NIL
No. 12 Oregon upset in straight games to get eliminated early in Eugene Regional
Oregon is officially the first Regional host to be eliminated from the 2025 NCAA Tournament following its 10-8 loss to Cal Poly on Saturday. The Ducks led 8-5 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, until junior left-handed pitcher Ian Umlandt surrendered four runs and the Oregon lead. Cal Poly had jumped out to […]
Oregon is officially the first Regional host to be eliminated from the 2025 NCAA Tournament following its 10-8 loss to Cal Poly on Saturday.
The Ducks led 8-5 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, until junior left-handed pitcher Ian Umlandt surrendered four runs and the Oregon lead. Cal Poly had jumped out to a 9-8 lead, and extended it with a solo home run from first baseman Zach Daudet in the bottom of the eighth.
Mustang senior left-handed pitcher Jake Torres then returned to the mound in the top of the ninth and struck out all three batters he faced, cementing the upset win for Cal Poly.
It was an extremely disappointing NCAA Tournament appearance for the Ducks, who were crowned Big Ten Regular Season Champions. This is the first season that Oregon has lost a home Regional since 2021.
Regional will be remembered for Aroz call
In the game on Friday, Oregon fell to No. 4 seed Utah Valley 6-5 in what was an extremely controversial matchup. In the bottom of the eighth inning of that game, Oregon catcher Anson Aroz was ejected for malicious contact on a collision at home plate with Utah Valley catcher Mason Strong. If the run had counted, Oregon would’ve cut Utah Valley’s lead to 6-5.
Instead, Utah Valley escaped the inning still ahead by two runs and ended up winning by one after Oregon scored what would have been the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth.
To make matters worse for Oregon fans, the Ducks out-hit both Utah Valley and Cal Poly in the losses. They doubled Utah Valley’s hit total with 10 in the first game, and out-hit the Mustangs 14-11 in the second game. However, pitching failed Mark Wasikowski’s team.
On Friday, starting right-handed pitcher Jason Reitz gave up four hits and five earned runs in six innings of work. On Saturday, starting left-handed pitcher Grayson Grinsell gave up seven hits and six earned runs in six innings.
Oregon’s starting pitching duo of Reitz and Grinsell, who combined to accrue a 14-4 record this season, allowed 11 earned runs in just 12 innings. Not the starts you want from your top two starting pitchers at this point in the season.
Although the Oregon offense totaled double-digit hits in both games this weekend, it is headed home early. Cal Poly will now face the winner of Saturday night’s matchup between No. 2 Arizona and No. 4 Utah Valley on Sunday.