The schedule for the Eugene Regional in the NCAA baseball Tournament has been revealed, and the Oregon Ducks will play their first game against Utah Valley on Friday, May 30, at 6 p.m. PT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Preceding Oregon's opening matchup against Utah Valley will be Arizona vs. Cal Poly at 1 p.m. PT. The winners of Friday's respective matchups will face each other on Saturday, May 31, at 6 p.m. PT while the losers will play beforehand at 12 p.m. PT. A potential championship game for the Eugene Regional is scheduled for Sunday at 7 p.m. PT, but the four-team tournament could extend to Monday if necessary.
The Ducks, led by coach Mark Wasikowski, earned the No. 12 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament, making Oregon one of 16 regional hosts in the bracket. Because of the double-elimination format in the regionals, the Ducks are guaranteed at least two more games in PK Park.
Past that, nothing is guaranteed for the Ducks. Should the top eight seeds advance in the tournament, those teams will host the Super Regionals before the final eight teams remaining travel to Omaha, Nebraska, to compete in the College World Series.
If Oregon is able to advance out of the Eugene Regional, they could travel to face the North Carolina Tar Heels, hosts of the Chapel Hill Regional.
Chairman of the NCAA Baseball Selection Committee Jay Artigues elaborated on some of the decisions made when seeding the tournament field on ESPN's NCAA Tournament selection show, specifically mentioning Oregon and Oregon State.
"When you start looking at this top eight, it's not necessary team A vs. team B. Sometimes it's team A vs. team C and D, and that's what it gets down to... Whether you're talking about Coastal... Oregon or Oregon State or Southern Miss... Tennessee - there was some really good teams," said Artigues.
The Ducks beat the Beavers four times in four days in April, but Oregon State holds two less losses than their in-state rival. Oregon State is the No. 8 seed, meaning Corvallis, Oregon, could host a Super Regional if the Beavers are able to advance.
The Ducks baseball team fell short in the Big Ten Tournament after falling to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. However, Oregon's regular season resume was enough to secure an at-large bid as one of the top-16 teams in the tournament field.
According to a release from the University, Oregon and Wasikowski are competing in the NCAA Tournament for a fifth consecutive season, a program record. In order to advance to the Super Regionals, the Ducks will have to get past a few conference champions. Arizona won the Big 12, while Utah Valley and Cal Poly also won their respective conferences, the Western Athletic and the Big West.
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