NCAA Baseball Tournament: Oregon Ducks' 3 Keys To Advancing In Eugene Regional

Like Arizona, the Ducks are one of the few programs in the postseason with sustained success in recent years. Coming off two Super Regional appearances and five consecutive Regional appearances, Oregon is familiar with the road that lies ahead of them.

In comparison to the other programs in the Eugene Regional, the Ducks' experience in the postseason stands out among their peers. Cal Poly and Utah Valley are making their first postseason appearance since 2014 and 2016 respectively.

Oregon will have to take advantage of their experience over their mid-major counterparts and not let the moment get the best of them.

2. Don't underestimate the mid-majors

When the brackets were announced, the one team that stood out in the Eugene Regional was Arizona, winners of the Big 12. The Wildcats are among the best teams in the country this season, finishing 39-18 overall coming into the postseason.

They will surely give the Ducks all they can handle as the last time the two teams met up, it was Arizona who came away with a 15-4 win in their final Pac-12 conference series game in 2024.

However, don't discount Cal Poly or Utah Valley. Both teams are scorching hot coming into the NCAA tournament, Cal Poly in particular stole a bid in the Big West conference and ended up in the NCAA tournament for the first time in over a decade.

Utah Valley breezed through the WAC tournament and comes into Eugene fresh and confident, meanwhile Oregon is fresh off a disappointing loss in the Big Ten tournament to Nebraska in their second game.

If Oregon wants to advance to a third straight Super Regional, they can't drop their level of play just because they have multiple mid-majors in their bracket.

1. Offense needs to rise to occasion

During some of the Ducks' biggest games this season, their offense has stepped up and been a deciding factor in key wins. For example, in the Oregon State series, Oregon scored 4, 13, 3, and 8 runs in their series sweep over the nationally ranked Beavers.

In their rubber match vs. UCLA, the Ducks delivered 10 runs to help them clinch the series victory.

Simply put, when Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski needs the Ducks' offense to step up, they usually do.

Oregon doesn't need another reminder of just how important every game is in the postseason. They can't afford to have their offense not at their best in a Regional that isn't light on pitching talent.