Tag: Jeffery Heard

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.

RJ Gordon and the Ducks easily take down Seattle 10-2

Oregon takes care of business with a 10-2 win over Seattle in Game 2 of the four-game set.

That was much more like it.

A night after the Ducks had to score four runs in the bottom of the 10th inning to take down Seattle, Oregon got down to business early and often en route to a 10-2 victory over the Redhawks.

The Ducks improved to 17-7 overall, while Seattle’s struggles continue as the Redhawks fell to just 7-18.

Oregon scored three runs in the first inning and as it turned out, that was enough for starter RJ Gordon on the mound. In a rare Thursday start, Gordon went five innings, giving up one run on five hits and struck out five to earn his third win of the season.

Jeffrey Heard got the offense going with a two-run single that scored Bryce Boettcher and Chase Meggers. Later on in the frame, Mason Neville drove in his first run of the night to make it 3-0.

Heard drove in his second run as in many innings with an infield single to score Maddox Molony. The Oregon right fielder went 4-for-4 on the night with three singles and a double.

Down 4-0, Seattle finally cracked the scoreboard in the fourth when Sam Kane nailed a solo home run over the left field wall. In the next inning, the Redhawks threatened to rally by loading the bases, but Gordon managed to strike out Mateo Zeppieri and the Ducks held on to the three-run advantage.

The Ducks answered with a run in the sixth, two in the seventh and three more in the eighth on Neville’s three-run blast to right-center field that ended up in the PK Park parking lot.

While the Ducks’ offense was humming, the bullpen was doing their job. The combination of Ian Umlandt, Cole Stokes, Brock Moore and Collin Clarke held Seattle to just one run on two hits. Moore only pitched to two batters, however, as he had to come out of the game due to an apparent arm injury.

Moore wasn’t the only Duck to go down with an injury as left fielder Justin Cassella went down with a leg injury after beating out an infield single. Hopefully both injuries are minor and both players will be back on the field soon for the Ducks.

Oregon and Seattle will get back at it Friday night at PK Park for Game 3 of the four-game set. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 pm PST.

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 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 can’t match Santa Barbara’s early offense on Friday afternoon

The Oregon Ducks lose to the Santa Barbara Gauchos 6-1 on Friday afternoon.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team’s win streak came to a close on Friday afternoon with a 6-1 loss to the Santa Barbara Gauchos. This was the first game of a three-game series against the Gauchos that will continue this weekend. Throughout most of the game, there was steady wind and rain, which probably contributed to Oregon’s lack of offense.

In the top of the first inning, the Ducks gave up three runs, after Santa Barbara’s first three batters picked up base hits. After that shaky first inning, Oregon starting pitcher RJ Gordon cleaned up his pitching, allowing only one hit after the first three batters he faced got knocks. In 4.2 innings pitched Gordon struck out 6 batters as well.

Through all nine innings, Santa Barbara had dominant pitching. The Gauchos’ starter Matt Ager pitched 6.1 innings, allowing just 4 hits, 2 walks, and 0 earned runs, striking out 8 Ducks along the way. Ager’s replacement from the bullpen, Cole Tryba, was equally dominant, giving up no earned runs, 3 baserunners, and striking out 5 batters to close the game for the Gauchos.

Oregon tried to make things interesting with a rally in the ninth inning. Things kicked off with a leadoff single from Oregon’s third-baseman Drew Smith, and then two more batters reached base to load the bases. But with two outs, Ducks centerfielder Bryce Boettcher came to the plate and grounded out to the Gauchos shortstop to end the game.

The Ducks will have their next games against Santa Barbara on Saturday and Sunday, and hopefully, they’ll be able to bring more offense to the field. Oregon finished Friday’s game with just 6 hits (all singles) and 3 bases on balls, and the Ducks’ only run came off of a sacrifice fly in the 5th inning. To start the season, Oregon’s bats have been hot, so hopefully they can swing back into form for the next two games of the series.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Oregon closes out Lafayette in a Sunday blowout

The Oregon Ducks beat the Layfayette Leopards 12-2 on Sunday afternoon.

The Oregon Ducks closed their four-game series against the Lafayette Leopards with a win on Sunday afternoon, 12-2.

Oregon’s offense got hot early. In the second inning, the Ducks were able to bat all the way through the order, scoring 5 runs to make the score 6-0. After that, Oregon scored 6 more runs, 4 of which came via the home run.

Oregon’s hitters came to the plate with good approaches, but they also got a lot of help from the Lafayette pitching staff. After nine innings, the Leopards had combined for 6 walks, 6 HBPs, and 3 wild pitches.

Oregon’s pitchers, on the other hand, were dominant. The first six innings were hosted by Kevin Seitter, who struck out 11 batters while only allowing 5 to reach base. For the last three innings, the Ducks leaned on Brock Moore, Jaxson Jordan, and Turner Spoljaric, who allowed no runs to close out the game. All combined, the Ducks struck out 16 of the 27 batters they faced.

Oregon’s right fielder Jeffery Heard posted another solid offensive performance on Sunday. In 4 ABs, Heard was 2/4 with a single and a double, with an RBI and a run scored. The only time Heard didn’t reach base was in the 7th inning when Leopards’ right fielder leaped to rob him of a 3-run home run. The season is young, but Heard already looks like a star on the rise.

The Ducks will have a few days off before hosting the Santa Barbara Gauchos — who are 2-3 to start the season — for a three-game series starting on Friday. After that, Oregon will head to Phoenix for a two-game series against Grand Canyon University.