Oregon @ Michigan State (Spartans win series 1-0

[UOducksTK1]

Game 1: L 2-3 (10)
Game 2 and 3 cancelled

[oregontrack]

michigan state is 18-3, and really good. they beat our brains in last year (clean 3-0 sweep), and not only that, they also get the revenge factor in their favor for this weekend's rematch because it was widely believed we edged them out for the final tournament spot last year. this is going to be tougher than utah and washington, and neither of those series went well for us.

irvin got knocked around in seattle, but krook was surprisingly on-point. krook and a few relievers combined on a shut out. i thought we might actually win the series at that point, but then peterson was scratched and we went with robeniol.

the good news is that freshman jake bennett and sophomore kyle kasser have been knocking the hell off the ball since both were inserted into the starting line-up. grebeck and susnara are still hitting well, and steven packard had a nice series in seattle. we might be up to 5 functioning hitters now! progress.

[shoparound]

And progress is good. Hard to believe how bad our offense is doing, it's almost like the guys are trying not to hit.

A few stats from an article this week:

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).
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.

The last sentence really stuck out. Are the coaches regressing these players? Horton did say that hitting coach Wasikowski is doing a good job this season... But certainly there's not much to show for it.

[oregontrack]

2-1 michigan state, top 7

an error got a spartan on base in the first inning, and a botched double play and a passed ball later allowed him to score.

we were getting perfect gamed until the 6th, when balta finally got a hit and grebeck drove him in (clutch hitting! it's like finding a leprauchan).

and then irvin gave the lead up immediately in the next inning on a pair of hits.

and so we're down to our last 9 outs.

[shoparound]

losing in a walk off is tough. at least the guys tried. they got close against a great Michigan team.

[shoparound]

Game 2 cancelled due to snow. Consider it a mercy, not adding another L to the column. I wonder if there is a chance tomorrow will be cancelled too.

[shoparound]

As is Game 3.
Really lucked to avoid this series. Almost like it's a sign the team needs a bye to work on things.

[oregontrack]

yeah, not the worst series to limp away from after only a game. i still don't know who we were going to throw sunday.

got to weather the cal storm next weekend. they're in first place and looking really good. after that, time to bounce back.

[shoparound]

I guess that probably one of the issues early started in the pitching rotation believing too much in their hype.
Yes, all three *seem* talented.
But let's remember, Cole Irvin was nowhere near his freshman season when he came back last year. Shadow of himself.
Matt Krook should have been expected to have inconsistent/rough outings just like Irvin did since it's his first year back from injury.
Peterson was never *that* impressive. Definitely hittable and beatable by other teams.
Also they practice and pitch against our players... not the most difficult to make swinging misses with their bats.

When these were exposed by MissSt, it's been downhill since.