What to know about Oregon's Louisville regional opponents

Oregon will begin its postseason journey this Friday when it travels east for the Lousiville regional at Jim Patterson Stadium.

The No. 2-seed Ducks will hope to advance past the round-robin, double-elimination opening stage of the 64-team NCAA tournament. It won’t be easy in a region that is filled with quality opponents.

No. 1 Lousiville, No. 3 Michigan, and No. 4 Southeast Missouri State all present potential difficult matchups for the Ducks. 

Here is a breakdown of all four teams in the Lousiville regional. 

Oregon

Record: 35-23, 18-12 Pac-12. Finished fourth in the Pac-12.

RPI ranking: No. 28

Best wins: Stanford (twice), Gonzaga (twice), Arizona (three times)

Projected starting pitchers 

• Christian Ciuffetelli (1-3, 2.97 ERA, 31 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings)
• Isaac Ayon (4-4, 5.41 ERA, 77 strikeouts in 83 1/3 innings)
• Jace Stoffal (1-2, 5.40 ERA, 16 strikeouts in 25 innings)

Top relievers

• RJ Gordon (4-3, 5.52 ERA, 45 strikeouts in 65 1/3 innings)
• Logan Mercado (2.52 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 39.1 innings)
• Kolby Somers (2.90 ERA, nine saves, 43 strikeouts in 31 innings)

Top hitters 

• DH/3B Drew Cowley (.423 batting average, 14 doubles, 27 RBI)
• OF Anthony Hall (.321 average, 14 home runs, 50 RBI)
• OF Tanner Smith (.320 average, 11 home runs, 36 RBI)
• 1B/DH Brennan Milone (.320 average, 10 home runs, 51 RBI)
• SS Josh Kasevich (.303 average, 40 RBI, first-team all-Pac-12 defensive selection)

At a glance: 

Oregon is an incredibly intriguing team. It hits as well as any program in the country and led the Pac-12 with a .306 team average this year despite losing its top hitter, Drew Cowley, to injury for a 20-game stretch. But the pitching has been an issue since ace Adam Maier went down with a season-ending injury in March.

Christian Ciuffetelli and Jace Stoffal have recently emerged as viable starting options for the Ducks, and Isaac Ayon is beginning to deliver on his immense talent. If the Ducks get hot this weekend, they won’t have any problem keeping up with the rest of the region offensively. But the starting pitching will be the deciding factor for how long their season lasts.

Lousiville

Record: 38-13-1, 18-11-1 ACC. Finished first in ACC Atlantic

Best wins: Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Vanderbilt

RPI ranking: No. 18

Projected starting pitchers

• Jared Poland (5-1, 2.92 ERA, 91 strikeouts in 74 innings)
• Tate Kuehner (6-3, 3.77 ERA, 59 strikeouts in 62 innings)
• Riley Phillips (13-11, 4.50 ERA, 53 strikeouts in 48 innings)

Top hitters

• SS Ben Metzinger (.300 average, 17 home runs, 62 RBI)
• 1B/DH Dalton Rushing (.310 average, 21 home runs, 58 RBI)
• C Jack Payton (.351, average, four home runs, 47 RBI)
• CF Levi Usher (..276 average, seven home runs, 42 RBI, 33 stolen bases)

At a glance 

Lousiville looks every bit the part of a dominant regional host. The Cardinals are probably the team in the region best equipped to survive a slugfest with the Ducks if they meet this weekend.

Dalton Rushing is one of the best pure powers hitters in the country and a true threat to go yard every time he steps to the plate. He is a projected top-60 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft and leads a Lousiville offense that is dangerous from top to bottom. But like the Ducks, the Cardinals are an offense-heavy team with a pitching staff that struggles.

Aside from ace Jared Poland, Lousiville has not had a reliable starter emerge this season.

Michigan

Record: 32-26, 12-12 Big 10. Finished fifth in the Big 10.

Best wins: Maryland, Rutgers, Iowa

RPI ranking: 61

Projected starting pitchers

• Connor O’Halloran (5-4, 4.90 ERA, 97 strikeouts in 86 1/3 innings)
• Jacob Denner (4-6, 6.75 ERA, 63 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings)
• Chase Allen (7-2, 3.95 ERA, 55 strikeouts in 73 innings)

Top hitters

• OF Clark Elliott (.344 average, 14 home runs, 66 RBI, and 19 stolen bases)
• OF Joe Stewart (.344 average, 12 home runs, 53 RBI, and 23 stolen bases)
• 3B Matt Frey (.315 average, 10 home runs, 53 RBI, 13 doubles)
• C Jimmy Obertop (.282 average, 12 home runs, 46 RBI)

At a glance

Few teams are entering the NCAA tournament with more momentum than Michigan. The Wolverines were not in contention for a tournament bid prior to last week but went on a remarkable run through the Big 10 tournament and won four games in as many days to earn an automatic bid.

Michigan is a top-heavy offense led by leadoff man Clark Elliott, a top-60 prospect in the upcoming draft who is a true five-tool player.

“(Michigan coach Erik Bakich) is a personal friend of mine — a very good coach,” Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski said. “They’re gonna have two left-handed starters and two right-handed starters to choose from. They’re a very balanced club that runs the bases aggressively.”

Southeast Missouri State

Record: 37-20, 16-8 Ohio Valley Conference. Finished second in OVC and won conference tournament.

RPI ranking: No. 64

Best wins: Dallas Baptist (twice), Ole Miss

Projected starting pitchers

• Jason Rackers (6-3, 4.45 ERA, 77 strikeouts in 85 innings)
• Tommy Windt (4-2, 6.80 ERA, 68 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings)
• Noah Niznik (1-0, 7.43 ERA, 43 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings)

Top hitters

• SS Tyler Wilber (.330 average, 18 home runs, 73 RBI, .626 slugging percentage)
• C Andrew Keck (.330 average, 17 home runs, 67 RBI, .651 slugging percentage, 11 stolen bases)
• CF Brett Graber (.329 average, nine home runs, 44 RBI, 13 stolen bases)
• OF Jevon Mason (.318 average, 14 home runs, 43 RBI, 16 stolen bases)

At a glance

The Redhawks are one of the top non-power-five teams in the country and are riding a recent hot streak. They punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament by winning their conference tournament last weekend.

Like the rest of the teams in the Lousiville region, Southeast Missouri State possesses plenty of pop at the top of its batting order. Tyler Wilber and Andrew Keck crushed OVC pitching all season and have some of the gaudiest slash lines in the tournament.

A matchup between the Redhawks and the Ducks would provide a special moment for Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski, who began his Division I coaching career as an assistant with them in 1997.