Tag: Jacob Walsh

Oregon pitching vs Aggie hitting will determine Super Regional

The Texas A&M Aggies have a powerful offense, but the defense could be suspect and exploited by the Ducks in the Super Regionals.

Meet Braden Montgomery of the Texas A&M Aggies. He is a transfer from Stanford and has 27 home runs and 85 runs driven in.

This year.

And Montgomery doesn’t even lead his team in homers. That distinction goes to Jace LaViolette, who has 28 dingers for the season to go with 74 RBIs and a .315 batting average.

By comparison, Oregon’s leading power hitter, Jacob Walsh, tied the single-season home run mark at 18 this past weekend. He also has 56 RBIs.

But back to Montgomery. He also leads the Aggies with a .322 batting average. He is far from being a one-man gang in the Texas A&M lineup. They also boast Gavin Grahovac and his 22 homers to go with his 63 RBIs.

As with most cases when the baseball tournament reaches the Super Regionals, it’s going to be good pitching against good hitting and whichever wins out will advance to Omaha.

Texas A&M has some solid pitching as well and they should be a tough task for the Oregon offense. The ace, lefty Ryan Prager, leads the team with a 8-1 record and a 2.53 earned run average. He’s expected to start Game 1 on Saturday.

Tanner Jones is their No. 2 starter with a 3-1 record and a hefty 6.22 ERA. It’s been a tough season for Jones as he has been knocked out of the game before the fifth inning in every start except a win over Vanderbilt when he went 7.1 innings in the 9-0 win in mid-April.

As for the third starter, Justin Lamkin, the lefty is 2-2 with a 5.73 ERA.

While the second and third starters are a bit questionable and hittable, the Aggies do possess one of the best closers in the nation with senior Evan Aschenbeck. He is 6-1 on the season with seven saves and an ERA of 1.64. If he should come into the game in a save situation, it’s usually lights out for the opposition.

Oregon is planning not to put itself in that particular situation at any time this weekend. If the Ducks are facing Aschenbeck, the season could very well hang in the balance.

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Oregon Baseball falls to USC in the Pac-12 tournament

The Oregon Ducks baseball team lost to the USC Trojans 4-2 in the quarterfinal of the Pac-12 tournament on Thursday evening.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team lost to the USC Trojans 4-2 in the quarterfinal of the Pac-12 tournament on Thursday evening, eliminating the Ducks from the tournament.

Oregon finished Thursday’s contest with nine hits — two fewer than the Trojans’ 11. The game was locked at zeros until the top of the sixth inning when USC put three runs on the board on three separate RBI at-bats. In the next two half-innings, each team scored another run, and Oregon scored again in the eighth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome USC.

The Ducks had a chance to send the game to extras in the bottom of the ninth, with Jacob Walsh — Oregon’s home run leader — coming to the plate after a two-out Mason Neville double. But, Walsh’s ended his at-bat like his other four ABs in the game: walking back to the dugout.

Although Oregon finished the regular season with a better record than the Trojans, it’s important to note how USC had been playing leading up to Thursday’s game. Before playing the Ducks, the Trojans had won their last seven games, and they made Oregon their eighth.

A major reason for the Trojans picking up the win was the premier pitching of William Watson, USC’s starter for the day. Watson went six full innings and threw 100 pitches, allowing seven hits, two walks, and one earned run — all while striking out seven batters and keeping Oregon off the scoreboard for five innings.

Oregon is out of the Pac-12 tournament, but this likely isn’t the end of their season. On Monday, selection for the NCAA baseball tournament will take place, for which the Ducks will most likely qualify.

Ducks close the weekend with a win to take the series over UCLA

The Oregon Ducks defeat the UCLA Bruins 6-3 in the final game of a 2-1 series win for Oregon.

The Oregon Ducks defeated the UCLA Bruins in the final game of their three-game series, winning the series 2-1. The Ducks win on Sunday takes them to 22-8 on the season, and could move them further up the ladder in Baseball America’s Top 25.

In game one, Oregon won 8-4 with their strongest offensive game of the series.  Jeffery Heard and Drew Smith led the way for the Ducks, each grabbing three hits and 2 RBIs. Heard continues to be Oregon’s most consistent hitter, with a season batting average of .354 in over 100 at-bats.

The Ducks bats cooled off in game two on Saturday, and the Bruins won 3-4. After the fifth inning, Oregon failed to bring a runner across the plate, and in the bottom of the tenth inning, the Bruins manufactured the winning run.

In Sunday’s game, which the Ducks won 6-3, Oregon had a monster third inning, which carried them to the win. Both Jacob Walsh and Maddox Molony homered in the third, and three other Ducks doubled for a five-run inning. Walsh’s home run made him Oregon’s all-time leader in career home runs.

Oregon’s pitchers had solid outings across the board this weekend. All three starters pitched at least five innings and none of them conceded more than three earned runs. The Ducks bullpen continues to be elite as well, combining for 10.1 innings pitched on the weekend with just one earned run.

Next week, Oregon will have a two-game series against Sacramento State, and then they will play three games against the USC Trojans over the weekend. Both series will be at home.

Jacob Walsh powers Oregon past California to take weekend series

Oregon first baseman Jacob Walsh smashes two home runs and drives in four to lead the Ducks past Cal 10-3 and the series win.

Oregon first baseman Jacob Walsh can be the most dangerous hitter in the Pac-12 when he’s staying on pitches and driving them to the opposite field.

Walsh managed to drive three balls into left-center with two of them flying over the wall as he led Oregon to a 10-3 win over California Sunday afternoon at PK Park.

With the win, the Ducks improve to 13-6 overall and 4-2 in conference action. They have taken the first two series in Pac-12 play. California dropped to 12-5 overall and the Bears are also 4-2 in league action.

Walsh’s first big fly came in the first inning, which gave the Ducks an early 3-0 advantage. Oregon increased its 3-1 lead in the fourth on a run-scoring single from Anson Aroz and a two-run double from Justin Cassella.

As it turns out, that was enough for Duck starting pitcher Kevin Seitter, who went five innings, giving up one run on four hits and striking out six. Reliever Bradley Mullen threw a scoreless sixth, but Michael Fruend gave up two in the seventh.

Up 6-3, the Ducks added four runs in the eighth thanks to a trio of home runs from Walsh, Aroz and Ryan Cooney. Logan Mercado threw a scoreless eighth and ninth to earn the save.

The Ducks will stay home this week and host Arizona next weekend. The Wildcats are 7-10 overall and just 2-3 in conference play. They have one more game against ASU Sunday afternoon.

Oregon takes the series 2-1 over the Arizona State Sun Devils

The Oregon Ducks baseball team beat the Arizona State Sun Devils two games to one in the desert this weekend.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team wrapped up their long road trip to the desert with a series victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils this weekend. After losing the first game of the series on Friday, the Ducks won two straight to beat the Sun Devils 2-1.

In Friday’s game – which Oregon lost 4-5 — the Ducks had no shortage of baserunners, but they had trouble bringing their guys around to score. Oregon finished the game with 10 runners left-stranded, which was partially a result of Arizona State’s pitching staff generating 13 punch-outs.

On Saturday, the Ducks offense got going. After just 4 hits on Friday, Oregon finished with 9 knocks on Saturday, two of which were home runs. Starting pitcher Tony Twist gave the Ducks just four innings, but relievers Brock Moore and Bradley Moore combined for five scoreless innings pitched to close the game for a 6-4 Oregon victory.

The Ducks brought the series home on Sunday afternoon, bringing even more offense for the third game of the series. In the fourth inning, Ducks first-baseman Jacob Walsh cranked a grand slam to put Oregon up 4-2, and from then on, the Ducks held the lead, carrying them to an 8-5 victory.

Throughout the weekend, the Ducks had to rely on their bullpen, but the relief pitchers answered the call. No Oregon starter made further than 5.1 innings, but each time the relievers were called on they answered.

The Ducks’ next matchup is on Tuesday, back in Eugene for a one-game stand against the University of Portland. After that, Oregon will host Cal and then Arizona at PK Park, each for a three-game series.

Oregon’s bats stay hot in the desert with a rout over GCU

Oregon baseball completed the brief two-game sweep over Grand Canyon with a 13-5 victory in Phoenix.

Justin Cassella crushed the first pitch of the game and that was a sign to come as the Oregon baseball team hit four home runs in the 13-5 win over Grand Canyon Wednesday afternoon in Phoenix.

Mason Neville, Jacob Walsh and Ryan Cooney joined Cassella in the home run derby.

With the win, the Ducks improved to 9-3 overall, while the Lopes dropped to 6-7.

The win was Oregon’s second straight win as the Ducks now head into Pac-12 play. Fortunately, they won’t have to travel far to Tempe where Arizona State awaits for a three-game weekend set.

After Cassella’s first-inning homer, GCU took a 2-1 lead in the bottom, but the Ducks responded right away in the second with Cooney’s solo shot to right to tie the game 2-2.

Grand Canyon scored two more in the third to take a 4-2 lead. Oregon answered in a big way when Walsh hit an absolute bomb to right where the ball may still haven’t landed.

After the third inning, Oregon pitchers set down 13 straight batters led by Ian Umlandt’s four perfect innings out of the bullpen. While the Lopes were being held off the board, the Ducks were lighting it up.

Oregon scored two runs in the fourth and fifth and then five huge runs in the sixth to take an 11-4 lead. The Ducks scored two more in the seventh just for good measure. The Ducks had 21 hits and were walked seven times.

Now the very last Pac-12 season gets underway Friday where the Ducks are the defending conference champions after winning the league tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz. last season. The Sun Devils come into the series with a 6-6 record.

Oregon keeps their offensive momentum rolling to pick up a win in the desert

The Oregon Ducks got back to their winning ways with a victory over Grand Canyon on Tuesday night.

The Oregon Ducks won their first game against Grand Canyon University 9-4 on Tuesday night, moving to 8-3 on the season. The Ducks built on the offensive momentum they created in the last game of their series against Santa Barbara, picking up 14 hits in the game.

Although he only pitched four innings, Oregon got good production out of their starting pitcher Turner Spoljaric. After giving up a two-run homer in the second inning, Spoljaric pitched two scoreless innings, to finish his outing with only three hits conceded.

After Spoljaric’s day was done, Oregon used a committee of pitchers to keep the Antelopes off the board. Brock Moore gave the Ducks two scoreless and hitless innings. Sammy Cova then pitched one and two-thirds innings, giving up the home run in the eighth. Bradley then came in to close the game for the Ducks, picking up the save.

Once again, the star of the show was Ducks right fielder Jeffery Heard. In the second inning, Heard picked up a leadoff single and came around to score. The next inning, Heard came to the plate with two outs and launched a moonshot over the right field wall, flipped the bat, and trotted the bases on a 2-run home run. Heard finished the game 2 for 4 with a walk and two RBIs.

The ‘Lopes made things interesting with a two-run home run in the eighth inning to make the score 7-4. But in the top of the ninth, Jacob Walsh responded for the Ducks with a two-run jack of his own, to put Grand Canyon away.

Oregon will play the second half of their two-game series against Grand Canyon on Wednesday at 1:00 PT. The Ducks will then stay in the desert this weekend for a three-game series against the Arizona State Sun Devils to kick off conference play.

Oregon puts Leopards in a tough spot with doubleheader sweep

Oregon completed a doubleheader sweep from Lafayette and will go for the series sweep Sunday afternoon.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team keeps rolling as they just completed a doubleheader sweep over Lafayette.

After easily taking the first game 15-3, the Ducks had to work a little harder in the nightcap but came away with the 7-4 win. The  Ducks improved to 5-1 overall this year and the Leopards are still without a victory at 0-6.

Michael Freund earned the win in relief and while it wasn’t a save situation, Logan Mercado pitched the ninth and he made it interesting. He walked four, including a run, but whiffed the final two batters to end the game.

Oregon jumped on Lafayette in the bottom of the second with two runs on a Ryan Cooney single and later on a fielding error.

The Ducks added a run in the third Jeffrey Heard on his solo homerun to make it 3-0.

Starting pitching Toby Twist threw four scoreless innings and a combination of three relievers out of the bullpen held off the Leopards. They cut the 4-0 deficit to 4-2, but Oregon added three insurance runs in the seventh thanks to a fielding error and another Heard double.

Game 1

Oregon pounded Lafayette 15-3 in the doubleheader opener thanks to three home runs, two coming off the bat of Justin Cassella. He nearly blasted four homers, but the Leopard centerfielder Easton Brenner made two outstanding catches at the wall.

The Ducks had 13 hits and six batters were plunked. Cassella drove in five runs and Jacob Walsh also drove in five, including a two-run shot that was his 25th career home run.

While the offense was doing its thing, starting pitcher Grayson Grinsell dominated. The left-hander whiffed 10 batters in his four innings of work. Reliever Ryan Featherson threw four innings and was credited with the win.

Oregon moved to 4-1 on the season and Lafayette is still searching for its first win of the season.

Oregon routs Lafayette in 2024 home opener at PK Park

Oregon baseball had an easy time of it in its home opener with a 17-3 rout over Lafayette at PK Park.

Perhaps the worst thing Lafayette could have done was to hit a home run in the top of the first because that solo blast woke the Oregon Ducks baseball team up.

The Ducks answered with three homers of their own en route to a 17-3 win over the Leopards in the 2024 home opener at PK Park. Oregon improved to 3-1 on the young season while Lafayette is still looking for its first victory on the year. They were swept at East Tennessee State last weekend and if this game was any indication, the Leopards are going to have a long stay in Eugene.

Drew Smith, Jacob Walsh and Ryan Cooney all smacked the ball out of the ballpark after the Ducks went homerless last weekend at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. The Ducks scored in every inning of the contest. Their biggest frame came in the first, third and fourth where the Ducks scored three runs in each of those innings.

Chase Meggers and Walsh drove in three runs and Jeffrey Heard added a double and a triple with two runs scored. Bennett Thompson also hit a double and triple.

On the mound, RJ Gordon earned his first win of the year as he went six innings, giving up just one run on three hits while striking out four.

These two teams have a quick turnaround with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for 12 pm. Oregon and Lafayette will end the four-game series on Sunday with a single game also at noon.

Ducks bullpen dominates once again in victory over Baylor

Oregon scored seven unanswered runs to hand Baylor a 7-4 loss in the Shriners Children’s College Baseball Showdown Saturday morning.

Teams are going to learn very quickly that if they enter a battle of the bullpens with Oregon, it’ll be a losing proposition.

The Ducks scored seven unanswered runs and held Baylor off the scoreboard for the final five innings to take a 7-4 win over the Bears in the Shriners Children’s College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas.

Oregon is 2-0 with the bullpen dominating so far. The pen has thrown 9 2/3 scoreless innings in the games against Oklahoma and Baylor. Bradley Mullan earned the victory and veteran Logan Mercado earned the six-out save.

Baylor jumped on the Ducks in the second inning when Mason Greer hit a two-run homer to right field. Fans in Texas are used to watching a player named Greer hit home runs. Mason’s father, Rusty, played for the Rangers for nine seasons.

The Bears added to their lead with single runs in the third and fourth off of Oregon starter Kevin Seitter. On the other side of the field, Baylor starting pitcher Colin McKinney was having his way with the Duck lineup through the first three frames.

Oregon finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth on Bennett Thompson’s RBI single to left to make it 4-1.

McKinney was losing his stuff in the fifth and once Baylor went to its bullpen and brought in left-hander Grant Golumb, the Ducks made them pay with three runs to tie the game at 4.

Jacob Walsh lined a double to left-center to score two runs to make it 4-3 Bears. Oregon tied the game on Jeffrey Heard’s single to center.

It was a brand new game in the sixth and took control with three more runs. Mason Neville led off the frame with a double down the right field line. He scored on Ryan Cooney’s single to give the Ducks their first lead of the game 5-4.

Carter Garate followed with a perfect drag bunt down the first base line that Baylor mishandled and threw down the line. Cooney scored on the bad throw to make it 6-4, and Garate advanced to third.

Oregon was tacked on one more insurance run on Drew Smith’s single to left and it was 7-4.

That was more than enough for relievers Mullan, Jaxon Jordan and Mercado. Jordan found himself in some trouble when the Bears loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, but he whiffed Cortlan Castle to end the threat.

Oregon attempts to leave Globe Life Field unscathed Sunday when the Ducks face No. 18 Texas Tech. The scheduled first pitch is 12:30 pm PT.