Oregon grabs 2 of 3 from Arizona in Pac-12 weekend series

Oregon took 2 of 3 from Arizona to win the weekend series, but fell 15-4 in the finale.

For the third straight Pac-12 weekend series, the Oregon Ducks baseball team took 2-of-3 from the opponent. This time, it was Arizona, although the Wildcats managed to avoid a sweep with a 15-4 victory at PK Park.

It was actually a close affair through six innings with Arizona up just 3-2. But the Duck bullpen couldn’t keep the Wildcats at three as the visitors from the desert scored runs in the final three innings to blow the game wide open.

Reliever Logan Mercado, who is usually reliable, just didn’t have it on this rainy Sunday afternoon as he gave up six runs in just 2/3 of an inning. The game was almost over with the Cats leading 9-4 in the eighth, but a grand slam from Brendan Summerhill sealed Oregon’s fate.

Things turned out much better for the Ducks in the first two games of the series, however.

In Game 1, the Ducks won a rare pitchers duel 2-1. Bennett Thompson’s two-run single in the sixth was just enough for the win. Starter RJ Gordon pitched a gem with 6 1/3 solid innings of work. Mercado threw a scoreless ninth for his fourth save of the year.

Game 2 was even more exciting as the Ducks won the game in the bottom of the ninth 3-2. The game was tied when Bryce Boettcher laid down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt that scored Mason Neville to win it.

Despite the series finale loss, Oregon is still 6-3 in league play and 15-7 overall. Next the Ducks will stay home and host Seattle for a four-game series Wednesday through Saturday.

‘This team won’t quit;’ UO coach Mark Wasikowski credits heart, fan electricity for comeback win

“Our fans wouldn’t let us lose,” Coach Wasikowski said. “Our fans were amazing, and I don’t think PK Park has ever been that electric.”

It was a roller coaster ride for your average Oregon fan on Friday night in attendance at Game 1 of the Super Regionals between the Ducks and Oral Roberts Golden Eagles on Friday night.

While the electricity was present and pumping before the first pitch was thrown, with the second-largest crowd in PK Park history, the energy was quickly sapped from the ballpark as Oral Roberts hung an eight-run third inning on the Ducks and blew the game open.

Coming into the contest, everyone knew that the Golden Eagles were no joke — you don’t go 49-11 with a 21-game winning streak by accident. Duck fans were learning the hard way.

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A once raucous environment turned quiet. However, while the fans may have been frustrated and solemn in the stands, the Ducks stayed calm and looked to right the ship.

“This team won’t quit. This team’s got a toughness to them that I’ve never seen before,” said head coach Mark Wasikowski. “They won’t quit. To come back from an 8-0 deficit, as disappointed as they were in the third inning… They’ve been working to build this thing to where a day like this would happen, this number of people and this energy. And to get really punched in the face in the beginning of this game, I don’t think I’d ever be able to imagine another team rebounding from that.”

Back-to-back home runs from Jacob Walsh and Bennett Thompson in the third gave Oregon life, and then a three-run bomb again from Thompson in the fourth inning gave the Ducks a spark. From that point, the comeback was on.

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“You can’t hit a seven-run home run; I’ve never seen it,” Thompson said. “So I was just trying to put a good swing on the ball. That guy had been throwing a lot of strikes, and so I was just able to get a fastball in the zone and not trying to do too much. Ultimately the ball left the yard but I wasn’t trying to do that; it just ended up happening. So that was awesome to get the momentum back on our side there.”

The Ducks tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, and then a walk-off RBI single from Drew Cowley in the bottom of the ninth put Oregon over the top, completing the largest comeback in Super Regionals history.

“Our fans wouldn’t let us lose,” Wasikowski said. “Our fans were amazing, and I don’t think PK Park has ever been that electric. I think it can even get better, but they would not let us lose.”

It was an incredible win, and something that will give plenty of momentum going into Game 2 on Saturday night. Despite the craziness, the Ducks know that if they aren’t able to win one more game against Oral Roberts, then all of this will be for not.

“We’re obviously excited, grounded in the moment, but we understand that we’re still one win away,” Wasikowski said. “So it’s not like anything’s been accomplished other than the fact that it was a fantastic environment, a great game.”

First pitch for Game 2 is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ESPNU Saturday night. ‘[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Isaac Ayon goes all the way to propel Oregon to series win over Arizona

Isaac Ayon’s complete game and Gavin Grant’s late-inning heroics propels the Ducks to a series win over No. 25 Arizona.

Starting pitching hasn’t exactly been the strength of the 2022 Oregon baseball team. But Isaac Ayon flipped that narrative this afternoon at PK Park.

Ayon threw the first complete game of his college career and Gavin Grant’s run-scoring single in the eighth helped the Ducks down No. 25 Arizona 4-3 to take the weekend series. Oregon will go for the sweep Saturday afternoon.

The Ducks improved to 34-21 overall and 17-12 in conference play with the victory. The win also clinched Oregon the 4-seed in the Pac-12 tournament next week. Defeating Arizona also improved the Ducks’ RPI and their hopes to possibly host an NCAA regional.

But there’s still a way to go before worrying about the post-season.

The story on this day was Ayon, who finished the game in style as he struck out the final five Wildcats. He struck out 10 total batters and walked just three. Ayon’s pitch count was in his favor the whole way and he finished the contest with 98 pitches.

Oregon’s sophomore hurler wasn’t guaranteed, however, as the game was still tied at 3-3 in the eighth inning. The Ducks needed some two-out lighting to scratch across the go-ahead run. Sam Novitske reached on an error and was replaced by Tyler Ganus as a pinch-runner. Jacob Walsh coaxed a walk and Grant smacked a single to center to score Ganus.

The Ducks scored one in the first and then two more in the second thanks to catcher Bennett Thompson’s first career home run.

Arizona managed to rally with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth and it stayed that way until Grant’s late-inning heroics.

Oregon will now go for the sweep Saturday at noon as the Ducks will send out Jace Stoffal (0-2, 7.00 ERA) against an unknown Arizona starter. It will be Oregon’s last regular-season home game and quite possibly its last game at PK Park for the 2022 campaign.