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Mark Wasikowski praises toughness of Colby Shade after he played through broken bone

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby: On3 Staff Report06/15/23
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Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

There is gritty and then there’s Oregon center fielder Colby Shade. Broken bone or not, he was getting into the game when the Ducks needed him most in the Eugene Super Regional.

Shade had suffered a broken bone in the Nashville Regional and had missed the previous four games.

But when the ninth inning rolled around with Oregon trailing Oral Roberts 11-6, coach Mark Wasikowski opted to run his center fielder out there to bat. Shade flew out to left center field on a full count.

“He was leading off the inning and he’s a tough kid, so his job was to get on base,” Wasikowski said. “He was playing with a broken hand. He broke his hand, arm bone and that’s the kind of kid he is.”

Shade’s brief appearance led many Ducks fans to wonder why he hadn’t played earlier in the Super Regionals.

However, he was purely used a late-game defensive replacement. Going to bat in the ninth inning of the deciding game between Oregon and Oral Roberts was about trying to do anything and anything he could to help the team.

Wasikowski felt like he had to afford the opportunity to Colby Shade, broken bone or not.

“So he’s playing with a broken bone in his arm,” Wasikowski said. “I didn’t want to get hit between the eyes today and take him out of that at-bat. He told me that he was going to get on base and I believed him. He’s earned that from me.”

Colby Shade’s broken bone will get time to heal now.

Though the end result wasn’t what Oregon would have wanted, you have to admire Shade’s dedication and willingness to play through some potential pain.

Oral Roberts did ultimately go on to win, preventing Oregon from making its first College World Series appearance since 1954. It was an excellent year for the Ducks, nonetheless.

The team won an NCAA Regional for only the second time in school history, joining the 2012 team.

And after a thoroughly impressive performance in the Pac-12 Tournament, Oregon claimed the title there, winning two one-run games and a 10-inning affair in the process.

Oregon finished the season 41-22 overall, with a 16-14 mark in Pac-12 play.