Ducks Open Series at Illinois on Friday

Series History

Oregon and Illinois will meet in a three-game series for the first time in their program histories.
The Illini hold a 1-0 series lead, winning 2-1 in Eugene in the Nike College Showcase during the 2012 season.

Weekend Winners

After having its series winning streak snapped at 13 two weeks ago, Oregon returned to its winning ways vs. Nebraska last weekend.
The Ducks have piled up series wins since joining the Big Ten, winning 20 of 22 series.

Lauaki Honored

FR DH Naulivou Lauaki Jr. made the most of his opportunity last week earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.
He slashed .471/.471/1.176 with six extra-base hits (3 HR, 3 2B), six RBI and five runs scored.

Ducks start to season among best in school history

With nine straight wins to start the season, Oregon got off to one of its best starts in school history.
The nine-game winning streak was the longest in the modern era of Oregon baseball, one better than the 2014 squad.
Oregon had its streak snapped on Feb. 28 when UC Irvine rallied from a 5-3 eighth-inning deficit to win 8-6.
The 1963 team holds the program record for most wins to start a season with 12.
Heading into the Illinois series, Oregon's 26-10 start through 36 games ties for the fifth best since at least 1963, matching the 2024, 2015, 2014 and 2012 teams.
A series sweep or series win this week would keep Oregon in the top five for best starts through 39 games.

Success in all three phases of the game

The Ducks head into this weekend ranked in the top 25 in the nation in 11 different statistical categories, including five top 15 rankings, three 10 rankings and two that are in the top two in the nation.
Oregon is second in the nation in both hits allowed per nine innings (6.61) and shutouts (6), while ranking sixth in WHIP (1.17).
UO also ranks 13th in home runs per game (1.83), 14th in home runs (66), 16th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.9), 18th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.80), 20th in ERA (3.93) and slugging percentage (.526), and 24th in fielding percentage (.979) and hit by pitches (72).

Going, Going, Gone

For the fourth time in the last five years, Oregon set a new program record for home runs in 2025.
The Ducks broke the previous record on May 16 at Iowa when LF Anson Aroz hit the team's 102nd of the season, breaking the record set in 2023.
The Ducks' top six home run seasons have all come since the 2021 season.
The Ducks have increased the home run record by 67 long balls in the Mark Wasikowski era.
Heading into his first season at the helm in 2020, the Oregon team record for home runs in a season was 48.
The 2025 club averaged 1.98 home runs per game.
Oregon has hit 66 home runs (1.83 per game) in its first 36 games of the 2026 season.

Records are made to be broken

During head coach Mark Wasikowski's tenure at Oregon, the Ducks have rewritten the program's record book on offense.
The Ducks continued that assault in 2025 breaking three records that the Ducks had previously broke during the Wasikowski era.
Oregon belted 115 homers topping the 101 set in 2023, drove in 438 runs, breaking the RBI record set in 2022 and scoring 465 runs breaking the record set in 2022.
The 2022 season ended with the Ducks setting records in eight major statistical categories: batting average, hits, runs, home runs, RBI, doubles, total bases and at-bats.
Of the eight records, three broke school records set in 2021 when the team broke long-time records for runs (376 in 2010), home runs (48 in 1974) and RBI (332 in 2010).
In 2023, Oregon re-set four of the records with 101 HR, 142 doubles, 1,057 total bases and 2,167 at-bats.
While increasing the home run record by 59 during the Wasikowski era, the Ducks have increased the runs scored record by 89 and the RBI record by 106.

Smith added to Golden Spikes midseason watch list

In his fourth season at Oregon, SR 3B Drew Smith is off to a hot start while ranking in the top 15 in the Big Ten in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, on-base percentage, RBI and home runs.
A versatile player who has made starts at four different positions plus DH, Smith heads into this weekend with a .336/.433/.537 career slash line.
He had reached base at least once in 136 of his 147 career starts.
Excelling in big moments, Smith has been named to the all-tournament team in Oregon's last two postseason appearances.
He earned a spot on the Santa Barbara all-tournament team in 2024 at second base, before being named to the 2025 Eugene Regional all-tournament team as an outfielder.
As a true freshman, he earned ABCA/Rawlings second-team All-West Region honors after reaching base in all 26 games with a plate appearance and setting Oregon's modern-era program record with a 20-game hitting streak.

Cooney continues superb play

2B Ryan Cooney ended the 2025 season as one of Oregon's top players and he has done nothing to change that outlook in 2026.
Nine weeks into 2026, Cooney has continued to be one of Oregon's best hitters slashing .362/.441/.586 with a 1.027 OPS while batting leadoff the first 32 games before hitting third the last four.
He heads into the Illinois series second in the league in doubles (26th in the nation) and third in hits (18th in the nation), while ranking 13th in the Big Ten in batting average and 20th in OPS.
It was quite the last three weeks of the regular season in 2025 for Cooney.
The Portland native was named the B1G Player of the Week twice during that time, before being named first-team All-Big Ten before the conference tournament.
The Ducks' second baseman closed the season on a tear, improving his batting average by 64 points from March 29 to the end of the regular season.

Young bats lead to ranked-series win over No. 19 Nebraska

Oregon had three freshmen -- Naulivou Lauaki Jr., Brayden Jaksa and Angel Laya -- who were instrumental in their series win over No. 19 Nebraska last weekend.
For the week which included a game at Portland, Lauaki earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after slashing .471/.471/1.176 with a 1.647 OPS, while going 8-for-15 at the plate with six extra-base hits (3 HR, 3 2B), six RBI and five runs scored.
He had three extra-base hits at Portland with two doubles and his first career home run.
In the Nebraska series, he slashed .385/.385/.923 with two home runs, a double, five RBI and three runs scored.
In a 7-6 win on Friday, Lauaki drove in a pair of runs with a two-out double in the fourth inning to give Oregon a 2-1 lead.
On Saturday, the Ducks' DH belted a pair of home runs while also delivering a run-scoring single before finishing 3-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored.
Starting at two positions (1B, C) during the four-game week, Jaksa slashed .412/.500/.765 with a 1.265 OPS while hitting two home runs, driving in three runs and scoring a team-high seven runs.
In the series win over No. 19 Nebraska, Jaksa slashed .308/.400/.538 with a .938 OPS, a home run, two RBI and four runs scored.
In a 7-6 game one win, Jaksa reached base three times (2-for-4, HBP), with a two-run home run and two runs scored.
His seventh inning 2-run home run proved to be the difference in the game.
Oregon capped the series with a one-run win thanks, in part, to Laya who belted two home runs to set Oregon's freshman record for home runs in a season (11).
While Lauaki just moved into the starting lineup, Laya and Jaksa have made major impacts on UO's success since the first series of the season.
RF Laya and C/1B Jaksa have combined to go 59-for-193 (.306) with 24 extra-base hits (16 HR, 7 2B, 1 3B), 41 RBI and 45 runs scored.
Starting all four games in RF vs. George Mason, Laya earned both Perfect Game and Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week honors after slashing .538/.600/1.077 with a 1.677 OPS, while finishing with three extra-base hits (2 HR, 1 2B) and finishing with multiple hits in the first two games.
He went 3-for-4 in the season opener with a double and two runs scored.
The Ducks' right fielder earned his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor after leading the Ducks to a series win at Purdue that included a midweek game against Oregon State.
In the four games, Laya slashed .400/.500/1.133 with a 1.633 OPS while hitting three home runs with a triple.
In the Oregon State game, He went 2-for-4 with a home run and a triple with three RBI and two runs scored.
In the Purdue series, Laya slashed .364/.500/.909 with a 1.409 OPS.
In the series-clinching win on Sunday, Laya belted a pair of home runs for the second time this season while going 4-for-5 with four RBI and four runs scored in a 15-4 win.
In the Indiana series, Laya added his first career walk-off hit to give Oregon a series sweep.
Of UO's 66 home runs, Jaksa has the longest two with one traveling 467.03 feet and another going 457.29 feet, while Laya has the fourth and 10th longest and Lauaki has the fifth and seventh.

On-base machine

With a .479 on-base percentage, LF Jax Gimenez leads Oregon in OBP heading into the Ducks' series at Illinois.
The sophomore is third on the team with a .301 batting average with 13 extra-base hits (9 2B, 3 HR, 1 3B).
After batting in the two-hole for most of the season, Gimenez was moved into the leadoff spot because of his ability to get on base.
He leads the Ducks in both walks (28) and hit-by-pitches (15) reaching base on 43 free passes.
He is second in the Big Ten in HBP (26th in the nation) and sixth in base on balls.

Ducks rank in top six in the nation in three pitching categories

Heading into the Illinois series, Oregon is second in the country in two major statistical category and ranks sixth another, while ranking in the top 25 in three more.
The Ducks have held opposing teams to a national second-best 6.61 hits per nine innings and six shutouts, while boasting a 1.17 WHIP which is sixth best in the country.
The Ducks also rank 16th in Ks-per-9 innings (10.9), 18th in K-to-walk ratio (2.80) and 20th in ERA (3.93).

Ducks post three shutouts in five-game California road trip

Oregon's pitchers stepped up in a big way on the Ducks' five-game California road trip shutting out UC San Diego in the first game of the trip before blanking UC Santa Barbara in games one and three of the series.
The two shutouts in a three-game series has only happened three times in program history with the 2013 team doing it twice -- games two and three vs. both Washington and at Ohio State -- and the 2021 squad doing it once -- games one and two at Oregon State.
The three shutouts in five games was the first for Oregon since the 1974 season when the Ducks had three shutouts in five games from March 30 to April 12 (the 1963 and 1964 teams also did it).

Back-to-back shutouts a rarity in program history

In a four-game series against Youngstown State, Oregon's pitching staff put together back-to-back shutouts beating the Penguins 3-0 on Friday and 7-0 on Saturday.
It marked just the seventh time in the modern era that Oregon has put together consecutive shutouts.
Since 1963, there have only been 12 back-to-back shutouts in program history with the first two making up the only three-game shutout streak.
Two seasons -- 1963 and 2013 -- had a pair of consecutive shutouts.

Doing it right on Friday night

When he took the mound on opening day, RHP Will Sanford joined some impressive names as opening-day starter at Oregon.
The previous names of pitchers who have taken the mound on opening day are impressive with future Major League Baseball pitchers, two MLB all-stars, an eventual Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and high MLB draft picks who have toed the rubber as series game-one starters.
Twelve of the 14 previous opening day starters have been drafted with four of them playing in the big leagues.
Four of the starters (Tyler Anderson, Alex Keudell, David Peterson, Grayson Grinsell) earned All-America honors the season they served as the "Friday Night" guy.
Of the 16 seasons played since the return of baseball at Oregon, the Ducks' opening day starter has earned first-team all-conference recognition seven times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2025).
The 14 pitchers who have served as opening-day starters have a combined 11 first-team all-conference selections on the mound during their careers.

University of Oregon Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Anson Aroz

Ryan Cooney

Jax Gimenez

Grayson Grinsell

Brayden Jaksa

Naulivou Lauaki Jr.

Angel Laya

Will Sanford

Drew Smith

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