COLLEGE STATION, Tex. — It has been a long time since head coach Mark Wasikowski was last at Olsen Field.
The last time he was at Olsen Field was in 2011 as an assistant coach for Arizona, when the Aggies and right-handed pitcher Michael Wacha defeated the Wildcats.
Now, 13 years later, he returns to Olsen Field, this time as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks. This team, under his guidance, has not only swept the Santa Barbara Regional but also made it to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
Wasikowski's confidence in his club shows during practice, as he eagerly motivates his players during each drill, coaching whenever he deems fit and chopping it up on the side for a loose feel.
And that's what Friday's practice looked like: a loose and confident team basking in the upper 90s heat with high humidity.
However, Friday will be the last time the Ducks take the field when it's empty, as 7,000 or more fans are expected to pack Blue Bell Park and create an environment unlike many in college baseball.
But Wasikowski knows his team has competed in tough environments before, and the only way to know how they'll react is to play the game.
The Bryan-College Station Super Regional will also be the third of four postseason series on the road for Wasikowski and the Ducks over the past two seasons. So far, they're 2-0 on the road, with the loss coming at home to Oral Roberts in the Eugene Super Regional.
It's a unit with experience with winning close games on the road and consistently doing it. The past experiences will certainly be beneficial to the Ducks this weekend.
"Everything you do from an experience standpoint helps you prepare," said Wasikowski. "Last year we were at Vanderbilt and won at Vanderbilt and they had very good ballclub. This year we went to Santa Barbara and won at Santa Barbara, they had a very good ballclub. And so we've been able to do it twice, two years in a row. I don't know how many clubs have done that. Whatever. I don't think it really matters either. But we just know that that's been our path. Any experience you can have good or positive you can use in any way that you want to. We choose to use both the negatives and a positive hopefully to help us. We're excited to be here."
Texas A&M is 47-13 on the season, with one of the best offenses in the country, led by the outfield tandem of Braden Montgomery and Jace LaViolette. The two outfielders combined for over 50 home runs and 100 RBIs this year. Along with those two, the Aggies feature seven batters with an OPS above .900.
But it's not just the offense for A&M, as they have a deep bullpen and one of the best starters in the SEC, LHP Ryan Prager, who gets the ball in game one on Saturday at 11 AM PT.
Oregon's offense pushed across just enough runs in the Santa Barbara Regional, with the biggest margin landing in the final game of just three runs.
For Wasikowski, the keys to success at the dish are an inflection of the grit and determination this team has shown all season and in the NCAA Tournament.
"We're just going to have to be on our game and play good baseball," said Wasikowski. "We're going to need to play like we did last weekend on the defensive end with great first steps. We're going to need to win more pitches than the opposing team. We're going to need to be tougher with two strikes than they are with two strikes. We're going to need to battle out at-bats long to where we can stretch out pitch counts of some guys and maybe make them uncomfortable that way.
"They have a pitching staff that several of them are going to be pitching in the major leagues. And so in order to break those guys down, you're going to need to do it with some grit and determination, and that's what we're going to try to pride ourselves on."
Oregon's grit is seen at every practice.
On Friday, despite the cutoff shirts and loose nature of the team, not a single infielder had a clean jersey by the end. Even if a ball is not reachable, a diving attempt is made before bouncing up as an assistant coach lines up another ball for another rep.
After a good play, players from across the field sing their teammate's praises. After a misplay, players from across the field encourage their teammates to pick their heads up and prepare for the next one.
It's the type of team that Wasikowski wants. And it's the type of team he's brought to two straight Super Regionals and a group looking to bring Oregon to its first College World Series since 1954.
"We're embracing it and saying, you know, let's take the next step. Let's try to get there," said Wasikowski. "And so the experiences we had from last year, positives, negatives, all good. And we're looking forward to using those things as best we can this weekend in a positive way to help us win in a really tough place to play."
