When catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus squared around to bunt the ball with a man on third and two out, he was trying to catch USC by surprise.
He did that and a whole lot more.
Mabeus laid down a perfect bunt, beat the throw to first, and sent everyone home, except the Trojans, happy with the 6-5 win in 14 innings. Not only did that bunt single win the game and the series, but it also could lead to the Ducks hosting an NCAA regional in the tournament in two weeks.
According to a projection from On3.com, Oregon is set to host a regional and be the overall 15-seed in the tourney. In the projection, West Virginia, UC-Santa Barbara, and St. John’s would all travel to Eugene.
The Ducks haven’t played West Virginia or St. John’s this season, but they have played the Gauchos earlier this year, where Oregon took two of three down in Southern California. Oregon also went to Santa Barbara in 2024 for the NCAA tournament and won that regional.
But as On3.com states, there is still a lot of baseball to be played before the NCAAs begin, with the Ducks going to Omaha for the Big Ten tournament.
“The Ducks finish the regular season 38-15, 20-10 in the Big Ten and No. 16 in RPI, and they come in as our No. 15 overall seed this week,” On3.com says. “They’re not yet secure, but a strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament would lock them up as a host.”
Oregon starts the conference on Friday as the No. 3 seed. The opponent is not known yet, as Michigan, Ohio State, Rutgers and Washington will have their own double-elimination tourney, and the team coming out with two wins will face Oregon in the quarterfinals.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Ducks projected to host regional after big series win over USC