Fifteen games into the season, the Oregon baseball team has created an identity. They pitch well and have a strong bullpen. They play great defense. They capitalize on mistakes from the opposition and find unique ways to score. Finding ways to score has become crucial because the most apparent part of the Ducks’ identity is their inability to hit the ball and to leave runners stranded in big moments.
“Yes, very much so,” first baseman Ryon Healy responded when asked if frustration is building in the dugout. “I think there are a lot of guys who are frustrated, including myself, that we aren’t getting results in big situations. It’s the game of baseball, we’re not going to be successful every time but there comes a point in time when we need to clutch up.”
Stranding runners was the problem again for the Ducks in a 4-2 losing effort against No. 2 Vanderbilt Saturday. The Ducks managed to get on base even though they only had five hits, but left 12 runners on base, seven of whom were in scoring position.
For a team that simply struggles to hit the ball, having 12 players to strand as a result of only five hits is impressive in some ways. That’s what the Ducks have done all year though; they work counts and get walked. Once on base, they thrive on errors from the opposition. Unfortunately, for a team who came into the season with such high expectations, more often than not those players never reach the home plate.
As a team they have just a .321 on base percentage and have stranded 103 runners in fifteen games. They are also hitting just .221 on the year, making each of those 103 stranded runners more important. Oftentimes, the Ducks will load the bases and seemingly have rhythm offensively only to end the inning without scoring a run.
“We are in that funk when guys are taking responsibility themselves and trying to do too much,” head coach George Horton said. “It looks to me like we are trying to have the special, two strike contact instead of just putting the ball in play. They are trying hard to win but are in a funk. We try to keep our eyes off the scoreboard, but that is impossible.”
In the bottom of the seventh inning the Ducks were trailing Vanderbilt 3-1 when the second batter, Connor Hofmann, gets walked. Next, J.J. Altobelli gets a bunt single. Scott Heineman then strikes out, but Hofmann and Altobelli advance to scoring position. Aaron Payne is then walked to load the bases. With two outs and the bases loaded, to go-ahead run comes to the plate in the form of Ryon Healy. Healy leads the Ducks in batting average, slugging percentage, hits, home runs, doubles and RBI. Essentially, he was who the Ducks would ideally have hit in that situation. Healy struck out swinging on a pitch that he probably wouldn’t have chased without the pressure of that moment.
After the out, Healy was visibly furious, throwing his helmet and batting gloves to the turf as he headed for the dugout.
“Our mentality isn’t where it needs to be,” Healy said after the game. “We’re not being tough outs right now, and that’s from top to bottom, myself included. I’m not helping this team at all right now with my at-bats and I am very disappointed in myself.”
The Ducks saw a similar rally in the bottom of the eighth inning when Hofmann scored Ryan Hambright on a double up the left baseline. Altobelli then came to the plate with two outs and runners on second and third. He struck out.
In the ninth Steven Packard flew out stranding two runners, one in scoring position.
Simply put, the Ducks can ill afford stranding runners. When hits are such a rarity, they have to capitalize on runnings in scoring position. They consider themselves a top team and they are playing a schedule chock-full of talent. If they continue leaving runners on base at this cadence, they won’t be a top team much longer.