Fresh off a series sweep against Cal and a win against No. 5 Oregon State, No. 10 Oregon is feeling good as they get ready for a two-week homestand.
The sweep against Cal was their third sweep this season against a Pac-12 school and their first on the road. Anytime the Ducks are able to get three against a conference opponent they’re happy, but coach George Horton said against Cal, the sweep was especially important.
“It made me feel good,” Horton said of the success at Cal. Horton spoke to the tumultuous series against Cal in the 2009-10 season and expressed his elation with the improvement of the program since then.
In 2009, Horton took his team out into the outfield and gave a long talk about how the team wasn’t what it should be and how the players had lost focus on what was important.
“I shared that story with this year’s club,” Horton said. “When we accomplished that sweep, we walked right out to that same area. There happened to be a little divit in the grass. J.J. (Altobelli) being a senior and having a lot to do with this culture, I pointed at the divit and asked him ‘Can you please bury those demons from the ’09 series?’”
Perhaps the player who had the biggest impact on the Cal series was Scott Heineman, whose bat has woken up in the past week. Over the past five games, Heineman has four home runs and nine RBI, prompting Pac-12 Player of the Week honors.
“I made some minor adjustments on my starting point,” Heineman said of his recent success. “It helps me restrict my swing so I can get to that inside pitch. Other than that I’ve been working up in the cage before practice. It’s feeling pretty good right now.”
The Ducks now head two-straight home series against No. 13 UCLA and Stanford, both worthy opponents. The team is confident after their road success and is looking forward to playing in their home confines.
“I think a lot of us have a lot of confidence right now,” said Ryon Healy. “It’s very special what we did on the road and to finally get our first road sweep in the Pac-12. I feel like coming back here and playing in PK Park for the first time in two and a half weeks is going to be a lot of fun. There will be a lot of energy and hopefully the fans will come out and support us.”