Caleb Couturie of FishDuck.com attended the Oregon Ducks Baseball media day at PK Park this week.
This year’s Ducks baseball team has received a pre-season rank of 15th in the nation, obviously there are high hopes around the country for what this team can do. Lead by junior Mitchell Tolman the Ducks are on a mission to win the Pac-12 and make their first College World Series appearance since 1957.
A pre-season All American, Tolman is looking to lead the Ducks to a Pac-12 title
Tolman has had two incredible seasons at Oregon, batting .315 as a freshman and again as a sophomore. He has also totaled 86 RBI, 27 doubles, 65 runs and 121 hits in 113 games. Previously Tolman has been playing at the hot corner, third base, but made the switch to second this offseason, “I feel good [at second]” he told us “just getting back into routine and getting comfortable there.”
A pre-season All American; Tolman has attracted the attention of some of the Major League scouts and is aware of the stage that he will be on this year, “obviously I’m draft eligible now this year” he explained “I’ve seen how other guys have dealt with it and I think they did a good job of showing me how to deal with the stress.”
Tolman will have plenty of opportunity to show what he is capable of, surrounded by a very strong offensive team. Coming into the season as a touted prospect is he seeing himself as the big bat in this Ducks lineup? “[Shaun] Chase locks that down leading the Pac-12 in home runs” Tolman laughed “but I feel confident at the plate and confident in myself.” When asked about his personal goals for the season Tolman didn’t hesitate with his response “First thing, I want to win a Pac-12 championship” he said “I’d love to contribute every game and help our team win any way I can.”
Tolman has a track record that shows he can help the Ducks win, as long has he avoids what head coach George Horton called “junioritis” Tolman should impress the scouts as well as help the Ducks accomplish their goal of winning a championship.
Top Photo by Kevin Cline
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My name is Max Thornberry, and I am a sophomore at the University of Oregon studying journalism. I am from Ventura, CA but fell in love with Oregon when I visited last year and came to the Oregon vs. Cal game. I love sports and my hobbies mainly include fantasy baseball and football as well as playing sports video games. Growing up watching sports center and espn news I always wondered what I had to do in order to get a job where I got to talk sports every day, so when I saw an opportunity to intern for a sports news website (FishDuck.com) I couldn’t wait to get involved.