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QuickTake:
The redshirt freshman still plans to return to the mound, but after forcing his way into the batting lineup, his immediate role is giving the Ducks another offensive threat.
Naulivou Lauaki Jr. sees the stares around campus.
At 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, with broad shoulders and a strong jaw, Lauaki has the look of a football player.
Maybe he’s a tight end. Or a linebacker. Or an edge rusher. Heck, some have looked at him and said maybe he should be.
“I’ve had a few of the football coaches talk with me,” Lauaki said. “They’ve asked me when I’m going to come hop on the field.”
The appeal is understandable. It’s not just that Lauaki is big. It’s what he does with his size.
A redshirt freshman on the Oregon baseball team, the Utah native is currently batting .355, brings positional versatility and, yes, is the player who socked a 496-foot home run against Illinois last month. He’s hit seven homers on the season, leads the Ducks in slugging percentage (.697) and, after missing last season because of Tommy John surgery, has forced his way into Mark Wasikowski’s lineup.
The coach knew he had to do something when Lauaki started looking as good as team veteran Dominic Hellman in batting practice.
“It was a little bit tricky because early on he didn’t have a whole lot of at-bats because of the injury he was recovering from,” Wasikowski said. “He always had some power, but there were some tweaks in his swing with the hitting guys, and I really felt like that made huge progress.”
About that power: Lauaki said he’s had it since he was 7 years old, when he was a “big kid with a big head” and hit his first home run over a row of pine trees on a 3-0 take.
“Ever since then, I’ve been a home run hitter,” Lauaki said.
He’s actually been a few things.
He’s been a third baseman, a first baseman and now serves as the Ducks’ designated hitter. He was also the No. 1 right-handed pitcher in Utah coming out of high school and has big plans on getting back on the mound.
Surprise: The player who socks 500-foot home runs also has a fastball that reaches the mid-90s. And he said that’s where the Ducks initially expected him to make an impact.
“I had to beg them to let me hit,” Lauaki said. “Pitching was going to be my primary thing. I didn’t think I’d be the DH right now.”
Those wheels got set in motion over the summer.
Staying on campus to build his arm strength after his injury, Lauaki spent a lot of time in the weight room with strength coach Darrell Hunter. Lauaki thought he had power before, but by fall, he noticed he had something different.
“That first practice back I was just launching balls,” he said. “I didn’t think the weight room got me like that. But that’s how the weight room got me.”
“Freakish,” is how Wasikowski described it.
“Just his physicality and strength, it’s really impressive,” Wasikowski said. “I got to play in and win a national championship — I never hit a ball 500 feet. I mean, my God, to see some of the things that him and Dominic Hellman can do from a power standpoint, it’s really neat.”
Lauaki wants to get back on the mound. He identifies himself as a two-way player and believes it’s something he can pursue at the professional level. It’s something that will come. But for the No. 13 Ducks who are set to face No. 1 UCLA this weekend in a series that will test Oregon’s mettle against the very best, Lauaki’s role is to hit.
Thankfully, he enjoys that very much.
“If I had to choose one, it would be hitting,” he said. “It’s so hard. And everyone really loves the long ball.”
