Last Friday we played our home opener at PK Park, and the feeling in the air was electric. There was a sellout crowd of Oregon fans, including former Duck baseball players, and that made the game much more exciting.

The fact that we all knew what the game meant to the entire Duck family, including ourselves, was monumental. In the end, the game didn't let anybody down.

It ended with a clutch hit by Andrew Schmidt to win it in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth, 1-0, over Fresno State - the defending College World Series champions.

For it to be the very first game at PK Park, it certainly turned out to be a memorable one.

Coach Horton was honored by our athletic director, Pat Kilkenny, to throw out one of the first pitches and Mr. Kilkenny himself caught that first pitch.

With the first game's story-book ending opening brand new PK Park, the Ducks came out strong in the second game on Saturday. There were just as many fans at the second game as the first.

Finally on Sunday, the Fresno State Bulldogs came out on top of the Ducks. There were definitely some positives from the weekend. Each game we play, we make strides in the right direction. Being a team coached by George Horton, the focus is on the details. The detailed part of the game is coming along nicely.

Coach Horton said that he has been impressed with the way our team has committed to the details. Finally, being able to play our first series at home in front of our fans was all the team could ask for.

The months of hard work finally paid off in our season opener at Saint Mary's last Friday, when we opened 2009 with a 5-3 victory.

The excitement leading up to that first game was incredible. The pep talk that Coach Horton gave to us before the game was very inspirational. He touched on the obvious nervous feelings that we all possessed on the bus.  It was palpable, but he addressed it in such a manner to convert any of our nerves into a more focused excitement.

Coach Horton instilled a feeling of appreciation and informed us of the significance of our first game. He made sure we all were aware that Duck fans would be so proud of the way we played that first day.

The anticipation of the first pitch was incredible. The main thing that Coach Horton reiterated was to just "bring your face" not your "game face" and to just "do what we do" and we would come out on top.

Ever since the first meeting with Coach Horton, he has always told us that it is okay to be nervous, but the key is to embrace any and all adversity. Our entire first year at the University of Oregon, including our first practice, and concluding with our last intrasquad scrimmage, it was all symbolized by that first pitch on Friday.

During the seventh inning, the announcer for Saint Mary's said over the loud speaker that the attendance record was set at Louis Guisto Field during our victory on Friday.

Although we came up short and lost the series, our continued improvement has me excited for things to come.