Tag: Gonzaga baseball

Oregon Ducks secure walk-off victory over No. 11 Gonzaga

Jacob Walsh hit a walk-off two-run double in the ninth inning to secure a much needed win for the Oregon Ducks over No. 11 Gonzaga.

The Oregon Ducks picked up a much-needed victory over a top-15 opponent on Tuesday evening, defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs by a score of 5-4 thanks to a walk-off, two-run double in the ninth inning from Jacob Walsh.

Before Walsh came through, Oregon looked like they were going to fall victim to Gonzaga’s recent trend of late-game heroics. After going up 3-1 in the first few innings, the Ducks coasted until the eighth when Shea Kramer hit a two-out, three-run home run to give the Zags a 4-3 lead heading into the final frame.

However, a single from Josh Kasevich, a sac bunt from Tyler Ganus and a walk from Sam Novitske set things up for Walsh to come up and drive home the tying and winning runs, sending the Zags home with a loss yet again after defeating them back in March.

Oregon gets a chance to add even more key wins to their tournament resume this weekend, as they host the No. 24 ranked Arizona Wildcats in Eugene beginning on Thursday evening at 6:00 PM.

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Oregon baseball makes history down in the desert

For the first time since coming back in 2009, Oregon baseball went down to Tempe and took a weekend series from ASU.

This is the 13th season since Oregon brought back its baseball program and there are still milestones to be made.

For the first time since the resurrection of the sport, the Ducks went down and took a weekend series at Arizona State. Oregon clinched the series with a 15-5 pounding of the Sun Devils in 100-plus degree heat.

But it’s a dry heat.

The temperature wasn’t the only thing that was hot as the Duck bats were scorching as Oregon scored 15 runs on 18 hits. With the win, the Ducks improved to 31-21 overall and 15-12 overall. They have one none-conference game with Gonzaga before hosting Arizona to end the regular season.

Drew Cowley led the way going 3-for-6 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Colby Shade drove in three runs and Anthony Hall smacked two doubles. Jacob Walsh broke out of his slump with a monster home run.

ASU actually led 1-0 after an inning, but the Ducks broke loose with four runs in the third and five more in the fourth. Oregon was helped out a bit by some shoddy fielding from the Sun Devils.

The highlight of the inning was when Brennan Milone hit a double down the right field line and the throw coming back into the infield got away and Milone advanced to third. But then that throw to third also escaped the third baseman and Milone scored on the “Little League home run.”

Starting pitcher Jace Stoffal pitched well, but he was unable to get through the fifth and didn’t qualify for the win. He went 4 2/3 innings and gave up three runs on seven hit. Logan Mercado was credited with the win, his sixth on the season. He went 2 1/3 innings in relief, giving up two runs on five hits.

Now the Ducks will come back home to face Gonzaga, a team they beat 9-5 in Spokane earlier this year. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. at PK Park on Tuesday.

Oregon defeats No. 19 Gonzaga 9-5 to keep winning streak alive

The Ducks ruined Gonzaga’s home opener on the diamond with a 9-5 win over the No. 19-ranked Bulldogs.

Oregon baseball is going to have to be ranked soon.

The Ducks, coming off a weekend series sweep over Utah, spoiled No. 19 Gonzaga’s home opener with a 9-5 victory over the Bulldogs.

With the win, the Ducks move to 14-6 overall and have won four straight. Gonzaga, which has a road sweep over No. 4 Oklahoma State under its belt, fell to 14-5 overall.

Tanner Smith hit his seventh home run of the season and Jacob Smith belted his fourth homer to lead an explosive offense. Walsh also drove in three and added a double.

It was also a bullpen-by-committee game for the Ducks as they used eight pitchers to hold down the Zags. Closer Kolby Somers, not eligible for the save, played with fire in the ninth as he found himself with the bases loaded and no one out.

But Somers was able to get Enzo Apodaca to line out to shortstop Josh Kasevich and then coaxed Stephen Lund into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat and the game.

Oregon comes back home to PK Park as the Ducks return to Pac-12 action with a three-game weekend series against USC. The Trojans are 3-3 in conference play and 12-6 overall.

 

Robert Ahlstrom drafted by New York Yankees with 213th pick

The New York Yankees picked Robert Ahlstrom in the seventh round of the MLB draft Monday afternoon.

With the 213th pick of the MLB draft, the New York Yankees select … Robert Ahlstrom from the University of Oregon.

That’s how it would have sounded if the baseball draft was similar to the NFL and NBA drafts.

Ahlstrom was picked in the seventh round of the MLB draft after a stellar junior season as a Duck. The North Eugene High graduate finished 2021 with a 9-3 record and a 2.50 earned run average to go along with 92 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched.

In his last appearance in a Duck uniform, Ahlstrom pitched Oregon into the Regional title series by going eight innings, giving up three runs in the 7-3 victory over Gonzaga.

This is what Baseball America had to say about the Oregon left-hander:

He struggled in the truncated 2020 season, but has taken a step forward in 2021… Ahlstrom isn’t flashy, with a fastball that sits 88-89 mph and tops out at 92, but he consistently throws the pitch for strikes. The same is true of his curveball and changeup, which are both average offerings, and he commands all three pitches effectively.

The Yankees were counting on Ahlstrom’s control and experience instead of a flashy gun for an arm. He’s not going to light up the radar gun, but neither did Tom Glavine and things worked out fairly well for that Hall of Famer.