Ducks Fall in First Game of Civil War Series

Friday, March 27

Eugene, Ore.

3:00 PM

University of Oregon

10-13, 0-1

Oregon State

14-5, 1-0

Oregon State

Oregon Ducks

Photo by: Tod Fierner

03/28/09 | Baseball

Box Score

By: GoDucks.com

EUGENE, Ore. - Errors doomed the Ducks in the first game of the Civil War Series in the new era of Oregon baseball. In front of a sellout crowd of 2,777 at P.K. Park, Oregon State defeated Oregon 7-1 in both teams' Pac-10 openers as the Duck defense committed five errors and OSU starter Tyler Waldron threw 7.1 innings of five hit baseball.

Freshman Tyler Anderson (1-3) surrendered three earned runs over 6.1 innings and took the loss for the Ducks as they slip to 10-13 on the season. Waldron (2-1) allowed just one run and earned the win for the Beavers, who improved to 14-5 in 2009.

"He threw well," Oregon's Caleb Tommasini said of Waldron. "We were never able to really get our bat on the ball. I tip my hat to him."

Oregon State leadoff man John Wallace led all Beavers with three RBI. Pinch hitter Jared Norris knocked in two runs while catcher Ryan Ortiz was the lone OSU player to record more than one hit with two.

Tommasini tallied two hits to pace the Ducks and first baseman Andrew Schmidt had the only RBI on the day for the green and yellow.

The Beavers struck first, putting up one run in the top of the third inning. After being hit by an Oregon pitch, Wallace moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and then scored on a single hit by designated hitter Adalberto Santos.

Oregon State tacked on two more runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead before Oregon was able to get on the scoreboard with a run in the bottom of the inning. Tommasini singled to left with one out before moving to second on a groundout. Schmidt singled to centerfield to score Tommasini for the Ducks' lone run of the game.

The game remained a 3-1 affair until Oregon State, fueled by three Oregon errors in the inning, broke through in the top of the ninth with four runs on just two hits.

"We were outplayed on the defensive side," said Oregon assistant coach Mike Kirby. "Offensively they were able to see more pitches in at-bats and get hits to sustain innings."

The Ducks were without skipper George Horton, who was serving the final day of a three-game suspension after bumping an umpire last weekend in Portland. Horton will be back in the dugout for the final two contests of the series as it moves north on Saturday and Sunday to PGE Park. The Portland Civil War Series is presented by RBC Wealth Management.

After a sellout crowd at PK Park on Friday, the Ducks hope to get the same fan support in Portland.

"The people in the state of Oregon are passionate about baseball and all sports," Kirby said. "They came out today in full force and it was great to see and hear."