In a matchup that likely could occur in an NCAA regional, the Oregon Ducks baseball team went on the road and managed to avenge an earlier loss to Portland with a 7-4 victory.
The win was the Ducks’ fifth straight and 20th on the season to improve to 20-7 overall. The Pilots, 3-0 in the West Coast Conference, fell to 17-9 overall.
These two teams met three weeks ago at PK Park with the Pilots stomping Oregon 15-5. It was a different story in the rematch as the Ducks were up 3-0 after two innings of play. Portland was able to cut the lead to 3-2 after three, but Jeffrey Heard’s RBI single extended the Ducks’ advantage.
The Ducks made it 6-3 in the sixth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly, a hit batsman and a walk. That would be more than enough for Oregon starter Michael Freund who went six innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits while striking out seven.
A trio of relievers, Logan Mercado, Ryan Featherston and Bradley Mullan, held the Pilots to just one run. Mullan earned his third save of the year.
Oregon goes back to Pac-12 action on Friday with a three-game weekend series at UCLA and Jackie Robinson Field. The Bruins are having their difficulties as they are just 10-15 overall and 4-8 in league play.