For the second season in a row the Oregon baseball team will fly west and open it's season on the road in seasonal Hawaii at Les Murakami Stadium and face the Hawaii Rainbows of the WAC conference.

Photo provided by UO Media Services

Oregon's season opener can be heard on the IMG Oregon Sports Network and locally in Eugene, OR on 1320 AM KSCR and 750 AM The Game in Portland. Oregon's Jerry Allen will be on the call for all four games in Hawaii.

Senior Alex Keudell is the Ducks' lone starter returning from the 2011 season from the rotation and will be given the nod to open the year by head coach George Horton on Friday night at 8:15 p.m. PST Friday night.

Hawaii will send out right-hander Matt Sisto to be their opening-day starter in 2012.

Last season the Ducks and Rainbows split the season-opening series 2-2. Hawaii won the first two games and Oregon closed out the road series with two victories of their own.

Keudell, tossed five innings of work for the victory in the fourth game. He finished the game with just one earned run and striking out nine batters.

Sophomore Aaron Jones batted. 444 in the series last year as a freshman and hit two solo home runs for the Ducks.

Going into the season Oregon's starting rotation was going to be solid with two starters returning but before the season even started junior left-hander Christian Jones (7-2, 3.24 last year) was injured and will have Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2012 season.

With an already open spot in the starting rotation Freshman Jake Reed has won Saturday's starting role and the left-handed freshman was part of the highly-touted freshman class of 2011 that was given a top-10 billing from Baseball America.

Sophomore Brando Tessar is expected to make his second career start on Sunday after making 12 appearances with one being a start last year as a freshman.

Oregon finished the season last year with a 33-26-1 record and finished eight in the Pac-10 with a mark of 11-16. This season the Ducks were picked to finish seventh in the coaches' poll.

Oregon's top defensive player the last two seasons, junior J.J. Altobelli has made the transition from third base to shortstop this season.

In Altobelli's place the Ducks will look to freshman Thomas Walker. At second Oregon starts Aaron Payne who must replace three-year starter Danny Pulfer-now with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ryon Healy will start at first as a sophomore. Senior Brett Hambright will start at catcher.

Veterans Kyle, Garlick, Connor Hofmann, Andrew Mendenhall, Brett Thomas, and Aaron Jones will all get the first crack in the outfield.