Everything Oregon Coach Mark Wasikowski Said After the Win Over Washington State

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon baseball is one win away from advancing winning the Eugene Regional after shutting out Washington State 4-0 Saturday night at PK Park.

The Ducks and Cougars found themselves locked in a pitching duel for much of the evening before Oregon finally broke through in the fifth inning. Burke-Lee Mabeus sparked the offense with a double before Jax Gimenez drove in the first run of the game, giving Oregon a lead it would never surrender.

Oregon baseball Oregon Ducks Washington State baseball Eugene Regional NCAA baseball PK Park Will Sanford Naulivou Lauaki — Oregon’s Naulivou Lauaki Jr. right, celebrates his ninth-inning home run against Washington State with teammate Drew Smith during day two of the NCAA Eugene Regional Tournament at PK Park n Eugene May 30, 2026. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On the mound, Will Sanford delivered one of his most dominant performances of the season. The right-hander struck out five consecutive batters to open the game and finished with 14 strikeouts while allowing just one hit across 6.1 innings. Tanner Bradley and Devin Bell followed by preserving the shutout as Oregon limited Washington State to just a single hit all night.

The Ducks added insurance in the ninth inning when Naulivou Lauaki Jr. launched a three-run homer to put the game out of reach and send Oregon into Sunday’s Eugene Regional Championship matchup.

Following the win, Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski addressed the Ducks’ pitching dominance, offensive execution and what stood out most from Saturday night’s performance.

Everything Mark Wasikowski Said Following Oregon’s Win

On Oregon’s Overall Performance vs. Washington State:

“It was a pitching duel pretty much the entire game. I thought Coach Choate's team was really well prepared, and he's a heck of a coach, and they got a really, really good team. They pitched really well, they were competitive, and I was really excited about the effort from the club that I represent, the pitching performance of all three guys that touched the mound today.

“Will (Sanford) basically having a string of five straight strikeouts to start the game, and then another string of six straight strikeouts, I think he ended up with 14 or something like that... I just love this team. I think these guys are really, really good. Excited to play for the regional championship.”

On the Team’s Approach Heading Into Sunday’s Matchup:

“It doesn't change. Nothing changes. We just do what we do in terms of our work and our preparation. Tomorrow starts tonight, right?”

On His Team’s Preparation:

“It's no surprise. Will's tireless in that weight room. The guy's unbelievable when it comes to lifting weights and preparing himself between starts, and so it's not a shock that the guy’s rolled out his best starts late in the year against Nebraska against a really hostile crowd with 50,000 people out there, and then tonight with a different feel with the home crowd.”

“These other guys are just absolute animals when it comes to their training, so it's no surprise that they're having postseason success. Our preparation is just going to be about what we've done the entire year. We think it's working, and it's probably more about just enjoying the time together, because there's teams right now that are taking the jerseys off, and that's obviously something that we've been blessed with this year with this group of guys from the start. It's a pretty special group in that locker room, and these guys can attest to that.”

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