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The focus on Saturday at PK Park was rightfully placed on Will Sanford as the Oregon Ducks took down Washington State to advance to the final round of the Eugene Regional on Sunday. Sanford struck out a career-high 14 batters en route to a victory over the former Pac-12 foe.
The Ducks had some trouble backing up the performance on the hill with a lackluster night at the plate. A three-run blast by Naulivou Lauaki Jr. in the ninth made the 4-0 final score look better and gave Oregon a home run in 10 straight games.
However, Jax Gimenez was the only Duck to pick up multiple hits on Saturday night. The sophomore left fielder had two base hits and drove in the first run of the night in the fifth inning to give Oregon the lead. Gimenez has been an important part of the lineup this season, but his effectiveness had been a question coming into the postseason.
In late April, Gimenez suffered a thumb injury that kept him out of the batter's box. He continued to start games in left field, but didn't climb into the box to hit while nursing the injury. It was a big blow to the Oregon offense. Gimenez hit toward the top of the lineup and has the best on-base percentage on the team at .468. He gets close to the plate from the left side, leading the team with 21 hit-by-pitches, and has a careful eye with 31 walks.
The Ducks missed his approach in the lineup and ability to set the table for the sluggers behind him against teams with dominant pitching staffs like USC and UCLA. Oregon managed to win games without his bat, but when the Eugene Regional rolled around, the Ducks could only improve their chances of advancing by getting him in the box.
After going hitless against Yale on Friday, Gimenez represented Oregon's first chance to do some damage against Washington State starter Luke Meyers on Saturday. After Burke-Lee Mabeus ripped a double to the gap and Maddox Molony worked a walk, Gimenez was ready to reintroduce himself to the rowdy PK Park crowd.
“I really just wanted the moment,” Gimenez said after the game. “Burke had a really good at-bat in front of me, he goes leadoff double. Maddox works a great walk, so really good at-bats in front of me in that position. Just really excited to come through for the team.”
Gimenez laced the first pitch he saw into right field to score Mabeus and give the Ducks the lead. That wound up being all Oregon needed, as Sanford and the bullpen combined to shut out the Cougars. Gimenez singled again in the eighth for his first multi-hit game since April 19.
Gimenez is still wearing a guard to protect his left thumb, but the adrenaline has certainly overwhelmed any pain that might be lingering. Mark Wasikowski has opted to deploy Gimenez from the bottom of the lineup to set the table for Ryan Cooney and the top of the lineup, while adding his speed (eight stolen bases) to allow the team to play more small ball.
"These guys are animals when it comes to their training," Wasikowski said. "It's no surprise that they're having postseason success, so our preparation is just going to be about what we've done the entire year. We think it's working."
Gimenez will get a chance to build off his strong outing when Oregon takes the field on Sunday night in the regional final against either Washington State or Oregon State.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Jax Gimenez lifting Oregon's offense with postseason return to lineup
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The Ducks had some trouble backing up the performance on the hill with a lackluster night at the plate. A three-run blast by Naulivou Lauaki Jr. in the ninth made the 4-0 final score look better and gave Oregon a home run in 10 straight games.
However, Jax Gimenez was the only Duck to pick up multiple hits on Saturday night. The sophomore left fielder had two base hits and drove in the first run of the night in the fifth inning to give Oregon the lead. Gimenez has been an important part of the lineup this season, but his effectiveness had been a question coming into the postseason.
In late April, Gimenez suffered a thumb injury that kept him out of the batter's box. He continued to start games in left field, but didn't climb into the box to hit while nursing the injury. It was a big blow to the Oregon offense. Gimenez hit toward the top of the lineup and has the best on-base percentage on the team at .468. He gets close to the plate from the left side, leading the team with 21 hit-by-pitches, and has a careful eye with 31 walks.
The Ducks missed his approach in the lineup and ability to set the table for the sluggers behind him against teams with dominant pitching staffs like USC and UCLA. Oregon managed to win games without his bat, but when the Eugene Regional rolled around, the Ducks could only improve their chances of advancing by getting him in the box.
After going hitless against Yale on Friday, Gimenez represented Oregon's first chance to do some damage against Washington State starter Luke Meyers on Saturday. After Burke-Lee Mabeus ripped a double to the gap and Maddox Molony worked a walk, Gimenez was ready to reintroduce himself to the rowdy PK Park crowd.
“I really just wanted the moment,” Gimenez said after the game. “Burke had a really good at-bat in front of me, he goes leadoff double. Maddox works a great walk, so really good at-bats in front of me in that position. Just really excited to come through for the team.”
Gimenez laced the first pitch he saw into right field to score Mabeus and give the Ducks the lead. That wound up being all Oregon needed, as Sanford and the bullpen combined to shut out the Cougars. Gimenez singled again in the eighth for his first multi-hit game since April 19.
Gimenez is still wearing a guard to protect his left thumb, but the adrenaline has certainly overwhelmed any pain that might be lingering. Mark Wasikowski has opted to deploy Gimenez from the bottom of the lineup to set the table for Ryan Cooney and the top of the lineup, while adding his speed (eight stolen bases) to allow the team to play more small ball.
"These guys are animals when it comes to their training," Wasikowski said. "It's no surprise that they're having postseason success, so our preparation is just going to be about what we've done the entire year. We think it's working."
Gimenez will get a chance to build off his strong outing when Oregon takes the field on Sunday night in the regional final against either Washington State or Oregon State.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Jax Gimenez lifting Oregon's offense with postseason return to lineup
Continue reading...
