It is still strange to see Oregon play a conference college baseball game against Illinois even though it has been a few years since the most prominent members of the Pac-12 joined the Big Ten. It is even more bizarre to watch a home run land next to a headstone at a nearby cemetery.
I was not previously aware of the unusual arrangement in Champaign.
The college baseball stadium at the University of Illinois backs right up to a busy thoroughfare and a local graveyard. Hitters often put the ball into the road. The biggest hitters reach the burial ground.
Oregon is one of the top-ranked teams in college baseball.
There is approximately one month remaining in the 2026 regular season as of this writing. The Ducks currently rank No. 19 in the country at 27-10. They are on the road this weekend.
Oregon traveled to Champaign to play a three-game series against Illinois on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The visitors took game one in dominant fashion by a final score of 16-6 in only seven innings. A mercy rule was enacted because of the 10-run lead after the seventh.
The Ducks currently sit in third place in the conference standings at 11-5. The Illini are positioned near the middle of the pack at 7-9. They are not terrible at 19-17 overall, but they are not in a position to make the postseason without an unexpected run to win the conference tournament. We’ll see.
I would be surprised if Oregon does not sweep Illinois. Anything less than a series win would be a disasterous result for a program that hopes to host a Regional come June!
Illinois Field is located right next to a cemetery.
The most crucial moment of Game 1 was a a home run during the third inning. Redshirt freshman Naulivou Lauaki, who goes by Junior, mashed an absolute moonshot to left centerfield to score three runs. He actually finished with two dingers and five RBIs. That’s five home runs in his last 18 at-bats.
You get the idea. Lauaki can hit!
However, this most recent bomb was the longest of his career at 496 feet. It landed in a cemetery.
T3 | Ducks score five capped by this @junior_lauaki absolute monster homer! #GoDucks
— Oregon Duck Baseball (@OregonBaseball) April 17, 2026
Oregon 8
Illinois 3 pic.twitter.com/LOyW1iizyM
Illinois Field, home to the Illini college baseball team, is located at 601 E W Kirby Avenue. Its left field fence sits just a few feet away from Kirby Ave, which sees a lot of traffic throughout the day. Especially as people are trying to get home from work on a Friday night. They are at risk of getting hit!
The nearby headstones, tombstones and gravestones are also at risk. On the other side of Kirby Avenue sits Mt. Hope Cemetary. Directly across the street! Right on the other side!
As we saw with Lauaki’s monster blast on Friday, the location of the stadium can create an awkward scenario in which an errant baseball lands on the burial grounds. Fortunately, there was no one there visiting a loved one when the ball traveled across Kirby Avenue.