Seventh Inning Rally Leads Ducks Past Gonzaga

Tuesday, March 13

Eugene, Ore.

6:00 PM

University of Oregon

12-4

Gonzaga

9-6

Gonzaga

Oregon

Photo by: Deborah Mundorff

03/13/18 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score: Oregon 6, Gonzaga 3

Eugene, Ore. – Oregon scored six runs in the seventh inning to rally from a three-run deficit and come away with a 6-3 win over Gonzaga on Tuesday night at PK Park.

How it happened: Oregon (12-4) used three clutch doubles in the seventh to score the six runs while sending 11 players to the plate. Senior designated hitter Daniel Patzlaff got the Ducks on the board with a one-out, two-run double that scored Gabe Matthews and Jakob Goldfarb, who led off the inning with back-to-back walks to start the rally.

After a groundout by Ray Soderman, freshman left fielder Evan Williams tied the game with a two-out double to right-center field that plated Patzlaff to tie the game. The Ducks took a 4-3 lead when Gonzaga second baseman Carson Breshears booted a Kyle Kasser ground ball allowing Williams to score from second. Freshman Jonny DeLuca singled to move Kasser to second, and both came around to score on a Spencer Steer two-RBI double for a 6-3 lead.

Sophomore closer Kenyon Yovan came in to get his fifth save of the season for the Ducks. The right-hander tossed two scoreless innings fanning five.

Quotable: Head coach George Horton
On the seventh inning…
"We were very frustrated as you saw, but our guys had some resiliency and stuck with it. Obviously we do pride ourselves in trying to with the seventh, eighth and ninth. That was a big inning. They had the will to win and they found a way to do it."

Kenyon Yovan, Sophomore, Right-Handed Pitcher
On pitching two innings…
"Whenever we step on the field I always know that I'm always on the board ready to throw. I have to keep my mindset there and I have to make sure that my body is staying loose throughout the whole game."

Slow start for Ducks' offense: The Ducks' six-run seventh inning countered what was the worst offensive start of the season for Oregon. Gonzaga (9-6) starter Justin Blatner retired the first 11 Ducks' batters he faced before Steer broke up the perfect game with a single in the fourth. In addition to 1-2-3 innings in the first, second and third, Oregon also was retired in order in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings.

Vets come up big on the mound: Six different Oregon pitchers took the mound during the game, with all six starting an inning. The three veteran pitchers – senior Jesse Hobaica, sophomore Nico Tellache and Yovan – combined to hold the Bulldogs scoreless while allowing four hits in six innings with six strikeouts and two walks.

Duck notes: Freshman Hunter Breault picked up his first career win throwing a scoreless seventh inning … Yovan collected his 20th career save … He finished his 28th career game which ties him for sixth all-time at Oregon with Jake Reed (2012-14) … Steer and Patzlaff both finished with two RBI, while Steer had two of Oregon's six hits … Steer's multi-RBI game was the 16th of his career, tying him with Kasser and Scott Heineman (2012-15) for 10th all-time at Oregon … It was also Steer's team-best sixth multi-RBI game of the season, while he also had his fifth multi-hit game, tied for second on the team … Matthews has reached base in all 16 of Oregon's games this season, and 18 straight dating back to last season … The Ducks are 7-3 when their opponents score first … Oregon finished its 10-game homestand with an 8-2 record.

On deck: The Ducks open conference play Friday night at Arizona State in the first of a three-game series. Game times from Phoenix are 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.