Two teams who have never met on the diamond will face off with a chance to end the other’s season.

The No. 11 national seed Oregon Ducks will travel to Austin, Texas to face No. 6 national seed Texas in the Austin Super Regional at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The best-of-three series begins Saturday night and is shaping up to be a battle with a potential weather threat.

Both teams have momentum on their side.

Texas (43-13) swept through the Austin Regional, outscoring its opponents, 41-7. While Oregon (43-16) also dominated with three-straight wins over defeated rival Oregon State, Washington State and Yale to win the Eugene Regional.

The Ducks have recent postseason experience they can draw inspiration and lessons from: Oregon is one of three teams (North Carolina, West Virginia) that have advanced to the Supers in three of the last four seasons.

“I think the experience that they’ve had before should be able to help them in these rounds. And then leading in the College World Series, that’s a totally different discussion,” Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski said.

There are 16 teams left in the NCAA Tournament and only 8 teams will advance to the College World Series in Omaha. If Oregon wins Saturday night, the Ducks will be only one win away from punching their ticket to the CWS for the first time since 1954.

Saturday, June 6: 5:00 p.m. PT, ESPN
Sunday, June 7: 6:00 p.m. PT, ESPN
Monday, June 8: TBD – if necessary

Fans can alsotune into the Ducks’ radio broadcast to listen to the series on the Oregon Sports Network.

It’s prime time for the Ducks and Longhorns! Something to keep an eye on, the weather forecast is emerging as a potential thunderstorm and flood risk for first pitch on Saturday night.

Two Things Oregon Fans Should Know

Oregon is a confident team as they head to Austin and there are two things that Ducks fans should know.

First, The Ducks pitching staff has never been hotter. Over the last nine games, The Ducks staff has combined for a 1.81 ERA with a .191 batting average. Also notable, Oregon’s three starting pitchers have been even better with a 1.47 ERA allowing just nine runs in 49 innings.

Oregon will need every ounce of that pitching prowess as the Longhorns are dominating at the plate. During the Austin Regional, Texas combined to go .376/.493/.761 with 12 home runs. Aiden Robbins earned Most Outstanding Player honors after totaling a .429 average with four homers and nine RBI.

Second, the Ducks are a power threat of their own. Oregon has hit 104 home runs this season, which is second-most in program history, and ranks top-20 nationally in home runs and home runs per game.

Oregon’s bats must show up in Austin as Texas finished with a 2.00 ERA in its three-game sweep in the Austin Regional. Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski said it best when he said that Texas’ pitchers are “putting up video game numbers.”

QUOTABLE

“These other guys are just absolute animals when it comes to their training, so it’s no surprise that they’re having postseason success,” Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski said during the Eugene Regional.

“Our preparation is just going to be about what we’ve done the entire year. We think it’s working, and it’s probably more about just enjoying the time together, because there’s teams right now that are taking the jerseys off, and that’s obviously something that we’ve been blessed with this year with this group of guys from the start. It’s a pretty special group in that locker room, and these guys can attest to that,” he continued.

If Oregon’s “special group” can pull off the upset in Texas, the Ducks will make history and have a chance to battle vs. the best in baseball for the national championship.

The College World Series begins on Friday, June 12, at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.

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