What Oregon Ducks' Mark Wasikowski Said After Eugene Regional Elimination

The Ducks coach was asked about the end of Oregon's season which consisted of losses to Nebraska, Utah Valley, and Cal Poly, all in postseason play. Wasikowski pointed out the successes and failures of his team.

“We got beat in three games in a row. I don't think it was a catastrophic collapse or something like that. We ended up losing three games in a row after we won a conference championship, earned a one-seed and played very well, had a very good year, and we came up short at the end is what happened. Why did we lose? Because the teams that played against us in the last three games played better in those last three games than we did," said Wasikowski.

While the Ducks came up short in the regional, Oregon still had chances to come back and steal a win. Ducks pitcher Jason Reitz struck out 14 hitters against Utah Valley, giving up five earned runs to the Wolverines. The most talked about play of the game came during Oregon's late-inning comeback, when Ducks outfield Anson Aroz collided with Utah Valley catcher Mason Strong.

Aroz was initially ruled safe and cut Utah Valley's lead to one run, but the play was overtuned after a lengthy review. Aroz was ruled out for "malicious contact" at home plate, and Oregon's outfield was suspended for the Cal Poly game.

Against the Mustangs, Ducks outfielder Jeffrey Heard hit two home runs, serving as a replacement for Aroz. Oregon right fielder also hit three home runs in the two regional games, but Ducks were unable to get the job done.

Still, Wasikowski also complimented the growth of Oregon's program over the past few years, including this year's transition into the Big Ten.

"The interest in our program four weeks in a row at the end of the season, with sellouts for all of those four weekends. You know, when we when we first got here, at the very beginning of this thing, we couldn't even get somebody to give us bats. Couldn't get a bat contract at the University of Oregon, and there just wasn't any interest in it. And now what these guys have done. When we first got here, they were, they were begging us to get to a regional, basically," said Wasikowski.

"And now we're sitting here going, ‘Man, not enough, right?" The Ducks coach continued. "And so humbly being around these guys. What they've built and continue to build is, is what we wanted to show fans. . . . I know there's no fans going home happy today that are Oregon fans, and there's no Oregon people going home happy, whether it's a coach or a player or anything like that, and in time, we'll look at the grand scheme of things and the big picture, but I think we're clearly building a program that we can be really proud of."

With Oregon's losses to Utah Valley and Cal Poly comes the end of the season for the Ducks, and Wasikowski spoke about continuing to bulid the team's culture as his next steps. He was asked about what the outgoing seniors have meant to the program:

“He’s a special young guy and everyone who talks about the home runs he hits or how good of a baseball player he is, and I think he’s a better person than anything. We’re just really lucky that he came to Oregon. Whether it’s Jacob (Walsh) or Grayson (Grinsell) or any of these guys. We love them and they’re special human beings. You see them in the uniform, they look big and strong, but they’re all teddy bears inside. They’re just awesome young people," said Wasikowski.