Utah Valley Baseball Shocks Oregon, Picks Up First NCAA Tournament Win
May 31, 2025, 5:34 PM | Updated: Jun 2, 2025, 12:19 pm
(Photo courtesy of Darryl Webb, Western Athletic Conference)
(Photo courtesy of Darryl Webb, Western Athletic Conference)
EUGENE, Ore. – Utah Valley Baseball stunned Oregon in the NCAA Tournament opener, knocking the Ducks into the losers’ bracket on Friday.
The Wolverines were one of four No. 4 seeds to beat No. 1 seeds on the tourney’s opening day.
Walk in your trap and take over your trap 👀
The 4 seeds are HOT. This marks the first time since 2008 that four No. 4 seeds upset No. 1 seeds in the first round of regionals. pic.twitter.com/1r5TwNqe77— Mid-Majors on D1Baseball (@midmajors_d1) May 31, 2025
Utah Valley Baseball Advances Past No. 1 Oregon
Headed into the third inning, the score remained knotted at 0-0.
In the top half, four Wolverines recorded hits and another drew a walk, leading to a four-run outburst before the Ducks came to the plate.
Oregon managed to stop the bleeding, running in three of their own to trail by just one.
T3 | Mason Strong lines a two-run double to left field to make it 4-0! #GoUVU | #ValleyForged pic.twitter.com/WcnYxpItrH
— UVU Baseball (@UVUbsb) May 31, 2025
Three more scoreless innings passed before the Wolverines stepped up first in the seventh.
A walk and a batter hit by a pitch quickly put two on base. Jimmy De Anda ripped a single through the gap between second and third, bringing home both Nate Bach and Brody Block. Oregon only mustered a single before striking out three times, and UVU led 6-3 heading into the 8th.
In the last two innings, Utah Valley was unable to add to its tally, and Oregon began the slow crawl back.
Oregon’s Drew Smith crushed a homer in the second half of the 8th. Shortly after, a pop fly into left field had Oregon’s Anson Aroz beeline for home. Utah Valley catcher Mason Strong couldn’t reel in the pass and was subsequently trucked by Aroz.
The play was challenged and eventually overturned to be called ‘malicious contact’, and Aroz was ejected. The play instantly sparked debate on social media as many argued that Strong was obstructing the plate.
Later, the NCAA released a statement to say the correct call was made, pointing to Collision Rule 8-7 in the Baseball Rules Handbook. The rule states:
If the runner does not make a legal slide (buttocks and legs on the ground before contact is made) or make motions that show effort to avoid a collsion trying to reach the plate, the rule should be enforced.
We have CHAOS in Eugene 👀👀👀
Anson Aroz has been called out and ejected for malicious contact for a collision at the plate. Utah Valley leads host Oregon in the 9th pic.twitter.com/r25VZGPJSE
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) May 31, 2025
The Ducks ran in one more in the ninth, but it was too little, too late. Utah Valley held on to shock the Ducks and secure the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
Utah Valley Baseball will play the Arizona Wildcats in round two on May 31 at 7:00 p.m. (MT).
