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It’s Thursday and my ears are still buzzing from the three days of baseball at the Eugene Regional.
The Ducks swept through, booking their ticket to the Super Regional round with a 4-1 win over Oregon State on Sunday night.
It was a historic night — the first postseason meeting between the two teams — and one that felt like a changing of the guard.
Oregon State has long been the Northwest’s college baseball power.
At least here in 2026, the Ducks carry that distinction.
And after sitting through more than 18 hours of baseball over the weekend, I was reminded of how beautifully fickle postseason success can be.
Take the inning when the Ducks beat the Beavers.
Oregon entered the top of the seventh with the score tied and left with a 4-1 lead, thanks to two bases-loaded walks and a run-scoring fielder’s choice against one of the best bullpen arms in college baseball.
None of those runs came on the only ball that left the infield that inning — and the hardest ball hit all night — when Naulivou Lauaki Jr. roped a ball to left field before the walks.
There were two runners on. The ball was 120 mph off the bat. The game looked like it was about to be blown open.
Then Oregon State’s Josh Proctor dove and made a catch that would have had its place in Oregon State history had the rest of the inning gone differently.
They got the big bat out. They couldn’t do the rest.
And now Oregon is on to Austin, while Proctor’s catch joins the likes of that one the Seahawks’ Jermaine Kearse made with the game on the line in Super Bowl XLIX.
If you don’t remember that one, it’s because Malcolm Butler came next.
Let’s see which side of memory the Ducks find themselves on after this weekend in Texas.
The tough road
This was an Oregon baseball team that had established itself with the big swings.
But in sweeping through the Eugene Regional, it was Oregon’s pitching, small ball and something else that carried them through to their third Super Regional appearance in four seasons.
“Mental game,” coach Mark Wasikowski said. “Just being in control of yourself to where you can execute.”
Oregon allowed four runs in the regional. Its starting pitchers allowed one run in 16.2 innings pitched with 27 strikeouts. And while Lauaki hit three-run home runs against Yale and Washington State, when Oregon needed to win the most, it won with patience.
Now they’re two wins away from reaching a place they’ve waited 72 years to return.
“I really think this locker room is really special in embracing the hardest path,” Wasikowski said. “Not wanting an easier opponent or a different scenario, but really wanting the toughest road possible.”
The best of the Eugene Regional
The Ducks were on their game this weekend.
So were our photographers, who snagged some incredible shots from the weekend’s Eugene Regional.
I particularly enjoyed Isaac Wasserman’s shots from the heart of Oregon’s postgame celebration. You can view the full gallery here.
Football assistant charged with DUII
Oregon running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples has been charged with DUII and reckless driving after a parking lot collision early on the morning of April 12, a Eugene police spokesperson said.
Samples, a member of the Ducks coaching staff since April 2024, is set to appear July 20 in Eugene Municipal Court on the charges, both misdemeanors.
The collision reportedly took place when a Ford F-150 backed into a Dodge Ram, police spokesperson Melinda McLaughlin said in an email. A collision report from Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services, released by police, states the Dodge Ram was parked, and that the collision took place on Willamette Street, within 20 feet of Broadway Avenue.
“The driver of the Dodge followed the driver of the Ford, 31-year-old [Samples], and flagged him over,” McLaughlin said. “They both stopped at W. 7th Avenue near the Hult Center and exchanged information.” The location given by McLaughlin is about two blocks from where the collision took place.
Police responded to the downtown location at 1:43 a.m., where an officer spoke with both drivers. After an investigation, police issued a citation to Samples in place of having him booked into Lane County Jail.
McLaughlin described such a citation as being the same as an arrest.
More from Jaime Adame’s story can be read here.
Duck of the week
Will Sanford, Oregon baseball
We mentioned the performance from Oregon’s pitching staff earlier, and none were better than Will Sanford. Oregon’s ace struck out a career-high 14 batters in Oregon’s 4-0 win over Washington State, allowing one hit in 6 1/3 innings pitched to be named the regional MVP.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“(Pitching coach Matt Florer) came up to me and said, ‘You want to go back out?’ I said, ‘Of course I do.’”
— Oregon pitcher Will Sanford on going back out for the seventh inning against Washington State.
UPCOMING GAMES
- Baseball vs. Texas • Super Regional • 5 p.m. • Saturday • ESPN
- Baseball vs. Texas • Super Regional • 6 p.m. • Sunday • ESPN
- Baseball vs. Texas • Super Regional (if necessary) • TBD • Monday
- Track & Field at NCAA Championships • Wednesday
STORIES I’m WORKING ON
Having finally worked off the pounds I put on in Austin during the women’s basketball tournament, I’m jumping on a plane tomorrow to do it all again. Follow along this weekend for live updates and full game coverage from the Super Regional round.
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See y’all soon,
Tyson
