REGISTER GUARD: Oregon Ducks baseball looks to take the next step in 2021 (1 photo, article)
Ashley Conklin
Register-GuardPublished 1:29 p.m. PT October 30, 2020 | Updated 10:14 a.m. PT October 31, 2020
Mark Wasikowski has spent more time on the practice field this fall than ever before.
And that's fine with the second-year Oregon baseball coach.
Because of COVID-19 protocols, Wasikowski and his coaching staff have had to change their practices significantly. The Ducks have begun fall practice and sometimes have as many as five practices a day in the era of physical distancing.
While there are NCAA-mandated limits on how much practice time a player can have, there are no such limits for coaches.
"From our standpoint, it's real simple," Wasikowski said during a recent Zoom call with the media. "Whatever they tell us to do, they tell us to wear masks, we wear masks. It's not a debate. Whether we believe in it or don't believe in it and all that kind of stuff."
The Ducks were 8-7 last year as Wasikowski returned to the program he was an assistant coach for from 2012-16 under George Horton before spending three seasons as Purdue's head coach.
Wasikowski says his team is happy to comply with any COVID-19 restrictions necessary in order to be back on the diamond.
"The biggest thing for us is that we've seen isn't necessarily just being able to play baseball but it's being there for the student-athletes," Wasikowski said. "These guys need it. This six-, seventh-month stretch has not been good mentally whether it's the staff but specifically the student-athletes. It's really had a damage. Being out there is the best therapy."
The Ducks were up and down during last season's abbreviated campaign, starting 0-4, winning seven straight games, then dropping three straight at Hawaii before winning the final game of that series, which as it turned out was also Oregon's season finale.
"Our team has got a lot of upside this year and I'm excited, especially with the hunger that all the returners have with the season getting cut short," said Oregon two-way star Kenyon Yovan. "There's a lot of intensity every practice that we have, a lot of focus and honestly we came back and didn't lose a step, so I'm excited to see how it's going to carry on."
Yovan started all 15 games at designated hitter last year and also pitched 1 1/3 innings as he worked his way back from an injury suffered while pitching in the 2019 season opener at Texas Tech that cost him the rest of that season.
"My goal is to be back to where I was before my injury," Yovan said. "Doctors said it would take about a year to get back to normal. Velocity is starting to pick back up. My goal is to go out there and be the best two-way player in the country. That's what I want to do."
Yovan was off to a fast start last year, hitting .429 with four home runs, 22 runs and a .714 slugging percentage that landed him on the Collegiate Baseball first team all-American squad as a designated hitter.
The Ducks have another big bat returning in senior first baseman Gabe Matthews. The Salem native is in several career top-10 categories for Oregon. Matthews hit .339 last season and had six multi-hit games.
Oregon likes its mix of returning veterans and newcomers it added during the offseason.
"Being able to have that many leaders ... that many older guys that are leaders, almost each individually can take a younger guy under your wing and bring them up to speed right away," Matthews said, "and I think that's been a big thing for us. It's been a really good blend of both."
Wasikowski said sophomore outfielder Tanner Smith and sophomore infielder Sam Novitske made big strides in the offseason.
Among the newcomers the Ducks are high on are third baseman Nick Bellafronto, a graduate transfer from Stanford, sophomore pitchers Caleb Sloan (TCU transfer) and Pat Pridgen (junior college transfer) and freshman pitcher Issac Ayon, who Wasikowski says has a big arm and could be in the weekend rotation and possibly even a Friday starter.
Oregon went only 10-19 in Pac-12 play in Horton's final season two years ago. After last year's campaign ended before the Pac-12 opening series against UCLA, Wasikowski challenged his team to come back with a championship mindset.
"When you start talking about being a (Pac-12 Conference) championship-level club, you usually see those championship teams have players that are in the top three at each position throughout their lineup," Wasikoswki said. "That's one area of emphasis from last year moving into this year.
"I think they were hungry for it and although the last six months didn't go kind of what they wanted them to be, it did give them the opportunity to focus on specific areas in their game for improvement, which was good. They needed it."
