Mark Wasikowski defends pitching decisions in NCAA Tournament elimination game

It was a disappointing end to the season for the Oregon Ducks. After dropping two games in the Eugene Regional, head coach Mark Wasikowski has seen his team eliminated from the NCAA Tournament and is now facing questions about his pitching decisions.

It was in the 7th inning when Oregon fell behind Cal Poly on Saturday, and the Ducks would never be able to come from behind to retake the lead. After the game, Wasikowski was asked about his decision to leave Ian Umlandt in the game with the bases loaded when a hot hitter in Casey Murray Jr. was coming to the plate.

“Some of those assumptions [regarding available relievers] may or may not be accurate,” Mark Wasikowski said. “Why leave him in there? Probably because he’s on a piece of paper and over the course of the long haul he’s been, statistically, our best pitcher. Him and Grayson [Grinsell] have been the two guys that we’ve leaned on heavily, and have been the two best pitchers that we’ve had more or less.”

Umlandt pitched in 18 games, making five starts, and threw 59 innings in 2025. Along the way, he put up an ERA of 2.55 with 44 strikeouts. He came on after starting pitcher Grayson Grinsell, who in his own right pitched in 16 games, all of which were starts. Grinsell had a 3.01 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 98.2 innings this season. However, his six earned runs allowed against Cal Poly did tie a season-high for him.

“Some of the other guys have had good years,” Wasikowski said. “Those guys have had great years. We predetermined going into the game if they were going to beat us, they were going to beat us with the guys who have had the best years for us.”

Mark Wasikowski started Grayson Grinsell in the game and he’d give the Ducks six innings, but also gave up six runs. That included three hits off the bat of Casey Murray Jr. Then, in the seventh, Ian Umlandt proved to be responsible for three runs in 0.2 of an inning. That included two runs driven in by Murray.

After getting upset by Utah Valley on Friday, the loss to Cal Poly ended Oregon’s season. Now, the Ducks are going to have to go back to the drawing board while those two schools and Arizona continue to battle it out.

Oregon has become a national power under Wasikowski. At the same time, missing out on the NCAA Super Regional for the first time since 2022 is a disappointment.