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Oregon Ducks Blank Nebraska 8-0, Advance to UCLA

5/25/2026

49 6 Full Breakdown

Summary

Oregon Ducks Triumph

Oregon Ducks beat Nebraska Cornhuskers 8-0 in the semifinal at Charles Schwab Field, Omaha, on May 23, 2026.
Will Sanford pitched six shutout innings with nine strikeouts for Oregon.
Maddox Molony, Angel Laya and Brayden Jaksa homered and Drew Smith added a two-run triple in the seventh inning.
The win kept Oregon No. 16 in RPI, ended Nebraska’s eight-game streak, and set a clash with No. 1 UCLA on May 24, 2026.

Summary

Nebraska Targets NCAA

Nebraska finished the regular season 42-15, positioning the Huskers as a strong at-large candidate for the NCAA Regional.
After a semifinal loss in the Big Ten Tournament, the team will focus on the NCAA Tournament while awaiting its Regional site and opponent.
Starting pitcher Gavin Blachowicz improved to 4-3 on the season, striking out nine batters over six innings in the loss.

Summary

UCLA, Oregon Advance

UCLA (50-6) and Oregon will meet in the Big Ten Baseball Tournament championship after winning their semifinal games on Saturday.
Oregon defeated Washington 9-4, delivering a season-high five home runs, including Ty Cowan’s first-season grand slam.
UCLA beat USC 7-5 with Mulivai Levu’s three-run walk-off homer, becoming the first college baseball team nationwide to reach 50 wins in a season.

Summary

Championship Airs

The championship will air on the Big Ten Network at noon PT Sunday, May 24, in Omaha, with streaming available on Fubo and Sling for cord-cutters.
Radio partners are KUGN (590 AM/98.1 FM), KMTT (910 AM, Portland) and KYKN (1430 AM, Salem).
First pitch is scheduled for noon PT.
NCAA regional host sites will be announced at 5 p.m. PT.
Analysts say Oregon softball must address offseason needs after a contentious UCLA series that produced ejections.

History

Historical Context

In 1988, after the Big Ten eliminated its East-West divisions, the baseball tournament—first held in 1981 as a four-team double-elimination event—was played at Michigan’s Ray Fisher Stadium, where Minnesota claimed the championship. The early win-heavy format set a performance benchmark that later helped justify the conference’s media expansion, including the 2007 launch of the Big Ten Network and the 2026 broadcast deal.

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Oregon Ducks Triumph

Oregon Ducks beat Nebraska Cornhuskers 8-0 in the semifinal at Charles Schwab Field, Omaha, on May 23, 2026.
Will Sanford pitched six shutout innings with nine strikeouts for Oregon.
Maddox Molony, Angel Laya and Brayden Jaksa homered and Drew Smith added a two-run triple in the seventh inning.
The win kept Oregon No. 16 in RPI, ended Nebraska’s eight-game streak, and set a clash with No. 1 UCLA on May 24, 2026.

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