Tag: Tanner Smith

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 ninth inning rally falls just short in weird game at PK Park

Oregon wasn’t able too overcome Hance Smith’s 7 RBI performance as Cal salvaged one over the weekend with a 9-8 win.

It’s probably safe to say California second baseman Hance Smith is the first Pac-12 player to be robbed of a home run and then hit an inside-the-park grand slam in the same game.

The Golden Bears scored five in the eighth and then had to hang on to dear life in the ninth as they avoided a sweep at the hands of the Ducks with a 9-8 win Sunday afternoon at PK Park.

With the loss, Oregon falls to 28-15 overall and 13-8 in conference play.

The Ducks were up 5-3 going into the eighth inning and they brought in closer Kolby Somers for the six-out save. Unfortunately, things unraveled on Somers quickly. Cal scored one and still had the bases juiced when Smith hit a pop fly down the right field line. Anthony Hall was shaded into the gap and had to sprint to even have a chance at catching the fly ball.

Hall actually over ran the ball as it bounced behind him and he fell to the turf. Meanwhile, Smith was able to circle the bases. Those were RBIs 4-7 for him on the day as he had a sacrifice fly and a two-run single earlier in the contest.

That sacrifice fly was nearly a three-run homer, but Colby Shade was able to reach over the wall and bring it back.

Down 9-6 heading into the ninth inning, Oregon was able to mount a rally that eventually saw the potential winning run reach second base, but not before some fireworks.

It looked like Gavin Grant had swung at strike three, but the first base umpire ruled he checked his swing. That sent California into an uproar and coach Mike Neu was thrown out.

Grant made the most out of his second chance and line one through the legs of Hance Smith and two runs scored. But Tanner Smith grounded out to first to end the game.

Oregon now has prepare for a huge week of baseball as the Ducks and Beavers will meet up for four games, one non-conference contest on Tuesday in Eugene and three Pac-12 games in Corvallis over the weekend.

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.

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 blasts its way to a series win over the Trojans

Josiah Cromwick’s eighth-inning homer tied it and Tanner Smith’s home run won it as the Ducks stun the Trojans 7-6.

Oregon figured out the USC bullpen just in time.

The Trojans relievers dominated the entire weekend, but Josiah’s Cromwick’s three-run home run in the eighth inning tied the game at 6-6 and Tanner Smith’s solo shot gave the Ducks the 7-6 lead and eventual win to take the series from USC.

Kolby Somers pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save of the season.

With the victory, the Ducks move to 16-7 overall and 7-2 in Pac-12 play. They also hold on to first place with a third of the conference season in the books. USC falls to 14-8 overall and 4-5 in league action.

This game was all Trojans going into the seventh inning. USC scored five first-inning runs off of Oregon starter Caleb Sloan. It was 6-1 after two innings. USC starter Charlie Hurley pitched a great game as he went 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on six hits and four strikeouts.

USC then went to its bullpen, which has been the right move all weekend long. Before today, the Trojans relievers had only given up one run in nine innings of work. But it wouldn’t be their day on Sunday.

Toby Spach gave up a two-run homer to Colby Shade in the seventh to cut into a 6-1 deficit. Still up 6-3 heading into the eighth, the Trojans were still in relatively good shape.

However, Carson Lambert, who threw 44 pitches the day before, might have been a little tired as his fastball didn’t quite have the mustard on it that it did 24 hours earlier and the Ducks took full advantage.

Cromwick’s game-tying homer sailed over the visitors bullpen and Smith’s home run, his eighth on the year, went even further. It was also Oregon’s eighth consecutive game where it hit multiple round-trippers.

Next for the Ducks will be welcoming in San Francisco (15-11) for a mid-week game on Tuesday before going down to Los Angeles to take on UCLA next weekend.

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.

 

Oregon brings out the brooms to sweep away the Utes

Oregon completes the weekend sweep over Utah with a 7-2 win Sunday afternoon at PK Park.

Oregon didn’t need any late-inning heroics this afternoon.

The Ducks scored first, broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the fourth and eventually cruised to an easy 7-2 win over Utah Sunday afternoon at PK Park.

With the victory, Oregon completed the three-game weekend series and is now in first place of the Pac-12 with a 5-1 mark. They also improved to 13-6 overall. Utah came into this series with an impressive 11-4-1 overall record, but now the Utes are reeling after this trio of defeats.

Josh Kasevich and Anthony Hall both singled in the second to set up the Ducks’ first two wins of the game in the second inning. Josiah Cromwick drove in Kasevich with a ground out and Gravin Grant later singled home Cromwick for the 2-0 lead.

Utah managed to tie it 2-2 with single runs in the third and fourth. But as usual, Oregon seems to take it personally when the opponent gets back into a contest. Hall homered for the second time of the series to give Oregon the lead for good at 3-2.

But the Ducks were far from finished.

Cromwick singled to set up Tanner Smith’s two-run home run to right-center to make it 5-2 Ducks.

Meanwhile on the mound, the Oregon bullpen was stellar once again. Starter Caleb Sloan flirted with danger in the first three innings and probably can consider himself lucky he only allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings. But the combination of Logan Mercado, Dylan Sabia, Stone Churby, Christian Ciuffetelli, Rio Britton and Matt Dallas went 5.1 innings, no runs, three hits and eight strikeouts.

Oregon will now head up to Spokane to take on Gonzaga for a non-league contest on Tuesday before coming back to the friendly confines of PK Park to host USC for yet another three-game weekend series.

Oregon scores five in the eighth to win 8-6 and series over Utah

The Ducks score five in the eighth inning to rally past Utah 8-6 to claim the weekend series over the Utes.

Pac-12 baseball teams are quickly learning that the Ducks are never out of a game.

Oregon rallied from a 6-3 deficit in the eighth inning with five runs to stun Utah 8-6 and take the weekend series over the Utes. The Ducks improve to 12-6 overall, 4-1 in conference play, and will now go for the sweep tomorrow morning at PK Park.

The late-inning rally got started after an out was recorded, but then two walks and a hit batter set the table for Gavin Grant’s single to left to make it 6-4 Utes. Tanner Smith, who earlier homered, laced a single to right that scored both Sam Novitske and Josiah Cromwick.

With the scored tied 6-6 and still just one out, Oregon saw the runners move to second and third thanks to a wild pitch. Colby Shade hit a sacrifice fly to right to give the Ducks the 7-6 lead and Brennan Milone, who also homered during this game, drove in Smith for some insurance.

Closer Kolby Somers came into the ninth and earned his second save of the season.

Oregon starting pitcher Isaac Ayon kept his team in the game with his six innings of work where he gave up four runs, one earned, seven hits, and three strikeouts. It could have been worse for Ayon as he buckled down in the sixth. After giving up the go-ahead run, he found himself in deeper trouble with runners on second and third with just one out. Ayon managed to whiff Dakota Duffalo and get Carter Booth to ground out.

In the series finale, Oregon will send out Caleb Sloan (0-1, 2.70 ERA) to go up against Cam Day (1-1, 4.42 ERA) for Utah. The game is scheduled to be televised on Pac-12 Oregon/Mountain at 11 a.m. PT.

Around the horn: Oregon upsets No. 2 Stanford to open weekend series

Oregon baseball starts the Pac-12 season off with a bang with a 4-3 upset win over No. 2 Stanford.

If Oregon Ducks coach Mark Wasikowski had fingernails before the game tonight, he probably doesn’t have many left now.

Closer Kolby Somers flirted with disaster in the ninth by walking two batters, but he eventually earned his first save of the season and the Ducks upset No. 2 Stanford 4-3 in the opening game of a three-game weekend series down on The Farm.

Oregon moves to 9-5 overall and 1-0 in conference action. Stanford fell to 8-4 and 0-1.

The Cardinal jumped on the Ducks early with two runs in the first due to a couple of fielding errors. But Oregon settled down and starter Caleb Slaon, who was filling in for injured Adam Maier, pitched two innings before giving way for RJ Gordon. He pitched 4 and 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on three hits and 5 strikeouts. But more importantly, he kept Oregon in the game in order to let the offense get on track.

They got on that rack in the fifth with two runs in the fifth. It stayed 2-2 until the eighth when Colby Shade’s bases-loaded walk gave the Ducks a brief 3-2 lead. Stanford managed to tie the game in the bottom half on the inning, but Tanner Smith’s lead-off homer in the ninth gave Oregon the 4-3 lead and eventual win.

Around the horn: Ducks prepare for Pac-12 play with win over Portland

Oregon hit three more home runs at home and that was more than enough to hand Portland an 18-2 loss Tuesday.

Midweek games during the college baseball season can be taken for granted at times. Teams sometimes give their regulars a rest to give players on the bench much-needed at-bats.

Oregon isn’t doing that.

The Ducks (8-5) sent out the regulars in a huge 18-2 win over the Portland Pilots Tuesday afternoon at PK Park. Perhaps that plan will change later this season, but Oregon wanted to keep its starters in rhythm with No. 2 Stanford next on the docket.

Tanner Smith, Jack Scanlon, Colby Shade, and Tyler Ganus all homered for the Ducks, who are continuing to build a case that their home ballpark is no longer a pitcher’s paradise. Oregon has hit 14 home runs in its first nine games at home so far.