Mark Wasikowski describes emotions of winning on the stadium dedication for Bob Kilkenny

Oregon Ducks head coach Mark Wasikowski was happy to honor Bob Kilkenny on Friday by naming the field at PK Park after him. He was even happier that the Ducks were able to put on a good show and shut out rival Washington.

In 2008, Bob Kilkenny helped break ground at PK Park. It represented the return of Oregon Baseball after a 27-year hiatus from Division I play, and Kilkenny became a beloved figure at the park prior to his passing in 2016. The father of five children (Russell, Patrick, Kelly, John, and Kevin), who all went on to attend Oregon, Kilkenny was a lifelong supporter of the program.

“Yeah, I mean with Bob Kilkenny Field at PK Park, right,” Mark Wasikowski said. “So, that’s official now. The Kilkenny family all in the house. Really special. I know that’d mean a lot to Coach [George] Horton. We love Coach. That’s a really big thing for our guys. They wanted to be able to put up a great performance. Grayson [Grinsell] did that.”

Oregon would beat Washington 5-0 on the back of a dominant performance from starting pitcher Grayson Grinsell. He went seven innings, only allowing three hits while striking out eight. At the plate, Jeffrey Heard had a home run, and five different players drove in runs. A special logo featuring five blades of wheat, which symbolize each of Bob’s children, was in use on the outfield fence and behind home plate. The Ducks also wore the logo on their uniforms.

“To have the whole family here, we gave the game ball to Pat,” Wasikowski said. “Obviously, in honor of Bob and what the family wanted to do for that great legacy. We don’t even get a chance to wear the uniforms and have this beautiful facility and stuff without Pat and the family. For us, we’re so grateful to the family and then to the fans to show up and respect the fact that Pat was going to do those kinds of things and to honor the family, I thought was really classy by the fans.”

Oregon will look to complete the sweep of Washington on Sunday. That’s their final regular season home game of the season. After that, they’ll turn their attention to a road trip against Iowa and build momentum going into the postseason.

“By the way, Pat’s going to be here tomorrow with the family too,” Wasikowski said. “So, fans, let’s get this place rocking in honor of Mr. Kilkenny and his family.”