No. 6 Oregon baseball wrapped up its fourth-straight conference series win as great pitching paved the way to a 3-1 rubber match win over Michigan State in East Lansing on Sunday, May 4.

The Ducks (33-13, 16-8 Big Ten Conference) have won 10 of their last 12 games and each of their last five series matchups. Of those five, four have come against conference opponents — Maryland, Michigan, UCLA and the Spartans — and two against teams ranked in the top 10 at the time, the No. 10 Bruins and No. 3 Oregon State Beavers. Sunday’s win over Michigan State also propelled Oregon 11 spots upward in WarrenNolan.com‘s live Rating Performance Index rankings to No. 24 nationally at the time of writing.

Reitz, Ducks bullpen hang on

Jason Reitz (3-0) turned in his second quality start of the season and fourth-straight outing of five-or-more innings. The 6-foot-11 right-hander worked 6.1 innings, allowing a single earned run on three hits, one walk and four strikeouts. Michigan State brought its lone run of Sunday’s game across with a leadoff double from designated hitter Noah Bright, followed by a sacrifice bunt from third baseman Dayton Murphy and a sac-fly by second baseman Ryan McKay.

Reitz has been stellar for the Ducks since returning to the Sunday slot of Oregon’s weekend rotation for his last four starts, pitching 23.1 innings in the span with 20 strikeouts and just seven earned runs.

Right-handers Cole Stokes (1 and 2/3rds innings) and Seth Mattox (ninth inning) finished off the win. Stokes finished off the seventh inning cleanly before allowing the tying and go-ahead runs to reach base in the bottom of the eighth, but punched out Michigan State shortstop Randy Seymour on three pitches to strand runners on the corners.

Mattox recorded the final three outs in order, generating a pair of groundouts and a fly out to record his fourth save of the season.

The Ducks wrapped up the two-of-three series-win over Michigan State employing just three arms out of the bullpen, with lefty Ian Umlandt throwing a three-inning save in Saturday’s 13-5 win. In 20.2 innings of work over the last seven games (four against Oregon State, three against Michigan State), the Ducks bullpen has allowed just three earned runs.

What was once a bugaboo for Oregon has, seemingly, become a strength as the regular season nears a close.

A clutch few 

Oregon’s offense showed up in just one of three games against the Spartans. A 2-0 shutout-loss on Friday and a five-hit win Sunday bookended a 13-run performance Saturday.

While the Ducks batted just .172 (5-for-29) in the rubber match win, timely hits made the difference. Three of Oregon’s five hits against the Spartans came with two outs, including both of the Ducks’ extra-base knocks.

Ducks catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus roped a RBI double on the first pitch he saw Sunday. The swing brought Oregon shortstop Maddox Molony — who reached after being hit by a 3-2 offering from Spartans starter Nolan Higgins — from first base to home plate in the top of the second inning. Higgins’ (4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) only other earned-run came off of a wild pitch, scoring Ducks’ left fielder Parker Stinson from third.

Garrett Brewer (5.0 IP, 2 H, I ER, 1 BB, 3 K) iced out the Ducks for the majority of his outing, but a solo home run from outfielder Anson Aroz gave Oregon an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Starting in centerfield for the third-straight game, Aroz finished the weekend with a pair of solo shots, bringing him to 13 this season.

The catcher turned outfielder is one of five Ducks with double-digit homers in 2025, joining designated-hitter Dominic Hellman’s 11, Molony’s 13, first baseman Jacob Walsh’s 16and a nation-leading 23 from outfielder Mason Neville. Oregon’s 88 home runs this season ranks fourth amongst Power Five programs at the time of writing, trailing No. 12 Tennessee (101), No. 11 Arkansas (102) and No. 9 Georgia (118).

Big Ten race heating up

Head coach Mark Wasikowski’s Ducks squad remains the highest-ranked outfit in the Big Ten, but still sitting at third-place in the conference’s standings. Unranked Iowa (31-15, 20-6) maintains the top spot, while No. 14 UCLA (34-12, 17-6) sits in second. Oregon holds the tiebreaker over the Bruins, taking two-of-three games in April; while Iowa will host the Ducks for both teams’ final regular-season series in two weeks.

UCLA will face the Big Ten’s No. 7 team, Illinois (26-19, 12-12), on the road and No. 13 Northwestern (21-24, 10-14) at home to close out the season. Iowa’s three games against No. 7 Oregon State in De Moines will tee up their bout with the Ducks.

Oregon’s postseason chances — as well as a regional and super-regional host site in the NCAA championship — remain in great shape, but winning the Big Ten tournament championship remains the Ducks best chance to do so.

On Deck

The ever-growing importance of Oregon’s conference-play finale against Iowa will be left to simmer for one more weekend. Two home series remain on the Ducks’ docket before the road trip to Des Moines.

The Saint Mary’s Gaels (25-20) will come to Eugene for a two-game midweek bout before the Washington Huskies (27-21, 15-8) — currently fifth in the Big Ten standings — come to PK Park for for the final three home games of Oregon’s regular season slate.

First pitch against Saint Mary’s is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6 at PK Park in Eugene.