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The Eugene Regional is set to begin on Friday at PK Park, and the Oregon Ducks will host for the second year in a row. The Ducks will host a loaded regional of familiar West Coast foes, including Oregon State and Washington State, but the Ducks will begin their regional run against the one team in the regional making a trip across the country.
The Yale Bulldogs, the fourth seed in the regional, will take on the Ducks on Friday night. This has been a long time coming for Yale, which has had to rebuild and climb back to the top of the Ivy League before making it back to the postseason. Let's take a quick look at the Bulldogs and what Oregon fans should know before they take the field.
Yale comes to Eugene with a 30-13-1 record this season and on the heels of winning the Ivy League championship last weekend and back-to-back 30-win seasons. The Bulldogs are returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017, when they surprised many by reaching the regional championship in the Corvallis Regional. Then the No. 3 seed, Yale upset No. 2 seed Nebraska, but lost twice to Oregon State, including once in the final round.
This is the seventh regional appearance in program history for the Bulldogs and their first matchup ever against the Ducks. Yale earned the Ivy League's automatic bid after taking down Columbia and beating Brown twice en route to the conference tournament title.
Yale has been among the leaders in the Ivy League in batting average, runs scored and on-base percentage. The lineup has a couple of standouts, but overall, the offense maintains a consistent flow and utilizes contact and their ability to put the ball in play to put pressure on the defense.
Playing small ball and manufacturing runs has been an important point of emphasis for the Ducks this season, despite their power presence at the plate. For Yale, that's how they often score. The Bulldogs are relentless on the bases, notching 126 steals this season. Six players have swiped 10 or more bases this season, with Kaiden Dossa leading the group with 28 stolen bases and has yet to be thrown out.
Yale has also impressed on the mound. The Bulldogs are anchored by two powerful starters and a bullpen that was called upon in big spots to close out a conference title. Right-hander Tate Evans made only seven starts this season but leads the Bulldogs with 21 appearances and 79 ⅓ innings pitched. He is leads the rotation and was named the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year in 2026. The Bulldogs can catch you swinging and missing, but the staff as a whole is great at pitching to contact.
In the pen, junior righty Ben Winslow is one of Yale's top options. Winslow is capable of tossing several innings in relief and finished the regular season with a 3.19 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. He racked up 52 strikeouts in 42 ⅓ innings on the mound. The one area that could hurt him against the Ducks is his tendency to allow the ball to be put in the air. He allowed eight home runs this season, the most on the team, and that could bite him against an Oregon lineup that homered 10 times in the Big Ten Tournament.
The biggest downside for Yale is the power numbers at the plate. The Bulldogs have only hit 23 home runs as a team this season. Some of that has to do with their style of play being in between the lines and speed-oriented. However, when facing a powerful lineup like Oregon's, the Bulldogs could face a situation where they need to match scores to stay in the game. Yale did leg out 93 doubles, but the Ducks play enough defense to limit the amount of extra bases the Bulldogs can take on balls hit to the gap.
While Yale is great at playing with speed and contact to get guys on base and move station to station, that isn't a great strategy when facing high-quality opponents. Oregon has played great defense this season, and Burke-Lee Mabeus has been tremendous behind the plate at throwing out runners and keeping his pitching staff calm and collected on the mound.
That's where Yale's inexperience against power programs can really hurt them. The Bulldogs did not play anyone on their schedule who also made it to the NCAA Tournament. Oregon presents a steep increase in talent and competition for Yale that might be too big to overcome. And, given how the Ducks fell flat against Utah Valley and Cal Poly in the Eugene Regional last season, it's hard to believe that Mark Wasikowski and the Oregon coaching staff are overlooking this game.
Jack Ohman could draw the start against the Ducks or appear from the bullpen. The sophomore southpaw was the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year as a freshman. After an outstanding first season in New Haven, Ohman has offers to transfer to a bigger program, but he opted to stay at Yale. In 10 starts and 62 innings, Ohman has powered through opposing offenses at the plate. Ohman leads the Bulldogs with 83 strikeouts, but he did pitch to a 5.23 ERA. He can get a bit wild (27 walks), but when he is right, he can go very deep into games. Ohman throws a mid-to-high 90s fastball and a powerful gyro slider to keep batters off balance.
Outfielder Garrett Larsen is the best hitter in the lineup for Yale, leading the team with a .374 average. Larsen epitomizes everything the Bulldogs want to do at the plate. He has 67 hits, 14 of which are doubles, and he has stolen 27 bags this season. At the top of the lineup, Larsen is a guy the Ducks will circle as a pivot point. Larsen can set the table or manufacture his own offense. He is one of four Bulldogs to earn All-Ivy honors.
Third baseman Jack Dauer might be the hottest-hitting Bulldog coming into the regional. In a lineup with little to no power, Dauer has smacked five home runs and leads the team with 48 RBIs. He has also stolen 13 bases and can be patient and competitive at the plate. Dauer is riding a 13-game hitting streak into Eugene and has collected multiple hits in seven of those games. He leads the Bulldogs with 17 doubles and is the heart of the lineup for Yale, batting cleanup. If the Ducks can silence his bat, Yale's balanced lineup will lose the biggest thumper it has.
To put it simply, Oregon has the clear edge on both sides of the ball, but Yale has promising talent in certain positions to make the Ducks work harder than they'd like to in the first game of the regional.
Yale's powerful arms against Oregon's power at the plate is an exciting matchup. The Ducks could either put more baseballs over the wall or swing straight through the Ivy League stars and keep them in the game. The Ducks do strike out enough to give Yale's arms a path to staying in this game.
However, I think Oregon's arms are the difference here. Assuming it's Cal Scolari on the mound for the Ducks and a bullpen full of arms with plenty of big-game experience, the Ducks have too much firepower to contend with a Yale lineup that hasn't proven anything against quality competition.
I think Oregon will win the game 8-1 to begin its run in the Eugene Regional, thanks to a big start from Scolari and multiple home runs. That will send the Ducks to the winner's bracket and Yale to the loser's bracket on Saturday.
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: What to know about Yale vs. Oregon in Eugene Regional
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The Yale Bulldogs, the fourth seed in the regional, will take on the Ducks on Friday night. This has been a long time coming for Yale, which has had to rebuild and climb back to the top of the Ivy League before making it back to the postseason. Let's take a quick look at the Bulldogs and what Oregon fans should know before they take the field.
Season Overview
Yale comes to Eugene with a 30-13-1 record this season and on the heels of winning the Ivy League championship last weekend and back-to-back 30-win seasons. The Bulldogs are returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017, when they surprised many by reaching the regional championship in the Corvallis Regional. Then the No. 3 seed, Yale upset No. 2 seed Nebraska, but lost twice to Oregon State, including once in the final round.
This is the seventh regional appearance in program history for the Bulldogs and their first matchup ever against the Ducks. Yale earned the Ivy League's automatic bid after taking down Columbia and beating Brown twice en route to the conference tournament title.
Yale has been among the leaders in the Ivy League in batting average, runs scored and on-base percentage. The lineup has a couple of standouts, but overall, the offense maintains a consistent flow and utilizes contact and their ability to put the ball in play to put pressure on the defense.
Strengths
Playing small ball and manufacturing runs has been an important point of emphasis for the Ducks this season, despite their power presence at the plate. For Yale, that's how they often score. The Bulldogs are relentless on the bases, notching 126 steals this season. Six players have swiped 10 or more bases this season, with Kaiden Dossa leading the group with 28 stolen bases and has yet to be thrown out.
Yale has also impressed on the mound. The Bulldogs are anchored by two powerful starters and a bullpen that was called upon in big spots to close out a conference title. Right-hander Tate Evans made only seven starts this season but leads the Bulldogs with 21 appearances and 79 ⅓ innings pitched. He is leads the rotation and was named the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year in 2026. The Bulldogs can catch you swinging and missing, but the staff as a whole is great at pitching to contact.
In the pen, junior righty Ben Winslow is one of Yale's top options. Winslow is capable of tossing several innings in relief and finished the regular season with a 3.19 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. He racked up 52 strikeouts in 42 ⅓ innings on the mound. The one area that could hurt him against the Ducks is his tendency to allow the ball to be put in the air. He allowed eight home runs this season, the most on the team, and that could bite him against an Oregon lineup that homered 10 times in the Big Ten Tournament.
Weaknesses
The biggest downside for Yale is the power numbers at the plate. The Bulldogs have only hit 23 home runs as a team this season. Some of that has to do with their style of play being in between the lines and speed-oriented. However, when facing a powerful lineup like Oregon's, the Bulldogs could face a situation where they need to match scores to stay in the game. Yale did leg out 93 doubles, but the Ducks play enough defense to limit the amount of extra bases the Bulldogs can take on balls hit to the gap.
While Yale is great at playing with speed and contact to get guys on base and move station to station, that isn't a great strategy when facing high-quality opponents. Oregon has played great defense this season, and Burke-Lee Mabeus has been tremendous behind the plate at throwing out runners and keeping his pitching staff calm and collected on the mound.
That's where Yale's inexperience against power programs can really hurt them. The Bulldogs did not play anyone on their schedule who also made it to the NCAA Tournament. Oregon presents a steep increase in talent and competition for Yale that might be too big to overcome. And, given how the Ducks fell flat against Utah Valley and Cal Poly in the Eugene Regional last season, it's hard to believe that Mark Wasikowski and the Oregon coaching staff are overlooking this game.
Three Players to Know
Jack Ohman could draw the start against the Ducks or appear from the bullpen. The sophomore southpaw was the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year as a freshman. After an outstanding first season in New Haven, Ohman has offers to transfer to a bigger program, but he opted to stay at Yale. In 10 starts and 62 innings, Ohman has powered through opposing offenses at the plate. Ohman leads the Bulldogs with 83 strikeouts, but he did pitch to a 5.23 ERA. He can get a bit wild (27 walks), but when he is right, he can go very deep into games. Ohman throws a mid-to-high 90s fastball and a powerful gyro slider to keep batters off balance.
Outfielder Garrett Larsen is the best hitter in the lineup for Yale, leading the team with a .374 average. Larsen epitomizes everything the Bulldogs want to do at the plate. He has 67 hits, 14 of which are doubles, and he has stolen 27 bags this season. At the top of the lineup, Larsen is a guy the Ducks will circle as a pivot point. Larsen can set the table or manufacture his own offense. He is one of four Bulldogs to earn All-Ivy honors.
Third baseman Jack Dauer might be the hottest-hitting Bulldog coming into the regional. In a lineup with little to no power, Dauer has smacked five home runs and leads the team with 48 RBIs. He has also stolen 13 bases and can be patient and competitive at the plate. Dauer is riding a 13-game hitting streak into Eugene and has collected multiple hits in seven of those games. He leads the Bulldogs with 17 doubles and is the heart of the lineup for Yale, batting cleanup. If the Ducks can silence his bat, Yale's balanced lineup will lose the biggest thumper it has.
Prediction
To put it simply, Oregon has the clear edge on both sides of the ball, but Yale has promising talent in certain positions to make the Ducks work harder than they'd like to in the first game of the regional.
Yale's powerful arms against Oregon's power at the plate is an exciting matchup. The Ducks could either put more baseballs over the wall or swing straight through the Ivy League stars and keep them in the game. The Ducks do strike out enough to give Yale's arms a path to staying in this game.
However, I think Oregon's arms are the difference here. Assuming it's Cal Scolari on the mound for the Ducks and a bullpen full of arms with plenty of big-game experience, the Ducks have too much firepower to contend with a Yale lineup that hasn't proven anything against quality competition.
I think Oregon will win the game 8-1 to begin its run in the Eugene Regional, thanks to a big start from Scolari and multiple home runs. That will send the Ducks to the winner's bracket and Yale to the loser's bracket on Saturday.
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: What to know about Yale vs. Oregon in Eugene Regional
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