Oregon Baseball Coach Mark Wasikowski's Special Request For Ducks Fans, Eugene Regional

In his eighth season as head coach, Wasikowski has put his stamp on the Ducks program as they make their fifth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The "Coach Waz" era is highlighted by physicality, big bats and rewriting Oregon's record books. So, who is to say they can't continue to make history?

First order of business, Oregon (42-14) must win on Friday night at PK Park vs. Utah Valley. Coach Waz has a special request for Ducks fans.

“Go get it. Be the difference, be the reason. When you come, be the reason why Oregon wins," Wasikowski told Oregon Ducks on SI reporter Bri Amarathus. "That means when you're disappointed in something that happened, put your big boy pants on, because everybody is. Get over it and get on to the next possible way that you can help the team win and let's provide the unbelievable environment that we are so used to in Autzen stadium."

"Almost like you're not allowed to sit. It's a must stand for three hours or however long the game is - sit down between innings. On your feet, rocking that place,” Wasikowski continued.

Safe to say the postseason is buzzing in Eugene, something Ducks fans are familiar with. The Ducks have now hosted a regional for five consecutive years that Oregon has qualified for the NCAA Tournament, with all five coming during the Wasikowski era.

Coach Waz knows all too well what it feels like to win the CWS. A former third baseman, he helped Pepperdine win the 1992 College World Series. What would it mean to him to get back to Omaha with the Ducks?

“A ton... The energy in the College World Series is awesome. The University of Oregon has not been to the College World Series as a baseball program since 1954. So it's a big deal. There was a lot of time in there where they didn't even have the opportunity to go back because the program didn't exist. The program has only been back since 2009. It's a really big deal and it hasn't been around for that long,” Wasikowski told Amaranthus.

Video part one of the interview is below.

Oregon's baseball program returned to action in 2009 after a 26-year hiatus. It's rise to national relevancy has been impressive.

“The success that we're having, there's a lot of people that are starting to see like, 'Wow, these guys are really doing good up there in that kind of stormy Northwest.' No, it's not really just about Oregon State. As a matter of fact, these guys at Oregon are starting to make a claim that not only are they as good as (Oregon State), but in this specific year, we showed we were better on the field than (the Beavers.) People are starting to really take notice of that," Wasikowski said.

Oregon beat in-state rival Oregon State in four-consecutive games at the end of April. The Ducks dominated with much thanks to Oregon first baseman Jacob Walsh, who homered in all four games against Oregon State. The Beavers are also hosting the Corvallis Regional this weekend and would also host a Super Regional as the No. 8 national seed, should they advance. In a controversial move from the selection committee, Oregon State got a top-8 national seed over Oregon.

“There's two great programs right now in the Northwest, which is awesome," Wasikowski continued. "The two best programs in the entire western side of the United States are up here (in the Northwest) and fans should appreciate that... I don't think that should happen. I think that should be more like Southern California, warm weather, traditional stuff, and yet it's not that way right now. So that's fun.”

For those who are just tuning into Ducks baseball, this team is full of fireworks. This season, Oregon set a new record for home runs (107) and grand slams (8.) The impressive feat made more remarkable by the exciting trend: Oregon has set a new program record for home runs in four out of the last five years.

Watch outfielder Mason Neville, who leads the nation in home runs with 26. Neville's 26 home runs set the single-season Oregon program record while his 59 walks also set a program record.

The Ducks' offensive prowess stems from a physicality that Coach Waz says sets this team apart from past Oregon teams.

"They're really strong," Wasikowski said. "When I first got here was the first thing that we really wanted to do is invest in the weight room. And I think it's kind of a cliche. A lot of people say it but these guys really did it. Specifically the position players. We've been able to break a lot of home run records now…  I do think that strength in the weight room has been a huge factor with that.”

Besides Oregon and Utah Valley, the other two teams that make up the Eugene Regional are No. 3 seed Cal Poly (41-17), and No. 2 seed and Big 12 Champions, Arizona (39-18). 

A potential game vs. Arizona looms. Coach Waz coached for the Wildcats for 10 seasons and his daughter Kelsey is currently on the Swimming and Diving team.

The winner of the Eugene Regional will play against the winner of the Chapel Hill Regional in the Super Regional. The teams in the Chapel Hill Regional are No. 5 National Seed North Carolina, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Holy Cross.

For the Ducks, Friday could be the beginning of an exciting road to Omaha. Oregon's team has already triumphed through a tough locker room dynamic early in the season to get to the smooth-sailing that it is today.

“We had some early injuries and so the test was when the players got back from injuries… That dynamic, because they were taking the place now of guys that were playing… And that was a challenge, right? So you really had to manage that in individual meetings and stuff behind the scenes. And it really kind of got the locker room a little shaky,” Wasikowski said.

"There was some selfishness there because guys want to play. You got a chance to make a lot of money in this game," Wasikowski said. "We really tried to as a staff to invest a ton of time into like almost counseling sessions- just come by, stop by, have coffee. Those kinds of just kind of organic things... I think it really kind of paid dividends to unite the locker room. Right now it's really clean. It's really smooth. It’s a fun deal. There's not a lot of resistance in the locker room whatsoever right now. It's just clean and easy.”

Perfect timing for it to all come together.