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Oregon slugger Bryce Boettcher blasts game-winning HR in 11th inning vs. San Diego

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•05/31/24
Bryce Boettcher
© Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Oregon Ducks were pushed to extra innings in the opening round of their 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament matchup vs. the San Diego Toreros on Friday night. And in the top of the 11th inning, slugger Bryce Boettcher delivered what would eventually be the game-winning blast, a solo shot that he launched into the trees in Santa Barbara.

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With the solo shot, Boettcher blasted his 12th home run of the year and his 35th RBI. And he certainly couldn’t have posted either at a better time for the Ducks, propelling them to a big win over the Toreros on Friday night. Oregon also got a great performance out of Carter Garate, going 2-for-4 at the plate with 3 RBIs, a home run, a double, and a walk.

The Ducks got some solid performances from their two pitchers: RJ Gordon and Logan Mercado. Both players combined to pitch for 11 innings, allowing 7 hits, four runs, and firing six strikeouts.

Bryce Boettcher is the rare case of a dual-sport star

Boettcher is the fascinating case study of a two-sport star for the Ducks, also playing inside linebacker for them in football in 2023. He finished fifth on the team with 37 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Boettcher played a total of 405 snaps, including 218 on the defensive side of the ball to go along with 187 on special teams.

His junior year of baseball, Boettcher made 15 starts, playing in 51 games for the Ducks at a variety of positions. He finished with two home runs, two doubles, six RBIs, and 12 runs scored.

That kind of versatility is pretty special. Being able to finish fifth on your team in tackles and then going out and blasting a game-winning home run in the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament is simply not something you see every day. In 2022, he was just one of 15 football/baseball dual-sport athletes in FBS and the only one in the Pac-12 Conference.

As a high school baseball prospect, he was rated as the top-ranked shortstop and the No. 10 overall player in Oregon, according to the Prep Baseball Report. A dynamic athlete, he lettered in three sports (football, basketball, baseball) at South Eugene High School in Eugene, Oregon.

As a football prospect, he earned honorable mention all-league honors as a quarterback his senior year (2019). He was also named first team All-Midwestern League as a defensive back in 2019. Boettcher also earned second team all-league as a quarterback as a junior in 2018.