Oregon
Takeaways from Oregon baseball’s series win against Utah at PK Park
After dropping each of its last two conference series, the No. 21 Oregon baseball team got back into the series win column, taking two out of three against conference-leading Utah at PK Park this weekend.
The Ducks (32-15, 14-10 Pac-12) won the first two matchups against the Utes (30-15, 15-9 Pac-12) in a Saturday doubleheader after Friday’s opener was postponed due to weather before dropping the Sunday finale.
Conference sweep eludes Ducks yet again
After taking the opener Saturday, 7-5, then the second game of the day, 5-1, to clinch the series, the Ducks dropped yet another chance for a series sweep in a 9-7 decision Sunday afternoon.
Oregon has yet to record a series sweep in conference play after leading Arizona and USC 2-0 before dropping the Sunday game in each series.
“It’s extremely frustrating,” coach Mark Wasikowski said. “We’re trying to win the league. We’re disappointed in the fact that we weren’t able to sweep the team that came in here in first place. We win a series and we’re disappointed. The standard is high, obviously, when you win a series, and your guys are really disappointed.”
The Ducks fell behind 4-1 in the Saturday opener before scoring two runs in the fourth, fifth, and seventh innings to set the tone for a more dominant second game. Jacob Walsh went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the series-opening, 7-5, victory.
In Game 2 Saturday night, Grayson Grinsell allowed just one run in six innings of work and reliever Brock Moore continued his hot streak on the mound, striking out three in three scoreless innings to give the Ducks a 5-1 win. Jeffery Heard knocked in two runs and drew two walks in the win.
On Sunday in the finale, Oregon starter Kevin Seitter got into early trouble and the Duck bats couldn’t complete a comeback late to fall 9-7. Bennett Thompson pinch hit in the eighth inning and hit a three-run homer that cut the Utes lead to just one heading into the ninth, but the Oregon bats went down quietly in the final inning.
It’s Oregon’s sixth conference series win heading into the final two weekends of the regular season.
Bryce Boettcher on a heater
In Oregon’s last five games, Eugene native and starting centerfielder Bryce Boettcher has five home runs, including two last Tuesday in a win over Oregon State.
The senior two-sport athlete went yard in Oregon’s first game against the Utes and its last, bringing his home run total to 11 for the season with a .295 average. Boettcher is one home run short of stamping his name in the Duck record books as one of just 11 players to hit 12 home runs in a single season.
“I feel good,” Boettcher said. “I’ve made a couple of adjustments, mostly just mental adjustments within myself in the box. It’s been nice coming home for these past couple of games, so I’ve been feeling good.”
Where Oregon stands heading into final stretch of regular season
With just two weekends and six games to go before the Pac-12 Tournament begins, Oregon currently sits three games back of conference-leading Arizona. The Ducks are also a game behind both Oregon State and Utah but has tiebreaker advantages over both the Wildcats and Utes.
The Ducks play Washington for a road series in Seattle next weekend and host Washington State the following weekend back in Eugene. The Huskies (18-21-1, 9-14 Pac-12) and Cougars (20-26, 8-16 Pac-12) both rank near the bottom of the Pac-12 conference standings.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.
OREGON CITY Ore. (KPTV) – The Reformation Covenant Church in Oregon City caught fire on Christmas Day, according to Clackamas Fire.
“I personally, in my 25-year career, haven’t seen such a disastrous fire on Christmas Day,” said Clackamas County Fire Battalion Chief Josh Santos.
Firefighters responded to a reported fire at the church near John Quincy Adams St and 12th St just after 2 p.m.
Crews found the fire between the old and new roof of the church, and had to attack the fire from above as a result, according to the fire department.
“We prioritized putting people on the roof, cutting holes across the entire roof because of that void space and fire crews inside fighting the fire,” said Santos.
Clackamas Fire says while the fire was put out at around 3:30 p.m., crews will remain at the scene to ensure the fire doesn’t reignite.
“It breaks your heart,” said Santos. “The entire congregation is ruined with fire and smoke, and then holes in the roof, and then the office space itself has a lot of smoke damage and holes in the roof.”
Church was reportedly not in session at the time of the fire.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“It’s unfortunate this won’t be in service for a while,” said Santos. “But we just have to celebrate being healthy, we have to celebrate being with your loved ones, and we’ll fix the church.”
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The Oregon Ducks and the Texas Tech Red Raiders are set to face off against each other in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 1. As this College Football Playoff quarterfinal game gets closer, the betting odds are moving in the Ducks favor.
Oregon Favored By 2.5 Points
When it was confirmed that Oregon would be advancing to play Texas Tech after their first round playoff win over the James Madison Dukes, the betting line opened up on DraftKings Sportsbook with the Ducks as a 1.5-point favorite. Over the past few days, that number has increased a full point.
Oregon is now a 2.5-point favorite over the Red Raiders with odds of -125 to win outright. Texas Tech has odds to win outright of +105. The current over/under is at 52.5 points.
The movement indicates the public backing of coach Dan Lanning’s Ducks over the Big 12 Champion Red Raiders. Notably, ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Texas Tech a 51.6 percent chance to beat the Ducks.
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Ducks Coming Off First Round Win
Oregon comes into this game with a 12-1 record. Their lone loss came to the undefeated No. 1 ranked Indiana Hoosiers.
The Ducks beat James Madison by a final score of 51-34 in the first round to advance to the quarterfinals. The Ducks earned the No. 5 ranking in the playoff bracket, meaning they were the highest ranked team to not receive one of the four first round byes to the quarterfinals.
This is different to what happened last season for Oregon, as they entered that year’s playoff as the No. 1 ranked team with a bye to the quarterfinals. It didn’t end well, as Oregon was bounced immediately in their first game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Could not getting a bye this time around change the Ducks’ fortunes for the better and set up a long playoff run?
Texas Tech’s Elite Defense
Texas Tech also enters this game with a record of 12-1. The Red Raiders last game was a Big 12 championship victory over the BYU Cougars. They earned the No. 4 ranking and first round bye to the quarterfinals. Their one loss this season was to the Arizona State Devils.
The Red Raiders are anchored by an elite defense that has allowed opponents to score an average of just 10.9 points per game. This is the third lowest points allowed in all of college football this season, behind only Indiana and Ohio State.
This defense will be a major challenge for Ducks’ quarterback Dante Moore and company. If Oregon wants to advance to the semi-finals, they will have to be on their “A game.”
Kickoff for this matchup is an early one for those on the west coast at 9 a.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and announced by play-by-play announcer Joe Tessitore and color commentator Jesse Palmer.
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The Oregon Ducks’ 2025 season has looked a lot different from when they went undefeated in the 2024 regular season and won the Big Ten Conference Championship. The Ducks entered the postseason with a loss on their record and a handful of young players gaining their first College Football Playoff starts in the first round vs. Jams Madison.
The path for Oregon to make a deep postseason run is still there. Coach Dan Lanning went on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday and revealed what he thinks his team’s biggest superpower is ahead of their quarterfinal matchup against Texas Tech.
What Dan Lanning Said About Strength in Numbers
The Ducks’ regular season didn’t lack adversity. Between a high-pressure overtime game, having to comeback with two minutes left on the road and a plethora of injuries, Lanning’s squad has had a lot to overcome. Throughout all the adversity, the team stuck together.
“I think our superpower is our love for our teammates,” Lanning said. “I think our superpower is the amount of guys that make an impact on this team.”
Quarterback Dante Moore said after the Ducks’ first-round win that the group has grown throughout the season because of the way they’re connected.
With players like wide receivers Dakorien Moore and Gary Bryant Jr., as well as various players on the offensive line, coming in and out the lineup, the offense has barely missed a beat. Other players have stepped up when their number has been called.
“I think strength in numbers has really been a superpower for us. We’ve been down players and then we’ve had players available,” Lanning said. “We’ve had guys that you didn’t expect to make an impact, make a huge impact. So, I think really our superpower is the strength in numbers and the buy in from our players.”
Lanning’s roster seem to be getting healthy at the right time. Moore and Bryant both returned to the field vs. the Dukes after missing over a month of action. Wide receiver Evan Stewart and defensive back Trey McNutt have both been seen practicing in the past week despite not playing yet this season.
The Ducks should become harder to scout with more players returning from injury. The way that players like wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan have stepped up for Oregon when its needed creates a variety of options for the coaching staff to choose from, and it makes the team more unpredictable.
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The Team’s Trust in the Coaching Staff
The players on the Ducks may have a lot of chemistry and trust in one another, but part of their “superpower” seems to be the trust they have in the coaching staff.
After Oregon had a lackluster second half against JMU, Moore said that he’s confident the team will clean up its mistakes because he knows his coach is going to continue to push them in practice.
“Coach Lanning’s our leader. We go as he goes,” Moore said. “He’s going to make sure that he’s going to push us very hard next week. We’re going go watch film. Of course, he’s proud of us for us making it this far.”
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