The Oregon Ducks have been resilient throughout this season. It’s a trait that head coach Mark Wasikowski is happy to see from his team, particularly due to the group’s age.
These comments from Wasikowski came after Oregon’s recent series win over the Washington Huskies. That series started with a loss on the road after dropping the final game against the Utah Utes. A young team easily could have let that become a concerning losing streak, but the Ducks responded to win two games in a row and the series.
“They’re not quitting on themselves when they lose a game is what that tells you,” Mark Wasikowski said. “They’re able to be resilient and come back and be tough enough to deal with the adversity of having a loss or taking a negative.”
Undeniably, the Oregon Ducks have a young team this season. Oregon lists 13 freshmen on its roster. There are also an additional 13 sophomores playing for the Ducks this season.
“A lot of times a young group, when they have a negative show up in their world, they go the other direction and it takes you a while to get them back before you can start having success again,” Wasikowski said. “So, they’re able to overcome adversity pretty quickly and get onto the next day or get onto the next pitch like we like to say from a mental side of it, but those would be my takeaways with that.”
To the point that Mark Wasikowski was making, there are very few sports where resiliency is as important as baseball. It’s one that teaches athletes how to fail and overcome failing at what they’re trying to accomplish. After all, a .300 hitter is someone who has failed to get a hit seven out of 10 times they take an at-bat.
This season, Oregon has flashed plenty of that resiliency. In Oregon’s first Pac-12 series this season against Arizona State, the Ducks dropped their first game but went on to win the series in a very similar way to the Washington series.
Overall, Mark Wasikowski has led the Ducks to a 34-16 record and a record of 16-11 in conference play this season. That includes a strong 20-8 home record. Now, Oregon will return home for its final home series of the regular season against the Washington State Cougars. After that, it’s the Pac-12 Tournament where the Ducks are hoping to position themselves for a good spot in the NCAA Regional.
The post Mark Wasikowski credits Oregon players for resiliency despite age appeared first on On3.