When manager George Horton addressed the media at practice on March 16, Oregon men’s basketball was about to begin its historic Elite Eight run in the NCAA Tournament. The baseball team, meanwhile, had just been swept in three games by Mississippi State.
“You guys just want to talk about our basketball team, right?” Horton asked.
Now that basketball season is over, the focus shifts to the baseball field, where the season has been less than magical. One month ago, Perfect Game ranked Oregon No. 7 in the nation after it swept San Diego State and took three of four against Illinois State. Since, the Ducks (11-9, 2-4 Pac-12) have lost eight of their last 13 games and fallen out of the Top 25.
“We’ve been in a little bit of a rut,” sophomore Kyle Kasser said. “Even on this tough skid, everyone is just staying with the process and doing what we do, trying not to do too much, and keeping a positive mindset.”
Oregon’s hitters have struggled mightily. The Ducks sit dead last in the Pac-12 conference in batting average (.211), slugging percentage (.319), hits (6.95) and strikeouts per game (7.90).
On the other hand, Oregon’s pitchers have excelled. The Ducks boast the conference’s second-lowest opposing batting average (.218) and third-lowest ERA (3.12). They have recorded the most strikeouts (9.00) and allowed the second-fewest hits (7.00) and third-fewest runs per game (3.95).
Unfortunately, no “golden mean” exists between the two extremes; a team cannot have too much offense or quality pitching.
The offense is dragging the team down.
“It’d be accurate to say we’re searching for a little spark,” Horton said. “We’re setting the table really well. Coach [Mark Wasikowski] is running the offense well. We’re putting ourselves in position to have productive innings; we’re just not eating at the table.”
“We’ve had some opportunities. We just haven’t broke it open, so to speak.”
The second through fifth hitters in the batting order to start the season — A.J. Balta, Jakob Goldfarb, Phil Craig-St. Louis and Steven Packard — have combined to hit just .181. Freshmen Matt Kroon and Travis Moniot, who were drafted into the MLB out of high school, together have hit just .148.
Two unlikelier candidates have carried more of the offensive burden of late. Since getting his second start of the season on March 19, Kasser strung together four-straight multi-hit games and now leads the team with a .435 batting average. Freshman Jake Bennett is close behind with a .400 batting average. Both have started the past four games. Kasser is hitting in the two-hole, and Bennett has moved up to third in the batting order from sixth.
“Not that [Goldfarb] or [Craig-St. Louis] have a lack of mentality, but what we were looking for was freshness and competitiveness,” Horton said when he benched them in favor Kasser and Bennett on March 19. “… Their strokes are not, right now, in line for that. They want to do it and they battle, but unfortunately right now they don’t have the mechanisms, the tools, to do that.”
Oregon’s pitchers will continue to keep the team competitive in games, but the hitters will need to start contributing more substantially for the Ducks to make good on Cole Irvin’s guarantee of making the College World Series for the first time under Horton.
Follow Kenny Jacoby on Twitter @KennyJacoby