The Lineup

The First Home Win

Starting over

Four freshmen. Three juniors. Two redshirt seniors.

At first glance, the Oregon baseball starting lineup seems a tad youthful. Maybe they're in a rebuilding year, someone not familiar with the history of the program might say.

Actually, the Ducks aren't in a rebuilding year. They're in a resurrecting year, the program's first since 1981, when it was disbanded because of funding issues.

The team's Friday ace is freshman Tyler Anderson. Fellow frosh Dylan Gavin (third base), Danny Pulfer (second base) and KC Serna (shortstop) regularly patrol the infield.

Three community college transfers help with the squad's experience quotient: Jett Hart (right field), Curtis Raulinaitis (center field) and Eddy Rodriguez (catcher).

Redshirt seniors Andrew Schmidt (first base) and Caleb Tommasini (left field) have one year to shine in an Oregon uniform.

Schmidt, a Georgia native, played community college and junior college in Florida and has worked his way into the starting lineup as of late.

Tommasini, the only native Oregonian among the starters, played football at both Oregon State and Oregon before settling in with the baseball team. Batting first for the Ducks, he leads the squad among players who play regularly with a .364 average and has a team-high 16 hits -- including two triples -- and eight runs scored.

With a 6-6 record, Oregon has been competitive in the early going. On Feb. 20, the team opened the season with a 5-3 victory over Saint Mary's in Moraga, Calif. One week later, the Ducks christened PK Park with a 1-0 win over then-No. 15 Fresno State on Schmidt's walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. They also took the series 2-1 from the Bulldogs, the defending national champions.

Most recently, on March 6-8, after losing the first game in the series against Santa Clara, the team demonstrated its mettle by sweeping the next three.

These Ducks may still be young and inexperienced, but they're growing up quickly.