Tag: Jacob Walsh

Ducks hold on to defeat Vanderbilt to advance to regional final

Oregon advances to the Nashville Regional final with an 8-7 victory over 6-seed Vanderbilt.

Should Oregon advance to the Super Regional, the Ducks are going to remember this play by third baseman Sabin Ceballos.

The junior college transfer, who has led Oregon with his bat, turned in the defensive play of the year for the Ducks. Ceballos’ barehanded play to get Alan Espinal by literally a quarter of a step erased Vanderbilt’s rally in the seventh inning.

Oregon then went on to defeat the Commodores 8-7 and advance to the Nashville Regional final. Vanderbilt will now play Xavier in an elimination game at 12 pm PST and the winner of that contest will play Oregon at 6 pm and they’ll have to defeat the Ducks twice in order to win the regional.

Game 7 of the regional would be played Monday if Oregon loses Sunday night.

After two innings of play, it was 4-4 and the thought of Turner Spoljaric going six wasn’t looking good for the freshman. But once RJ Scheck hit a homer that seemingly went five miles to tie the game at 4-4, Spoljaric settled down and retired the next nine straight Commodores.

The Ducks were able to grab the lead in the fifth on Ceballos’ run-scoring single and later in the inning, Jacob Walsh lined a double to left-center that scored three runs to give Oregon an 8-4 advantage.

Vanderbilt managed to put together a small rally in the six by putting on the first two hitters and Spoljaric looked like he was at the end of his rope. But the Duck pitcher was able to retire the next three hitters.

Everything was calm in the eighth with Matt Dallas pitching a perfect inning, but the ninth created some excitement that Oregon did not need.

Closer Josh Mollerus made it interesting, to say the least as he allowed a 2-run homer off of the bat of Chris Maldonado. It was 8-7 and Oregon still needed two outs. Fortunately, Mollerus coaxed fly balls to centerfielder Colby Shade and that huge exhale came from the Oregon dugout.

Now the Ducks are 27 outs from going to a Super Regional for the first time since 2012.

Baseball recap: Ducks take series over No. 7 Cardinal

Logan Mercado becomes the second Duck pitcher to hold the Pac-12’s No. 1 offense down as Oregon defeats Stanford.

It would be a tough assignment to match what Jace Stoffal did to the No. 7 Stanford team. But Logan Mercado was up to the task.

The junior starting pitcher threw Oregon’s second straight complete game and the Duck offense backed him up with three home runs as the home team defeated the No. 7 Cardinal 8-1 at PK Park.

Mercado came into the game with a 6.75 earned run average, but he kept the Stanford hitters off balance all day long as he needed 111 pitches for the nine innings. He gave up just five hits and struck out seven.

The Ducks got on the board to support Mercado in the third when Drew Cowley hit a run-scoring double and Sabin Ceballos RBI fielder’s choice. Jacob Walsh hit his first of two homers in the fourth to make it 3-0. The Oregon first baseman was wearing No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day.

Ceballos put the game out of reach in the fifth with a bomb to left to make it 5-0. Walsh hit another solo shot in the seventh to complete his good day with three runs batted in.

Oregon’s offense did its damage against Matt Scott, who came into the game with an ERA of just 2.05. He was saddled with his first career loss.

The Ducks will go for the sweep Sunday afternoon as they send Leo Uelmen (2-3, 6.55 ERA) and the Cardinal will counter with Joey Dixon (3-0, 4.38 ERA).

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Oregon’s Jacob Walsh named Pac-12 Player of the Week

Oregon first baseman Jacob Walsh had a monster weekend in the desert and it earned him Pac-12 Player of the Week honors.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team might have had to convince its first baseman Jacob Walsh to come back to Eugene after the weekend he had at Arizona.

Walsh belted three home runs, drove in four, and collected eight hits to help the Ducks (18-7, 6-3) sweep the Wildcats in the desert. His efforts forced the Pac-12 to name Walsh the Conference Player of the Week.

He is the first Duck to earn the award since Gabe Matthews picked up the honor on April 13, 2021.

The sophomore is having a stellar season for Oregon. Walsh is hitting .293 with eight homers and 16 RBIs.

Oregon is in the midst of a nine-game winning streak as it begins a 10-game homestand. The Ducks host Portland on Tuesday before welcoming in-state rival Oregon State for a huge Pac-12 series Thursday-Saturday.

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Baseball recap: Ducks win ninth straight with a sweep in the desert

Oregon baseball keeps rolling with a nine-game winning streak which includes a sweep over Arizona down in the desert.

The offense was a problem for the Oregon Ducks baseball team early in the season. The key word in that previous sentence is “was.”

It’s not a problem anymore.

The Ducks scored 15 runs on Friday, 13 more on Saturday, and eight in the series finale at Arizona. With the completed sweep, Oregon moves to 18-7 overall and 6-3 in Pac-12 play. They have also won nine straight.

Before this winning streak, Oregon had a team batting average under .230. Now it’s over .300. A big part is the resurgence of power hitter Jacob Walsh. The sophomore first baseman crushed three homers in this series, including an absolute bomb to right-center to give the Ducks an early 2-0 lead.

Oregon had a 7-1 lead and held on to win 8-5 in Game 3 against Arizona. It’s the second straight series sweep over Arizona for the Ducks.

Drew Cowley homered twice and drove in five while closer Josh Mollerus managed to get a five-out save for his fourth of the year. Walsh also homered. He might not want to return to Eugene after nine hits of the series, including a trio of round-trippers.

This series started out with a bang as the Ducks scored a season-high 15 runs and 22 hits in a huge 15-3 win. Sabin Ceballos led the way with four hits and four RBIs. Walsh hit a homer and Jace Stoffal threw seven solid innings for his third win of the season.

In Game 2, it wasn’t how coach Mark Wasikowski would have drawn it up, but a win is a win. Arizona scored 10 runs in the first two innings of the game and about 98 percent of the time, it would be over. But the Ducks were able to scratch and claw their way back.

Still down 11-5 in the seventh, Oregon managed to plate five runs to make it 11-10 Wildcats. Dominic Hellman and Rikuu Nishida each had run-scoring hits to cut the big deficit to just one.

In the top of the ninth, Oregon scored three runs to take a 13-11 lead and eventual win. Colby Shade’s double tied the game and Nishida’s single scored two more runs.

Mollerus came in to pitch a scoreless ninth for his third save of the season.

Now the Ducks come back home for a 10-game homestand beginning with a single game with Portland before hosting rival Oregon State, beginning on Thursday. The Beavers are 18-10 overall and 5-7 in conference action.

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Ducks sweep Arizona to end the regular season in style

Oregon baseball ends the regular season in style with a 5-3 win over Arizona to complete the three-game sweep.

At the beginning of the week, the thought of Oregon hosting an NCAA regional was a long shot at best.

Now with a good showing in the Pac-12 tournament next week, the Ducks have a really good shot at hosting.

Oregon ended the regular season with a 5-3 win over No. 25 Arizona and completed the weekend series sweep over the Wildcats. This is the same Wildcat team that defeated No. 2 Oregon Series two games to one last week.

With the win, the Ducks are 35-21 overall and finished the conference season with an 18-12 mark. They will be the 4-seed in the Pac-12 tourney in Scottsdale, Ariz., and will open the festivities on Wednesday with a 9 a.m. start against Arizona of all teams.

Isaac Ayon set the tone Friday night with a complete-game win and that momentum certainly must have inspired Game 3 starter Jace Stoffal. The sophomore from Roseburg had never pitched more than four innings in a game, but he was able to pitch into the eighth inning.

Stoffal gave up just one run on three hits and struck out three to earn his first win of the season.

The Ducks scored three runs in the second inning thanks to Bennett Thompson’s run-scoring single and Tanner Smith’s two-run double to right-center. They made it 4-0 in the sixth on Jacob Walsh’s single to center. That was all Stoffal and the Ducks needed, but Arizona made it interesting late in the game.

They scored one run in the eighth and two more in the ninth off of Kolby Somers. But the Oregon closer struck out Blake Paugh to end the game.

Now Oregon will take the show down to Scottsdale where if they win a few games or make the final, this win over Arizona won’t be the last game at PK Park in the 2022 season.

Ducks power their way to a series opening win in Seattle

Anthony Hall homered and Jacob Walsh drove in four to lead the Ducks to a 7-5 win over Washington late last night.

It’s always fun to beat the Huskies, especially in Seattle.

Anthony Hall belted a two-run homer in the first and Kolby Somers held Washington off in the eighth and the ninth for a 7-5 win over the Dawgs.

Oregon is now 22-11 overall and 8-5 in league play. The Ducks broke a three-game losing streak in Pac-12 action. They are also tied for fourth place with UCLA. Meanwhile, Washington’s struggles continue as they fell to 16-16 overall and 6-10 in conference play.

The Ducks got off to a good start right away in the first off of Huskies starting pitcher Jared Engman. Oregon cracked the scoreboard with a two-run single from Jacob Walsh on an 0-2 pitch. Then two batters later, Hall smashed a homer to right field that might have landed in Puget Sound. It was his eighth home run for the season.

From that point, it was Duck pitcher RJ Gordon, who might have had his best start since being moved to the Friday night spot. Gordon pitched into the sixth inning before being pulled. He gave up three runs and five hits, but more importantly, he kept Washington playing catch-up all night long.

Matt Dallas and Andrew Mosiello came in from the bullpen and pitched the sixth and seventh before Somers was summoned in the eighth and he wriggled out of a huge jam in that inning.

Oregon was up 5-3 and Washinton had runners on second and third with one out. That was when Huskies shortstop Cam Clayton lined out to Somers for out No. 2. Somers then proceeded to hit the next batter, but whiffed Sam Brown to end the threat.

Thankfully, the Ducks scored two insurance runs in the ninth on another two-run single from Walsh because the Huskies got to Somers with two runs and had the tying run at the plate. But Somers wriggled out of the jam and preserved the win.

The two teams are back at it today at 2 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.

Oregon walks it off in the raindrops to take series from Ball State

The Ducks played through the rain and managed to beat Ball State 7-6 thanks to Tyler Ganus’ walk-off single.

It wasn’t the best of conditions with the rain coming down, but it didn’t affect Tyler Ganus.

The pinch-hit specialist came up in the bottom of the ninth with a chance to win the game and Ganus didn’t waste any time. He lined the first pitch he saw off of Ball State reliever Sam Klein down the left field line for a hit and Oregon walked off with the 7-6 win over the Cardinals.

With the victory, not only did the Ducks take three-of-four from the visitors from the Mid-American Conference, but they improved to 21-11 overall.

This game went back-and-forth and today was a good reason why hitting last can be a huge advantage. Oregon scored three in the second, but Ball State scored four runs in the fifth inning to take the 4-3 lead.

The Ducks tied it at 4-4 in the bottom half of the inning and then Gavin Grant gave Oregon the 5-4 lead with an opposite-field home run through the raindrops.

Oregon eventually took a 6-4 lead, but just like the entire weekend, the Cardinals wouldn’t go down without a fight. Ball State’s Adam Christianson and Ryan Peltier belted back-to-back homers to tie the game once again at 6-6 in the eighth.

It stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth.

Brennan Milone led the frame off with a walk and he was replaced with pinch-runner Taylor Holder. He went to second on a wild pitch. Slugger Jacob Walsh, who is capable of hitting balls 400 feet, instead hit a little dribbler down the first base line that stopped directly on that line about 40 feet from home plate.

With runners on the corners, Ball State intentionally walked Josh Kasevich to load the bases and set up a force play at home. It worked for one hitter as Bryce Boettcher grounded to third. But Ganus ended the game with his hit down the left field line to send everyone home happy. They were drenched, but they were happy.

Now the Ducks go back into conference action when they go up to Seattle to take on Washington for a three-game weekend series. The Huskies are 15-15 overall and 6-9 in Pac-12 play.

Oregon’s bats come alive to down the Cardinals 13-7

The Ducks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 13-7 win over Ball State Friday night at PK Park.

Welcome to Oregon Baseball 2022.

The Ducks needed a couple of two-run homers in order to down Ball State 13-7 and snap a three-game losing streak as Oregon took Game 1 of this four-game weekend series with the Cardinals.

Oregon is now 19-10 overall, while Ball State fell to 17-10.

The Cardinals fell down 3-0 early but was able to bounce back with four runs in the fifth off of Oregon starter RJ Gordon. As they have many times this season, the Ducks answered in the very next half-inning with three runs of their own.

It was tied 4-4 when Jacob Walsh broke out of his slump in a very big way. He crushed a two-run homer off of Cardinal reliever Ryan Brown. It was Walsh’s fifth home run of the season.

Unfortunately, the Ducks couldn’t stand the prosperity as Ball State scored one run in the sixth and one more in the seventh to tie the game at 6-6.

But to no one’s surprise, Anthony Hall belted his sixth homer of the season. It was a two-run shot that landed in the Duck bullpen beyond the right field wall to give Oregon the 8-6 lead and eventual win.

Kolby Somers was primed to come in for his fifth save of the season, but the Duck bats scored five insurance in the eighth and ruined the save situation. Instead, Christian Ciuffetelli came in to finish the game. He made it interesting by giving up a run and Ball State had the bases loaded, but a harmless flyout to center ended the game.

These two teams will take Ernie Banks to heart when he said, “Let’s play two!” The Ducks and Cardinals will begin a doubleheader at 12 p.m. with Game 2 starting around 4 p.m. Neither squad has announced who will start on the mound.

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.

 

Around the horn: Stanford avoids the weekend sweep with win over Oregon

Despite Sunday’s loss, Oregon’s series win at Stanford is a huge resume builder come NCAA tourney selection time.

The bats couldn’t bail out Oregon for the second straight day.

No. 2 Stanford was able to salvage one game of the three-game weekend set by jumping on the Ducks early and eventually cruising to a 10-6 win.

It was Oregon’s first conference loss as the Ducks fall to 10-6 overall and 2-1 in Pac-12 action.

Starting pitcher Tommy Brandenberg couldn’t get out of the second inning as he walked four and gave up a grand slam to Brett Barrera. Oregon was able to rally from a 9-3 deficit on Saturday, but to come back yet again was too much of an ask.

Despite today’s loss, earning a series win on the road over the No. 2 team in the country is definitely a feather in the cap and quite the resume builder when the tournament teams are announced in June.