting off the bus, that first one is usually the toughest one. And then we’ve lost four straight to Tri-Cities and Vancouver.”

After the series ends Monday, the Emeralds have August 3-5 off for the 2015 Northwest League All-Star game, also being played in Spokane. On Tuesday, the Northwest League announced three Emeralds will be playing in the game: Pitchers Oscar De La Cruz and Pedro Araujo, and Jimenez, as an outfielder.

Once the all-star break concludes, the Emeralds will have to get on track soon to contend for the playoffs.

“We’ll get a chance to catch our breath and then the grind will really start,” Van Tol said. “We’ll find out what we’re made of after that all-star break.”

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GoDucks.com, the official website of the Oregon athletic department, tweeted a link Tuesday morning to a YouTube video titled “360 Autzen Player Experience.” The video provides a 360-degree, interactive view of Oregon football players walking through the Autzen Stadium tunnel prior to their game against Michigan State last season. Viewers can change the angle by toggling the directional arrows in the top-left corner of the video. The video can be viewed below:

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– The much-anticipated arrival of quarterback Vernon Adams to Oregon football may have to wait a few more days. Adams is still working to finish an undergraduate math class before he can graduate from Eastern Washington University and enroll in a University of Oregon graduate program. Adams, who recently spoke to Ryan Thorburn of the Register-Guard, is aiming to finish the class by August 13, three days after Oregon’s fall camp begins. If Adams arrives on the 13th, that would give him 23 days to master the offense and claim the starting spot before the Sept. 5 season-opener against Eastern Washington.

– Washington Post sportswriter Kent Babb recently profiled former Oregon football head coach Chip Kelly through interviews with his ex-wife and former Oregon coaches and players. Kelly, according to his predecessor, Mike Bellotti, is a difficult man to define. “In terms of football, he’s awesome; he’s willing to talk about anything,” Bellotti says. “But beyond that, he does play things very close to the vest.”

– Oregon softball infielder Stevie Jo Knapp recounted her experience of traveling to the Dominican Republic with 19 other student athletes to build a sports court. The eight-day trip took place in Batey 7, a small community outside of Santo Domingo.

– Emerald sports reporter Ryan Kostecka shared his experience playing Oakway Golf Course, one of Eugene’s oldest. The par-61 course is great for beginners, but also offers challenging holes for more experienced golfers.

– The Eugene Emeralds dropped a series-opener against the Boise Hawks 6-4 on Sunday evening. Emeralds reliever Tyler Griggs allowed four runs in the decisive ninth inning.

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Bob and Susan Boone came to Eugene in the summer of 1972 with their three-year-old son, Aaron. As a catcher, Bob was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1969 and had been working his way through the minors since.

The Eugene Emeralds, of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League at the time, were Boone’s fourth minor league team in as many years.

Playing with future major leaguers Mike Schmidt and Oscar Gamble, Boone batted .308 with 17 home runs, 158 hits and 67 RBI’s for the ’72 team that went on to win the Pacific Coast League Title. It was Boone’s last minor league season before he was called up to the Phillies and began a decorated MLB career that included four all-star appearances and one World Series title.

Boone was back in Eugene on Friday to pay tribute to Civic Stadium, where he played during that ’72 season, after much of the grandstand burned down on June 29.

In the second of a three-game series against the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, the Eugene Emeralds held a tribute night for the fallen stadium. Boone, along with former Emeralds general manager Bob Beban, spoke to the PK Park crowd before the game.

“My wife and I talk about Eugene often, and miss that summer a lot,” Boone said. “It was a great time for us.”

The Emeralds (17-19) fell to the Volcanoes (19-17) in a 6-5 defeat, but the night held meaning beyond the game being played on the PK turf.

Several former Emeralds players, including Schmidt, Gamble, Larry Bowa, Greg Luzinski and Mike Sweeney spoke of their Civic Stadium memories through videos they submitted to the team. Between innings, the Emeralds played these video tributes on the big screen beyond centerfield.

“In my entire life I’ve had some wonderful memories, and the year I spent in Eugene, Oregon at Civic Stadium I will never forget,” Schmidt said in a video. “So sorry to hear the news and I hope that the Eugene Emerald baseball tradition continues.”

Like Boone, many players hit their stride in Eugene, generating enough attention to get their shot in the majors.

“I really feel that without playing there in 1969, I probably would’ve never played in the big leagues,” Bowa said.

The Emeralds, on the other hand, started slow on Friday as Ryan Kellogg gave up five runs and 11 hits in the first two innings. With a sputtering offense as of late, the deficit appeared difficult to overcome for the Emeralds.

But Alberto Alzolay replaced Kellogg at the start of the third, and the Emeralds slowly chipped away.

Donnie Dewees hit a home run for the second consecutive night, this time a solo shot to trim the lead to 5-2.

In the bottom of the 8th, Alex Bautista blasted a two-run homer to bring the Emeralds within one run at 6-5. Three batters and two pitching changes later, Ho-young Son threatened to score from third.

Dewees, battling Volcanoes reliever Caleb Smith, popped up a pitch within the infield. Son darted home, and Volcanoes third baseman Miguel Gomez was unable to make the catch on the line. The play was initially ruled fair, which would’ve tied the game 6-6 with Son’s run. Umpires Justin Anderson and Justin Phillips discussed the play for a few moments, and eventually ruled the ball foul.

“At first, we thought it nicked his glove and when they talked about it, I think they got the call right,” Emeralds manager Gary Van Tol said.

The Emeralds were unable to get anyone on base in the bottom of the ninth, halting a promising comeback.

The Emeralds and Volcanoes will play the rubber match Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at PK Park.

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Oregon men’s basketball will reportedly have its starting center back by October. Jordan Bell, who broke his foot this past spring, is expected to return in time for the start of fall camp on October 4, head coach Dana Altman said. Bell averaged 5.1 points and 6.9 rebounds as a freshman, while also blocking 94 shots on the season – a school record. The story was first reported by Tyson Alger of The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Marcus Mariota added yet another award to his decorated collegiate career. The former Heisman-winning Ducks quarterback received an ESPY award for “Best Male College Athlete of the Year.” Mariota won the award over Wisconsin basketball player Frank Kaminsky, Boston University hockey player Jack Eichel, Ohio State wrestler Logan Stieber and Vanderbilt baseball player Dansby Swanson.

Oregon’s running back tandem of Royce Freeman and Thomas Tyner received some preseason recognition on Thursday. Each player was named to the 2015 Doak Walker Award watch list, given to the nation’s top running back. Freeman led the Ducks in rushing as a true freshman last season, tallying 1,365 yards and 18 touchdowns. Tyner added 586 yards and five touchdowns in his sophomore campaign. LaMichael James was the last Duck to win the award in 2010.

Oregon football added its first class of 2017 commitment on Thursday. Langi Tifua, a four-star defensive end from South Jordan, Utah, made it official after talking on the phone with head coach Mark Helfrich and linebackers coach Erik Chinander. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound defensive lineman will have two more years of high school to develop his size and intangibles before coming to Oregon. Tifua spoke to Andrew Nemec of The Oregonian/OregonLive on why he chose Oregon: “I’ve wanted to commit to Oregon since I got the offer, but my dad told me to wait a little bit to make sure I was making the right choice,” Tifua said. “Man, I love Oregon so much. I just wanted to go through with it.”

Two incoming freshman women’s basketball players will compete in the FIBA U19 Women’s World Championships. Point guard Maite Cazorla will be playing for Spain – her native country – and forward Lauren Yearwood is on the Canadian team.

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The Eugene Emeralds were eager to return home after losing four of five on the road against Tri-City. In four consecutive losses, the Emeralds could manage no more than four runs, struggling to sustain offense.

Back in familiar surroundings, they returned to form offensively in an 8-4 win over the Hillsboro Hops.

Most importantly for the Emeralds (15-12), it stopped a four-game losing streak that threatened to become the longest of the season with another defeat.

“When we left, we were riding a pretty good wave. We won the first game in Tri-Cities, then things kind of went south,” manager Gary Van Tol said. “To come back here at home where we have been playing well, with the energy of the crowd, it was a huge game for us.”

Ian Happ scored the Emeralds’ first run in the bottom of the fourth inning from Matt Rose’s sacrifice fly. Eloy Jimenez’s aggressive base-running put him in scoring position from third on the same play, but was stranded when Ian Rice grounded out to end the inning.

The Hops (15-12) took control in the top of the fifth. With one out and Jose Queliz on second, Emeralds starting pitcher Oscar De La Cruz appeared to beat Ferenery Ozuna to first base for the Hops’ second out, but Ozuna was called safe by umpire Andrew Stukel. Van Tol walked out of the dugout to argue with Stukel, but the call stood.

The Hops’ next batter, Zach Nehrir, hit a two-RBI triple to give the Hops a 2-1 lead. De La Cruz was then pulled in favor of Francisco Carillo. Still getting warmed up, Carillo allowed a double to Stephen Dezzi and Nehrir extended the lead 3-1. But Carillo settled down and retired the next two batters to stop the bleeding.

Carillo earned his first win of the season in 3.2 innings on the mound.

The Emeralds seized momentum in the bottom of the fifth. Blake Headley doubled to start. Ho-young Son eventually reached second, and Headley advanced to third. Donnie Dewees drove in Headley and Frandy De La Rosa drove in Son to tie the game 3-3.

The Hops replaced their starter, Tyler Bolton, on the mound after De La Rosa’s RBI, but it didn’t matter.

Joey Donino gave up three more earned runs, and the Emeralds batted all the way through the order. Headley’s RBI single to extend the lead 8-3 was his second hit of the inning.

In all, the Emeralds had eight hits — seven consecutive — in the inning.

“It’s contagious,” Van Tol said. “All it takes is a couple guys to get it going. Everybody followed suit, did an excellent job with runners in scoring position and had a good approach at the plate. That was the difference.”

Happ led the Emeralds with three hits, an RBI and a run scored.

“I’m feeling good,” Happ said. “The last week has been great, I’m starting to get really comfortable in the box, seeing the ball well and getting some results.”

The win moved the Emeralds into a tie with the Hops for second in the south division, trailing the first-place Salem-Keizer Volcanoes by only one game. This series could be important in deciding playoff seeding, but that’s not the message Van Tol is delivering to his team.

“We don’t bring it up a lot,” Van Tol said. “We just try and make sure we’re in control of our destiny, our journey. As long as we are, we have that opportunity.”

The Emeralds face the Hops in the second game of their three-game home series Thursday night at 7:05 p.m.

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The Eugene Emeralds were eager to return home after losing four of five on the road against Tri-City. In four consecutive losses, the Emeralds could manage no more than four runs, struggling to sustain offense.

Back in familiar surroundings, they returned to form offensively in an 8-4 win over the Hillsboro Hops.

Most importantly for the Emeralds (15-12), it stopped a four-game losing streak that threatened to become the longest of the season with another defeat.

“When we left, we were riding a pretty good wave. We won the first game in Tri-Cities, then things kind of went south,” manager Gary Van Tol said. “To come back here at home where we have been playing well, with the energy of the crowd, it was a huge game for us.”

Ian Happ scored the Emeralds’ first run in the bottom of the fourth inning from Matt Rose’s sacrifice fly. Eloy Jimenez’s aggressive base-running put him in scoring position from third on the same play, but was stranded when Ian Rice grounded out to end the inning.

The Hops (15-12) took control in the top of the fifth. With one out and Jose Queliz on second, Emeralds starting pitcher Oscar De La Cruz appeared to beat Ferenery Ozuna to first base for the Hops’ second out, but Ozuna was called safe by umpire Andrew Stukel. Van Tol walked out of the dugout to argue with Stukel, but the call stood.

The Hops’ next batter, Zach Nehrir, hit a two-RBI triple to give the Hops a 2-1 lead. De La Cruz was then pulled in favor of Francisco Carillo. Still getting warmed up, Carillo allowed a double to Stephen Dezzi and Nehrir extended the lead 3-1. But Carillo settled down and retired the next two batters to stop the bleeding.

Carillo earned his first win of the season in 3.2 innings on the mound.

The Emeralds seized momentum in the bottom of the fifth. Blake Headley doubled to start. Ho-young Son eventually reached second, and Headley advanced to third. Donnie Dewees drove in Headley and Frandy De La Rosa drove in Son to tie the game 3-3.

The Hops replaced their starter, Tyler Bolton, on the mound after De La Rosa’s RBI, but it didn’t matter.

Joey Donino gave up three more earned runs, and the Emeralds batted all the way through the order. Headley’s RBI single to extend the lead 8-3 was his second hit of the inning.

In all, the Emeralds had eight hits — seven consecutive — in the inning.

“It’s contagious,” Van Tol said. “All it takes is a couple guys to get it going. Everybody followed suit, did an excellent job with runners in scoring position and had a good approach at the plate. That was the difference.”

Happ led the Emeralds with three hits, an RBI and a run scored.

“I’m feeling good,” Happ said. “The last week has been great, I’m starting to get really comfortable in the box, seeing the ball well and getting some results.”

The win moved the Emeralds into a tie with the Hops for second in the south division, trailing the first-place Salem-Keizer Volcanoes by only one game. This series could be important in deciding playoff seeding, but that’s not the message Van Tol is delivering to his team.

“We don’t bring it up a lot,” Van Tol said. “We just try and make sure we’re in control of our destiny, our journey. As long as we are, we have that opportunity.”

The Emeralds face the Hops in the second game of their three-game home series Thursday night at 7:05 p.m.

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More than a week after South Eugene’s Civic Stadium burned to the ground on June 29, Eugene Civic Alliance has regrouped to discuss a course of action moving forward.

The nonprofit ownership group acquired the property only two months ago, and tentative plans to build a new soccer stadium and multi-use sports complex for kids were within reach. The fire that destroyed the grandstand has complicated those plans, but it hasn’t stopped Eugene Civic Alliance from continuing its efforts to build on the 10-acre property.

“The vision of what was the final plan changed, obviously,” said Allan Benavides, Eugene Emeralds general manager and Eugene Civic Alliance member. “But have we abandoned that dream? No. If anything, there’s probably a lot more energy around it.”

Jenny Ulum, member of and the main spokesperson for Eugene Civic Alliance, said the board of directors has met twice since the fire, including a brief session on Wednesday. But many members of the alliance are working daily on this project, she said.

Before board members decide on how they want to renovate the property, Eugene Civic Alliance is tasked with cleaning up the charred remains of Civic Stadium.

Although Eugene Fire Chief Randall Groves declared most of the grandstand a total loss, various hardware — including turnstiles and joist brackets — could be salvaged as part of the new structure, according to Ulum. Even some of the wood could be salvageable, she said.

“We’re identifying those experts and resources now to see what we can do,” Ulum said. “Frankly, it’s more expensive to try to salvage than to just have it go to a landfill, but we’ll see what we can save.”

Once the property is free of debris, Eugene Civic Alliance can begin to decide what the property will look like once rebuilt.

According to the alliance’s website, the original design included a field house with nine volleyball courts and four basketball courts, as well as a turf field and a stadium of at least 5,000 seats to host a professional soccer team. Lane United FC, a semi-professional soccer team currently playing at the Willamalane Center in Springfield, will also be tenants.

“With the grandstand gone, it opens up possibilities for reconfiguring the design,” Ulum said. “That work has been ongoing with our architects and what they’re finding is, the design isn’t going to be vastly different than what it was.”

Throughout these decisions, Eugene Civic Alliance wants to engage with the public to ensure they know what’s going on, Ulum said. The fire has caught the attention of many once connected to the stadium, and countless people have reached out to board members.

“What’s crazy is how many people are coming out of the woodwork saying they want to help,” Benavides said.

Mike Sweeney, a five-time MLB all-star and former Eugene Emerald, contacted Benavides and the Emeralds. So did hall-of-famer Mike Schmidt, who played for the Emeralds during the 1972 season. Even the Emeralds’ equipment manager at Wilson offered to make a special edition uniform for the team to wear and later auction off to raise money for rebuilding efforts.

“They’re doing that for free,” Benavides said. “And that’s stuff we didn’t ask for.”

The grandstand is gone, and the ramshackle property will require plenty of work to rebuild. But Eugene Civic Alliance bought the property intending to build a brand new sports facility.

The fire hasn’t changed their intentions.

“We had some great momentum going into the purchase of this property,” Ulum said. “This fire has obviously drawn attention to the property, so we need to let people know that the dream didn’t die when the stadium went up in smoke. The vision is still intact.”

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For five innings, the Eugene Emeralds’ streaky bats remained stagnant against the Vancouver Canadians. But in the bottom of the sixth, the Emeralds (13-8) flipped a switch, blowing the game wide open with eight runs en route to an 8-4, series-ending win over the Canadians (8-13) on Wednesday night at PK Park.

Though the Emeralds already had the series clinched after Tuesday night’s victory, they wanted more, and got it. Wednesday’s win was the fourth straight for the Emeralds as they head into a five-game series on the road against the Tri-City Dust Devils.

“When we won the series last night, it’s easy to have a little bit of a let down,” manager Gary Van Tol said. “I just reminded the guys, ‘We need to take advantage of this position, because it doesn’t happen a lot.’”

Donnie Dewees continued aggressively chasing pitches and it paid off: he went 3 for 4 with two doubles, and added an RBI in the momentum-swinging sixth inning.

“Battling with two strikes, I put the ball in play and used my speed to my advantage to start the sixth,” Dewees said. “It was a good night to be an Emerald.”

Dewees’ double started the sixth inning rally for the Emeralds. The next batter, Frandy De La Rosa, drove in Dewees from second to tie the game 1-1. Ian Happ followed De La Rosa with an RBI of his own, and the Emeralds took a 2-1 lead, never looking back.

The Emeralds  batted through the order and then some, as Dewees chipped in another RBI double and De La Rosa added two more RBIs to his team-leading 14 for the season. The inning finally ended when Happ popped up to center, but not before the Emeralds pushed the lead 8-1.

Oscar De La Cruz earned his second win of the season for the Emeralds, pitching six complete innings with six strikeouts and a 1.64 ERA.

“Oscar is one of our really good pitchers and I feel comfortable with him on the mound,” Dewees said. “He has a good fastball and throws a lot of strikes. I was confident that because he held them to one run, we were going to score, and we did that eventually.”

The Canadians briefly threatened to come back in the top of the eighth. Lane Thomas scored first, and three batters later, Gunnar Heidt drove in two more runners to lessen the deficit to 8-4. But Emeralds reliever Heath Dwyer struck out Kevin Garcia on the next at bat, putting an end to the Canadians’ rally.

The Emeralds’ road series begins Thursday against the Tri-City Dust Devils at 7:15 p.m. The Emeralds won four out of five at home against the Dust Devils earlier this season, and winning another four out of five against the Canadians will give the Emeralds confidence as they begin this road trip.

“Going into Tri-City now with a rested bullpen and some momentum, we’re looking forward to getting on that bus tomorrow and hopefully keep this mojo going,” Van Tol said.

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