It’s a grind, the baseball team will tell you. Up to five games per week while balancing a full course load; it isn’t easy. But nobody will be particularly sympathetic this weekend as the Ducks play their first four games of 2013 in Hawaii for the third year in a row.

Oregon enters the year with sky-high expectations and a No. 15 ranking in the Baseball America Top 25, but they’ve been in this situation before. Last year’s team was an inning away from a trip to Omaha despite relatively low preseason expectations, while two years ago the Ducks were a top 10 preseason team that missed out on the postseason altogether.

The Ducks haven’t officially released a starting rotation, but it’s likely that returning starters Jake Reed or Jeff Gold will be on the bump to start the year for the Ducks. Meanwhile, former starters Christian Jones and Brando Tessar, each returning from injuries, will open the season in long-relief roles.

The star of the Ducks’ bullpen, though, will be closer Jimmie Sherfy. The junior right-hander from Camarillo, Calif., is on just about every stopper of the year watch list after a dominant performance in last year’s postseason.