Tag: oregon ducks baseball

Oregon goes extra innings to sweep away the Huskies in Seattle

The Ducks needed 11 innings, but eventually got the brooms out to sweep the Huskies in Seattle with a 6-5 win.

Everyone knew, including the Ducks, that it wouldn’t be easy to sweep the Huskies on the road. Oregon needed to go 11 innings, but it was able to defeat Washington 6-5 to complete the three-game weekend set in a cold and windy Seattle.

The Ducks moved to 24-11 overall, 10-5 in conference action, and are now tied for first place with Oregon State. Washington fell to 16-18 overall and 6-12 in Pac-12 play.

This game went back and forth with Washington erasing a 4-1 deficit with two in the sixth and one in the eighth.

It looked like the Ducks were going to get out of there with a win in the 10th after Tanner Smith belted his ninth home run of the season to give Oregon a 5-4 lead. But Washington’s Johnny Tincher crushed the first pitch he saw out of Kolby Somers’ hand over the scoreboard in left and it was once again tied 5-5.

The Huskies had a golden opportunity to win the game later in the 10th as they managed to get runners on second and third off an obviously tired Somers. The Oregon closer had pitched in three consecutive games and he didn’t have his usual stuff.

Somers buckled down and struck out Cole Miller and coaxed Christian Dicochea to pop out to second to extend the game.

The Ducks used some two-out lightning to grab the lead as Gavin Grant walked and a Smith single. Colby Shade was able to drive in Grant with a liner to right-center for the 6-5 lead. Thankfully for the Ducks, there would be no fireworks in the bottom half of the 11th. Christian Ciuffetelli walked one batter, but that was it for his first save of the year.

Tincher put a mild scare into the Ducks with his fly ball to center that Bryce Boettcher caught on the warning track.

Oregon will now make a quick stop in Portland to play the Pilots on Tuesday before hosting Washington State for a weekend series at PK Park. The Ducks and Pilots are scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch.

Flared up tempers spark Ducks to rally past the Huskies

Oregon rallied late with 5 runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Huskies 8-6.

We saw a lot of this blueprint early this season, but not so much of late.

Oregon’s ability to rally late came back just in time today in Seattle as the Ducks scored five runs in the eighth inning to defeat Washington.

With the win, not only do the Ducks win the series over the Huskies, they’ll now go for the series sweep up on Montlake. Oregon improved to 23-11 overall, winners of four straight and 9-5 in Pac-12 play. Washington falls to 16-17 overall and just 6-11 in conference action.

Washington was able to grab a 5-1 at the end of the fourth inning and that’s when the Ducks woke the bats up. Colby Shade got Oregon back in the game with a two-run homer to left in the fifth.

Washington came up to bat in the bottom of the fifth and this is when tempers got hot. Oregon starter Isaac Ayon, who wasn’t having the best of days, plunked leadoff batter, Johnny Tincher, in the back. He wasn’t thrilled and home plate umpire Brett Terry felt that was enough to eject Ayon out of the game.

The Huskies scored one in the sixth to make it 6-3 and it stayed that way until the eighth. Anthony Hall got the rally started with a triple down the right field line. Sam Novitske singled Hall home and it was 6-4.

Josiah Cromwick continued the rally with a single of his own and then the Huskies gifted Oregon a run when they threw away Gavin Grant sacrifice bunt attempt that saw Novitske score and Cromwick and Grant advance to second and third.

Colby Shade tied the game with a single and moved up to second when the Huskies’ defense wasn’t paying attention. Brennan Milone gave the Ducks the 8-6 lead with a liner to left field that scored two runs.

Logan Mercado, who came in the game when Ayon was ejected, earned the win with his four innings on the mound. He allowed just one unearned run on two hits.

Kolby Somers came on in the ninth and earned his sixth save of the season, his second in less than 24 hours.

Oregon will go for the sweep when the Ducks and Dawgs meet for Game 3 at 2 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network. Jace Stoffal (0-0, 27.00 ERA) will take the mound for the Ducks and he will battle Washington’s Case Matter (0-2, 5.73 ERA).

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.

Ducks and Cardinals split mid-series doubleheader at PK Park

The Ducks avoid being swept today with a 10-4 win over Ball State in the nightcap of a doubleheader.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team would have obviously preferred to sweep this afternoon’s doubleheader with Ball State, but given the alternative, the Ducks will happily take the split.

Ball State rallied late to take Game 1 and in the nightcap, the Oregon team we’ve all got used to seeing showed up and defeated the Cardinals 10-4.

With the win, Oregon earns its 20th win of the season with 11 losses. Ball State fell to 18-11 overall.

Brennan Milone and Anthony Hall each homered. It was Hall’s fourth home run in his last five games and he now has seven for the season. Milone also drove in four.

Ball State jumped on the Ducks with three runs in the first, but Oregon answered quickly with three runs of its own in the second. Smith’s two-run single tied the game.

The Cardinals briefly took the lead in the fifth with a run, but Milone’s home run to deep right-center field gave the Ducks the lead for good. Oregon added two in the sixth, one in the seventh, and two more in the eighth.

Logan Mercado earned his fourth victory of the year by throwing four innings and allowing just one run on four hits and striking out five.

The Ducks will now go for the series win when they face Ball State at 12 p.m. at PK Park.

Game 1
Oregon has been able to rally in the late innings many times this season, but in the opening game of today’s doubleheader with Ball State, the Ducks couldn’t muster up a rally and the Cardinals took Game 1 by the score of 3-2.

Tanner Smith opened the game up with a lead-off homer, his eighth of the season, to give Oregon the early 1-0 lead. That advantage held up until the seventh inning when Trenton Quartermaine’s run-scoring single off of Kolby Somers tied it at 1-1.

Oregon was able to take the lead right back in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a wild pitch with the bases loaded. Smith scored and Oregon briefly led 2-1.

But Ball State tied it 2-2 on a wild pitch and Zach Cole hit a go-ahead home run to right-center for the 3-2 lead.

Oregon threatened when Jacob Walsh doubled to left. But he was stranded on second and that would be the Ducks’ last chance as the Cardinals’ Sam Klein went 2 1/3 innings, including throwing a perfect ninth to earn the win.

Starting pitcher Isaac Ayon deserved a better fate as he probably had his best game of the season going 6 1/3 innings, giving up one run and seven hits, striking out five, and walking none.

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.

Bruins complete the weekend sweep with 5-4 win over Oregon

UCLA was able to complete the weekend series sweep with a 5-4 win over the Ducks Sunday afternoon.

This could have gone the exact opposite way.

That’s how close this weekend series went between Oregon and UCLA down at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Unfortunately for the Ducks, it was the Bruins who came out with a weekend sweep with a 5-4 victory. It was the third straight one-run decision that went UCLA’s favor.

With the loss, the Ducks fell to 18-10 overall and 7-5 in league play. UCLA was able to improve to 19-8 overall and 6-3 in conference action. Oregon has lost three straight games for the first time since losing the first three games of the season at San Diego.

As with the first two games against the Bruins, Oregon was able to grab the lead early on. The Ducks scored single runs in each of the first four innings eventually taking a 4-2 lead. Josh Kasevich’s homer gave Oregon a 2-1 lead and Anthony Hall’s long home run in the fourth helped the Ducks take a 4-1 advantage.

Oregon had planned to have this be a bullpen game with Matt Dallas starting. But UCLA was forced to go with a bullpen game when starter Thatcher Hurd had to leave after facing just three hitters due to an illness or injury.

The two teams combined to use 10 pitchers.

UCLA’s Malakhi Knight doubled home two runs in the sixth to tie the game at 4-4. The Bruins then took the lead in the next inning on Kyle Karros’ home run to left.

Closer Gage Jump earned a six-out save by pitching the last two innings.

Oregon will now take a break from Pac-12 play when they host Ball State in a four-game series at PK Park with a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday. The Cardinals are 17-9 overall and just saw their 10-game winning streak get snapped with a 5-1 loss to Toledo.

Bruins able to quiet the Oregon bats again to take weekend series

Oregon’s ninth-inning rally falls just short and UCLA wins the series with a 4-3 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

This hasn’t happened all season long.

For the second straight day, the Oregon baseball team struggled to score runs and UCLA was able to take the weekend series with a 4-3 win.

With the loss, the Ducks moved out of first place in the Pac-12 as they fall to 7-4 in league action and 18-9 overall. The defeat gives the Ducks their first league series loss and it’s the first time Oregon has a two-game losing steak since March 5th and 6th as UC Santa Barbara took the final two games of that series.

Arizona now sits on top of the Pac-12 standings with an 8-3 mark. The Bruins improved to 18-8 overall and 5-3 in conference play.

Last night it was Jake Brooks that held down the Oregon offense and today it was Max Rajcic, who allowed just two runs on four hits and struck out six.

Oregon took the early 2-0 lead on Anthony Hall’s two-run home run in the second inning, but UCLA scored one in the third and three more in the fifth off starter Isaac Ayon.

The Ducks were able to put a mild scare into the Bruins in the ninth with some two-out lightning. Josh Kasevich and Hall each singled with Novitske continuing the rally with a run-scoring single to make it 4-3.

That was enough for Bruins coach John Savage who proceeded to bring in Austin Kelly and the former Sunday starter struck out Josiah Cromwick to earn his first save of the season.

Now the Ducks have to hope they can salvage one game down in Los Angeles Sunday afternoon. Oregon has yet to name a starting pitcher, but whomever it is, they will go against UCLA’s Thatcher Hurd (2-0, 1.07 ERA).

Game 3 of the weekend set is scheduled for 12 p.m. and can be streamed on Pac-12 Insider.

UCLA’s Jake Brooks pitches a gem to keep the Oregon bats quiet

UCLA’s Jake Brooks shut down the potent Oregon offense for eight innings as the Bruins take Game 1 over the Ducks 3-2.

To be fair, RJ Gordon deserved better.

The Oregon Ducks Friday night starter pitched really well, but UCLA’s Jake Brooks was just a little better as the Bruins defeated Oregon 3-2 in the first game of a three-game weekend series in Los Angeles.

Gordon pitched his best game of the season through 5 2/3 innings. But a single and a JonJon Vaughns home run tied the game and knocked the Ducks pitcher out of the game after 106 pitches. UCLA scored one more in the inning, which was charged to Gordon and he became the hard-luck loser.

With the loss, Oregon dropped to 18-8 overall and 7-3 in league play. UCLA improved to 17-8 and 4-3 in Pac-12 action.

For the first time all season, the Ducks couldn’t solve a starting pitcher as Brooks was absolutely dominating over eight innings. He gave up just two runs, six hits and three strikeouts. The only blemish was Sam Novitske’s two-run homer in the fifth. It was his first homer of the season and just the second of his career.

Oregon attempted to rally in the ninth as Jacob Walsh led the frame off with a double. That was when the Bruins pulled Brooks and at that point, the Ducks would have liked to see anyone else on that mound.

But freshman Gage Jump coaxed a pop out, a groundout and then struck out Josiah Cromwick to end the game.

These two teams will be back at it Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. for Game 2 of the series. Oregon will send out Isaac Ayon (2-0, 5.74 ERA) and he will face Max Rajcic (2-3, 2.92 ERA).

Oregon wins a rare pitcher’s duel in 11 innings over San Francisco

The Ducks had to go extras, but were able to sweep San Francisco in the two-game series with a 4-3 win in 11 innings.

Suffice it to say that there won’t be many pitching duels at PK Park this season.

Oregon came into today’s game with San Francisco averaging nine runs per contest. But on those rare occasions where the Duck bats just don’t have it, they still need to find ways to win.

The second game of the brief midweek series with the Dons featured one such occasion and the Ducks managed to find a way to win 4-3 in 11 innings. Oregon is now 18-7 overall as it prepares to go down to Los Angeles to face UCLA for a three-game set.

Josh Kasevich had three of Oregon’s six hits on the day. His single to begin the ninth sparked a rally to tie the game at 3-3 and his double led off the 11th where Kasevich eventually scored the winning run.

The Ducks had runners on second and third with two out and the Dons decided to pitch to Gavin Grant. It was a pick your poison option with Tanner Smith waiting on deck. Grant hit a bouncer to second where it was slow enough for Grant to beat the throw sending Oregon home happy.

USF took the early 2-0 lead in the second inning, but the Ducks were able to tie the game an inning later. Brennan Milone’s single got Oregon on the board and Kasevich’s single up the middle tied the game.

It remained 2-2 until the sixth inning when USF was able to scratch out a run off of reliever Logan Mercado. Oregon used five pitchers out of the bullpen after Scott Ellis made his first career start. Matt Dallas threw the final 3 2/3 innings and earned the win.