Tag: PK Park

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.

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.

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.

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.

Photo Gallery: A wild night at PK Park ends with a Duck walk-off win

Photo Gallery: Oregon rallies from an 8-0 deficit and wins the game 9-8 on Drew Cowley’s single off of All-American closer Cade Denton.

It’s a night anyone associated with the Oregon Ducks baseball team, players, coaches, fans, and even administrators, won’t soon forget.

The Ducks pulled off an epic comeback where they were once down 8-0 in the third only to claw and scratch their way back and eventually win the game in the ninth inning off of All-American closer Cade Denton.

A crowd of 4,476 fans, the second-largest crowd in PK Park history, was sent into a frenzy where shirts were being taken off and flung around and drinks flying up in the air.

And this was just Game 1.

What do the Ducks have in store for Game 2? It’s hard to believe it could top the dramatics of this win. But a win tonight would send Oregon to Omaha and the College World Series for the first time since 1954. That’s been the goal since the very first day the program was brought back in 2009.

That alone could top what happened Friday night. Here are the pictures that illustrate the craziness on and off the field.

Oregon rallies from eight-run deficit to stun Oral Roberts

Down 8-0 in the third, Oregon manages a comeback for the ages to stun Oral Roberts 9-8 in Game 1 of the Eugene Super Regional.

The Oregon Ducks baseball team knows how to keep things exciting.

They spotted Oral Roberts an 8-spot in a top of the third inning that took 36 minutes. Teams that have fallen behind by eight runs in the Super Regional round of the NCAA baseball tournament were 0-96.

Now they’re 1-96.

Although there was a snowman on the scoreboard, Oregon didn’t throw in the towel. The Ducks chipped away and were propelled by two Bennett Thompson homers and stunned the Golden Eagles 9-8 to take Game 1 of the Eugene Super Regional Friday night in front of a packed PK Park of 4,476.

With the win, the Ducks are just one win away from Omaha. It’s a position they haven’t been in since 2012. The victory also happened to be Oregon’s 10th straight and broke Oral Roberts’ 21-game winning streak. Before tonight, the Golden Eagles hadn’t lost since April 22.

After Oral Roberts’ big inning, Oregon was able to respond right away thanks to back-to-back homers from Jacob Walsh and Bennett Thompson.

But the Ducks’ sophomore catcher from Medford was far from finished. Thompson then made it 8-5 in the fifth with a three-run homer that landed in the Golden Eagles bullpen. Before this game, Thompson had two homers the entire season. He doubled that total.

Oregon’s power was on display again in the sixth with Drew Smith’s solo homer to make it 8-6. Then in the seventh, the Ducks scored two more runs to tie it 8-8 on run singles from Drew Cowley and Tanner Smith.

The rally couldn’t have happened if the Duck bullpen didn’t step up in a big way. Pitchers Ian Umlandt and Logan Mercado held the Golden Eagles off the scoreboard for 4 1/3 innings before Matt Dallas and Josh Mollerus closed things out.

Tied at 8-8 and heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Golden Eagles decided to leave reliever Dalton Patten in the game instead of bringing in All-American closer Cade Denton to start the inning.

Patten proceeded to walk both Gavin Grant and Rikuu Nishida to runners on first and second and no one out. This was when Denton came in, but for Oral Roberts, it was too late.

Denton did retire Bryce Boettcher, but Drew Cowley hit a 2-2 pitch into right field to score Nishida and send PK Park into a frenzy.

Now Oregon will look to punch its ticket to Omaha for the first time since 1954 Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6 pm PST and will be televised by either ESPN or ESPNU.

Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski discusses upcoming super regional vs. Oral Roberts

Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski discusses upcoming super regional vs. Oral Roberts

The last time Oregon baseball was in this spot, it didn’t end well for the Ducks.

Kent State came to Eugene and hit a walk-off double that was barely fair down the left field line to upset Oregon 3-2 in Game 3 of the 2012 Super Regional.

Oregon hopes this series ends on a much better note.

The Ducks host Oral Roberts for a best-of-three beginning Friday with the winner moving on to the College World Series for the first time in either program’s history.

“It’s special. I know they have a lot of things planned,” Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski said. “I think they sold this thing out in less than an hour. The fan interest and the community and what that means for us. It’s awesome.”

There is going to be a fanfest event before Games 1 and 2 for sure as well as possible bleacher seating in the outfield if it’s been approved. In other words, hosting a Super Regional is a big deal and doesn’t happen very often.

Ironically, Wasikowski has been at Oregon to experience the only two times this has happened for the Ducks. He was an assistant under George Horton back in 2012. Coach Waz has seen what it takes to build up a program to reach this point.

“It’s hard,” he said on Wednesday during a press conference. “It’s not easy to get to Omaha and it’s not easy to get to Super Regionals or even the Regionals. To be able to do that on a consistent basis here in Year 3, we’re going in the right direction.”

The ultimate direction the Ducks want to go is, according to the sign just outside PK Park, is east, or more specifically, 1,687 miles. Oregon is just two wins away from making that historic journey.

But Oral Roberts isn’t coming to Eugene just to be cannon fodder. The Golden Eagles are for real and they’ll be a tough opponent.

According to Wasikowski, the Ducks will need to go out and win this. ORU won’t hand it to them.

“Statistically on paper, they have the best defense in the country and they rolled through a really difficult regional,” he said. “We’re very familiar with that team and they’re good.”

The Eugene Super Regional will get underway Friday with first pitch scheduled for 5 pm PST. Games 1 and 2 will be televised on ESPNU.

Oregon announces sellout for Super Regional; awaiting approval for additional seating

The Ducks have announced a sellout for the Super Regional vs. Oral Roberts, but they are awaiting approval for temporary bleachers and additional seating.

The hot ticket in town this week is for the Super Regional series between the Oregon Ducks and Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, where two wins separate one team from a trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

After both teams swept their regionals in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last weekend, they earned the right to participate in a three-game series that will determine one of the eight teams to make it to the world series. The first game of the series is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday night at PK Park in Eugene.

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The university released a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying that tickets for the event are currently sold out, but there is a chance that additional seating will be added via temporary bleachers, which are currently in the approval process.

“Because of significant demand, this weekend’s NCAA Baseball Super Regional games between the University of Oregon and Oral Roberts University are sold out,” the UO said in a statement. “In the event temporary bleachers are approved or unclaimed tickets from the visiting team become available, there may be additional tickets on sale Friday morning. Duck fans are encouraged to wear green all weekend.”

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The university also announced that a PK Park Fanfest concept will take place near Autzen Stadium on Friday afternoon, starting at 2 p.m. on Friday, and 3 p.m. on Saturday. It will include food trucks, a beer garden, tents and televisions to watch the game, and a live DJ. The Duck and Oregon Cheerleaders will also make an appearance.

Fans do not need a game ticket to attend the PK Park FanFest. The games will be shown on the Autzen Stadium video board, as well as in the FanFest area.

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