Tuesday, March 31
Eugene, Ore.
5:05 p.m.
University of Oregon
23-6
0
vs
3
Portland
18-8
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Portland
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
3
8
0
Oregon
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
Photo by: Deborah Mundorff
Ducks Drop Midweek Game vs. Portland
03/31/26 | Baseball
EUGENE, Ore. — No. 15 Oregon struggled offensively against Portland on Tuesday finishing with just two hits in a 3-0 Pilots win at PK Park.
"That's baseball right there," Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. "There are no excuses. Both teams squared seven balls up today. They walked more of us than we walked them. We struck out more of their guys than they struck out our guys. We both hit seven line drives, and their line drives went over the fence today in two swings, and ours didn't.
"I think it was a fairly clean game," Wasikowski added. "There were no errors in the game. That's baseball. You line out, and you hit them where the guys are standing versus where they are not standing, and they did a better job of that tonight than we did. There's a reason they're 14-2 in the last 16 games and 15-2 after tonight. They're playing good baseball."
How It Happened: Reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week was fantastic on the mound again for the Ducks. Coming out of the bullpen after making a midweek start last week at UC San Diego, Gosztola allowed just three hits in 5.2 innings of work with seven strikeouts and one walk.
Unfortunately for Gosztola, one of those hits was a third-inning solo home run off the bat of Portland (18-8) leadoff hitter Brady Bean.
The Ducks (23-6) had some opportunities to score. Ryan Cooney, who led off the bottom of the first with Oregon's only hit until the eighth inning, had a possible home run robbed by Pilots' left-fielder Cody Nitowitz in the third inning.
The Ducks loaded the bases with one out in the fifth inning on a hit by pitch and a pair of walks, but Cooney went down swinging and Jax Gimenez grounded into a fielder's choice to end the threat.
Cooney flew out to the wall in right-center field to lead off the eighth before Gimenez reached on a bunt single and moved to second with one out on a Dominic Hellman base on balls. Oregon couldn't take advantage of the two-on, one-out opportunity. Drew Smith popped out before Angel Laya fouled out to the second baseman.
Portland (18-8) tacked on two insurance runs in the ninth inning with a two-run home run.
Box Score Notes: With his fourth inning base on balls, Jax Gimenez extended his reached base streak to 19 games, the second longest by a Duck this season … Brayden Jaksa made his first career start at first base … The Ducks were shut out for the first time since May 2, 2025, when they lost 2-0 at Michigan State.
On Deck: The Ducks return to conference play at Michigan on Thursday. The series with the Wolverines has been moved up to Thursday through Sunday due to expected weather issues later in the weekend.
Quotes
Head Coach Mark Wasikowski
On hitting against left-handed pitchers...
"We'll get back to work first thing in the morning tomorrow before we get on our road trip to Michigan. We'll try to address anything we see as negatives and improve."
On what needs to be seen from the lineup...
"We're looking for a clutch hit. We had the table set a couple of times today. We had a bases-loaded one out situation, but we didn't come through. We had first and second situations, but we didn't come through. It was one of those games. I was happy with the way the ball came out of Miles Gosztola's hand today. I thought he did a good job keeping us right there the entire time. He continues to throw the ball well. It was nice to see Ryan Featherston back out on the mound again today, but we still did not do enough to win."
On Miles Gosztola's starting performance...
"He was built up to be a starter at the beginning of the year. We started him a little at the beginning of the year, but he didn't have great starts, so he was back in the bullpen. We started him last week and he was the pitcher of the week and obviously pitched really well. I think he was working hard at his delivery and getting consistent with it and landing his pitches, and he's done a great job of that.
On the upcoming Michigan series and the travel...
"We'll see. I mean, we are going to start that series a day early because of weather problems or potential weather problems. That's what you get in the Midwest at this time of year; it's springtime in the Midwest, and it can be a little chaotic out there. So, you got to deal with some weather and some challenges, but so do other teams that travel east. Tighten your belt and let's get it done on the road."
On if starting the Michigan series a day early will affect prep work...
"No, we still were on the same flight leaving tomorrow morning anyway, so no, not really. It would eliminate one practice day when we get out there because you're not able to unless you're chartering or something like that; you're not able to get out to the East Coast where you can still practice. So, we will practice here first and then get on the plane and fly out there and get in late on Wednesday."
"That's baseball right there," Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. "There are no excuses. Both teams squared seven balls up today. They walked more of us than we walked them. We struck out more of their guys than they struck out our guys. We both hit seven line drives, and their line drives went over the fence today in two swings, and ours didn't.
"I think it was a fairly clean game," Wasikowski added. "There were no errors in the game. That's baseball. You line out, and you hit them where the guys are standing versus where they are not standing, and they did a better job of that tonight than we did. There's a reason they're 14-2 in the last 16 games and 15-2 after tonight. They're playing good baseball."
How It Happened: Reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week was fantastic on the mound again for the Ducks. Coming out of the bullpen after making a midweek start last week at UC San Diego, Gosztola allowed just three hits in 5.2 innings of work with seven strikeouts and one walk.
Unfortunately for Gosztola, one of those hits was a third-inning solo home run off the bat of Portland (18-8) leadoff hitter Brady Bean.
The Ducks (23-6) had some opportunities to score. Ryan Cooney, who led off the bottom of the first with Oregon's only hit until the eighth inning, had a possible home run robbed by Pilots' left-fielder Cody Nitowitz in the third inning.
The Ducks loaded the bases with one out in the fifth inning on a hit by pitch and a pair of walks, but Cooney went down swinging and Jax Gimenez grounded into a fielder's choice to end the threat.
Cooney flew out to the wall in right-center field to lead off the eighth before Gimenez reached on a bunt single and moved to second with one out on a Dominic Hellman base on balls. Oregon couldn't take advantage of the two-on, one-out opportunity. Drew Smith popped out before Angel Laya fouled out to the second baseman.
Portland (18-8) tacked on two insurance runs in the ninth inning with a two-run home run.
Box Score Notes: With his fourth inning base on balls, Jax Gimenez extended his reached base streak to 19 games, the second longest by a Duck this season … Brayden Jaksa made his first career start at first base … The Ducks were shut out for the first time since May 2, 2025, when they lost 2-0 at Michigan State.
On Deck: The Ducks return to conference play at Michigan on Thursday. The series with the Wolverines has been moved up to Thursday through Sunday due to expected weather issues later in the weekend.
Quotes
Head Coach Mark Wasikowski
On hitting against left-handed pitchers...
"We'll get back to work first thing in the morning tomorrow before we get on our road trip to Michigan. We'll try to address anything we see as negatives and improve."
On what needs to be seen from the lineup...
"We're looking for a clutch hit. We had the table set a couple of times today. We had a bases-loaded one out situation, but we didn't come through. We had first and second situations, but we didn't come through. It was one of those games. I was happy with the way the ball came out of Miles Gosztola's hand today. I thought he did a good job keeping us right there the entire time. He continues to throw the ball well. It was nice to see Ryan Featherston back out on the mound again today, but we still did not do enough to win."
On Miles Gosztola's starting performance...
"He was built up to be a starter at the beginning of the year. We started him a little at the beginning of the year, but he didn't have great starts, so he was back in the bullpen. We started him last week and he was the pitcher of the week and obviously pitched really well. I think he was working hard at his delivery and getting consistent with it and landing his pitches, and he's done a great job of that.
On the upcoming Michigan series and the travel...
"We'll see. I mean, we are going to start that series a day early because of weather problems or potential weather problems. That's what you get in the Midwest at this time of year; it's springtime in the Midwest, and it can be a little chaotic out there. So, you got to deal with some weather and some challenges, but so do other teams that travel east. Tighten your belt and let's get it done on the road."
On if starting the Michigan series a day early will affect prep work...
"No, we still were on the same flight leaving tomorrow morning anyway, so no, not really. It would eliminate one practice day when we get out there because you're not able to unless you're chartering or something like that; you're not able to get out to the East Coast where you can still practice. So, we will practice here first and then get on the plane and fly out there and get in late on Wednesday."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: LOUIS, AARON (2-1)
L: Gosztola, Miles (1-2)
S: VIA, ALEX (6)
Batting:
HR: BEAN, BRADY 1 ; SALK, JONAS 1
RBI: BEAN, BRADY 1 ; SALK, JONAS 2
SH: STEWART, CARTER 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BEAN, BRADY 1 ; SWYGART, TREY 1 ; SALK, JONAS 1
CS: KATAYAMA-STALL, COLE 1
PO: BRUCE, GAGE 1
Base Running:
SB: Cooney, Ryan 1 ; Gimenez, Jax 1
CS: Smith, Drew 1
HBP: Laya, Angel 1 ; Mabeus, Burke-Lee 1
PO: Smith, Drew 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
lf/cf
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
0
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ BaseballMark Wasikowski | Postgame vs. Portland
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Monday, March 23
Gabe Miranda | Postgame vs. Northwestern (Game 2)
Sunday, March 22
Devin Bell | Postgame vs. Northwestern (Game 2)
Sunday, March 22
