Tag: oregon ducks baseball

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 rallies for four runs and stuns Seattle in 10 innings

Drew Smith’s two-run single completed the four-run rally in the 10th inning as the Ducks stunned Seattle U 5-4.

It was just how Mark Wasikowski and the Ducks drew it up.

That plan, obviously, was to wait out a 70-minute weather delay, give up three runs in the top of the 10th, and then use two infield hits, a deflection into center field, two hit batsmen, and a single from Drew Smith to score two more and stun Seattle University 5-4.

All right, this scenario wouldn’t be No. 1 on the list in ways to win a game, but that’s exactly how Oregon captured the opening contest of a four-game non-conference series with the Redhawks.

It was 1-1 after nine innings that was a rare midweek pitching duel. But that ended quickly in extra when Seattle’s third baseman Derek Gellos deposited a pitch over the left-center wall for the three-run home run and give the Redhawks a 4-1 lead.

Things were looking quite bleak for the Ducks, who were trying to avoid a two-game losing streak. The rally began harmlessly when Bryce Boettcher hit a high chopper to third that he was able to beat out at first. Chase Meggers hit his own tapper off the end of the bat for another infield single and the Ducks were in business.

Anson Aroz didn’t waste any time by smacking a liner off of pitcher Brady Liddle’s foot that got past the shortstop into center to score Boettcher.

After a sacrifice fly from Mason Neville Liddle didn’t help his cause by hitting Justin Cassella and Jacob Walsh to reload the bases. Only needing a fly ball to tie the game, Smith did much more with a liner down the left field line to score both Aroz and Cassella.

It was Oregon’s second walk-off win in five days. The Ducks defeated Arizona 3-2 on Saturday.

These two teams will meet up again for Game 2 of the series, set for a 5:05 pm PST first pitch streamed on Pac-12 Insider.

Oregon grabs 2 of 3 from Arizona in Pac-12 weekend series

Oregon took 2 of 3 from Arizona to win the weekend series, but fell 15-4 in the finale.

For the third straight Pac-12 weekend series, the Oregon Ducks baseball team took 2-of-3 from the opponent. This time, it was Arizona, although the Wildcats managed to avoid a sweep with a 15-4 victory at PK Park.

It was actually a close affair through six innings with Arizona up just 3-2. But the Duck bullpen couldn’t keep the Wildcats at three as the visitors from the desert scored runs in the final three innings to blow the game wide open.

Reliever Logan Mercado, who is usually reliable, just didn’t have it on this rainy Sunday afternoon as he gave up six runs in just 2/3 of an inning. The game was almost over with the Cats leading 9-4 in the eighth, but a grand slam from Brendan Summerhill sealed Oregon’s fate.

Things turned out much better for the Ducks in the first two games of the series, however.

In Game 1, the Ducks won a rare pitchers duel 2-1. Bennett Thompson’s two-run single in the sixth was just enough for the win. Starter RJ Gordon pitched a gem with 6 1/3 solid innings of work. Mercado threw a scoreless ninth for his fourth save of the year.

Game 2 was even more exciting as the Ducks won the game in the bottom of the ninth 3-2. The game was tied when Bryce Boettcher laid down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt that scored Mason Neville to win it.

Despite the series finale loss, Oregon is still 6-3 in league play and 15-7 overall. Next the Ducks will stay home and host Seattle for a four-game series Wednesday through Saturday.

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.

Grinsell pitches a gem to even up series with Golden Bears

Grayson Grinsell threw six innings of one-hit ball as the Ducks take Game 2 over Cal 5-1 to even the weekend series.

In their last two games, the Oregon Ducks baseball team has given up runs in the double digits, including a 13-1 loss to California Friday night.

Saturday starter Grayson Grinsell put a complete halt to that nonsense as he threw six brilliant innings of one-hit ball and it was enough for the Ducks to down the Bears 5-1.

With the win, Oregon moves to 12-6 overall and 3-2 in conference play, while California suffered its first defeat in league action. The Golden Bears fell to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in conference play. These two teams will battle it out Sunday afternoon to who will take the weekend set.

If Oregon receives this kind of pitching in the series finale, it will make it its second conference series win.

Grinsell gave up just one run, one hit and struck out nine in his six innings of work. Reliever Bradley Mullen threw two shutout frames and Logan Mercado coaxed a double play grounder in the ninth to close things out.

Cal was actually up 1-0 in the third, but the Ducks tied the game in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a bases-loaded walk to Anson Aroz. It was one of the great at-bats of the afternoon as he fouled four straight 3-2 pitches off before drawing a walk to force in Carter Garate from third base.

Oregon then brought out the big sticks.

Ryan Cooney gave the Ducks a 3-1 lead with a home run to left field and a little later in the inning, Justin Cassella crushed a homer to dead center field for the 5-1 lead.

That was more than enough offense for Oregon as the trio of Duck pitchers held the Golden Bears to just three hits on the day.

Oregon and California will get together one more time on Sunday with the first pitch set for 12:05 pm at PK Park.

California comes to PK Park and wins big in series opener over Oregon

California lit the PK Park scoreboard up with a baker’s dozen worth of runs and took the series opener 13-1 over the Ducks.

While there’s a huge celebration down in Las Vegas with the men’s basketball team’s upset over Arizona, the exact opposite feeling is occurring at PK Park.

California’s Caleb Lomavita set the tone with a two-run homer in the first and the Bears blew out Oregon 13-1 in the weekend series opener.

With the loss, Oregon drops to 11-6 overall and 4-3 in league play. The Golden Bears improved to 12-3 overall and a perfect 4-0 in Pac-12 action.

Things didn’t get any better for Duck starting pitcher RJ Gordon as he gave up three more runs in the third to fall behind 5-0. The Ducks were able to dent the scoreboard in the fourth on a run-scoring single from Ryan Cooney to score Drew Smith.

But that was all the offense the Ducks could muster. California put the game away with three insurance runs in the eighth and four more in the ninth off of Oregon’s young relievers.

A bright spot on the mound for the Ducks was Brock Moore as he struck out six straight batters. Unfortunately, he might have been left too long as he was touched up for those three runs in the eighth.

All is far from lost for the Ducks. In their first Pac-12 series, they dropped the opener to Arizona State before coming out on top Saturday and Sunday to take the series. Oregon is hoping to repeat the feat this weekend as well.

Game 2 is scheduled for 2:05 pm Saturday afternoon.

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.

Ducks able to get some revenge on Gauchos with series finale rout

Oregon salvages a game of the three-game series with Santa Barbara with a 16-9 victory Sunday afternoon.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team needed this.

After falling in the series’ first two games and down 5-0 on Sunday, the Ducks got some revenge on Santa Barbara with a 16-9 pounding to end the weekend.

Oregon improved to 7-3 for the season and the Gauchos returned to .500 at 5-5.

The Ducks were definitely on the precipice of being the victims of a series sweep as they were down big early to UCSB. But Mason Neville’s big three-run homer in the fourth inning got Oregon on the board and the Ducks never stopped scoring.

They scored a run in the fifth to cut the deficit to 5-4 and then exploded in the sixth with nine runs to take complete control of the game 13-5. In that big inning, the Ducks sent 14 to the plate but just got three hits. Santa Barbara’s bullpen had a tough time finding the strike zone. The Gauchos walked six batters and hit another.

On the day, UCSB walked 12 batters. Oregon’s pitchers weren’t exactly pounding the strike zone either as the Duck hurlers walked nine batters and hit two other Gauchos. It was 16-5 heading into the ninth, but UCSB made things a bit interesting as four runs crossed the plate. Reliever Michael Freund came on for the final out and send everyone home happy.

Neville ended the game with four RBIs and Anson Aroz led the lineup going 4-for-6 with a double and 2 runs batted in.

Now the Ducks go on the road for a short midweek series in Phoenix to take on Grand Canyon where the weather should be better than it was in rainy Eugene. The Lopes are 6-5 overall and just lost two of three at Texas-San Antonio.

Game 1 is scheduled to begin on Tuesday at 6 pm and will be televised on ESPN+. The second and last game of the series will be on Wednesday at 2 pm and will also be on ESPN+.

Duck baseball lose their first series of the season to Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara takes the series from Oregon with a 7-3 victory Saturday afternoon at PK Park.

The next time Santa Barbara wants to play a three-game series at PK Park, the Ducks should probably say no.

Oregon is on the verge of being swept on its home field by the Gauchos after the 7-3 defeat on Saturday.

The Duck offense was stifled for the second straight game as pitchers Mike Gutierrez, Tyler Bremner and Jackson Flora held Oregon to just three runs. This came after Matt Ager and Cole Tryba held the Ducks to just one run on Friday night.

Down 5-2 in the eighth, the Ducks did their best to rally as Drew Smith drove in Justin Cassella to make it 5-3. But with runners on first and second with two out, Bremner was able to fan Jacob Walsh on a high 96 miles per hour fastball.

After Santa Barbara scored two insurance runs in the top of the ninth, the Ducks gave themselves a chance in the bottom half of the inning. They were able to load the bases off of Flora, but with two out, he was able to whiff Dominic Hellman for the third out to close out the contest.

It’s the first losing streak of the year for Oregon as it fell to 6-3. The Gauchos improved to 5-4.

Oregon will send out starting pitcher Kevin Seitter Sunday afternoon in order to try and salvage one game of the series. Santa Barbara coach Andrew Checketts has yet to name a starter as they go for the road sweep.

Game 3 is scheduled for a noon first pitch.

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.