University of Oregon
17-12, 7-5
USC
15-19, 5-7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| Oregon | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | X | 8 | 13 | 1 |
Ducks Beat USC For Fifth Straight Before Hosting OSU Monday
04/17/16 | Baseball, @GoDucksMoseley
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Photo: Eric Evans
EUGENE, Ore. — On the ropes a week ago after a 2-5 start to conference play, the Oregon baseball team won its fifth straight Sunday by completing a sweep of Southern California, 8-5 before 1,803 in PK Park.
How It Happened: The Ducks (17-12, 7-5 Pac-12) jumped on the Trojans early, scoring five runs in the first two innings. With 11 singles among its 13 hits, Oregon strung together hits all afternoon, including a pair of two-out RBI singles for some insurance after USC (15-19, 5-7) rallied in the eighth.
“Having quality at-bats, that's contagious,” said UO leadoff hitter Austin Grebeck, who reached all five times Sunday and scored three runs. “You get the pitcher on the ropes, you look for pitches to hit and you can usually turn one around.”
Cleanup hitter Jake Bennett had a sacrifice fly in the first and an RBI double in the second, the third straight run-scoring hit during a three-run inning. That provided early support for starter David Peterson (3-2), who allowed two runs in five innings as he continues to build back up from an injury.
The Ducks added on in the sixth when freshman shortstop Travis Moniot, enjoying the best weekend of his young career, doubled with two out and came home on an error. That proved critical in the eighth when Adalberto Carrillo touched UO reliever Brac Warren for a three-run home run, making it 6-5.
Closer Stephen Nogosek was called upon to end the eighth, and Oregon's hitters provided him some cushion in the bottom of the inning. With two on and two out, Kyle Kasser and Jakob Goldfarb each had run-scoring singles, and Nogosek slammed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save.
“We feel like we're finally turning the corner,” Nogosek said. “Our mentality's good, and we just need to keep it going.”
Back End Gets Work: Nogosek and Warren each worked for the third straight day, with mixed results.
Warren, who got four outs Friday and one Saturday, entered Sunday with two on and one out. A caught stealing provided the second out, but Warren gave up a single and then the home run to Carrillo.
Nogosek threw an inning on both Friday and Saturday. He allowed a long single to the first batter he faced Sunday, but then set down the next four in order.
“I felt better today then I felt yesterday, but that's typical,” Nogosek said. “And it's always nice to pitch three days in a row, because that means we're in position to win ballgames.”
Bring On The Beavs: Oregon has a quick turnaround before hosting Oregon State in a nonconference game Monday evening.
The Beavers are 23-9 overall and 6-6 in the Pac-12 after dropping two of three to Washington State over the weekend. Entering Sunday, OSU had an RPI of No. 52 according to the website D1Baseball, while Oregon was at No. 74.
“It's not a conference game, but still, they're all important at this point,” UO coach George Horton said. “… Hopefully we can maintain it. There's a good baseball team coming in here tomorrow.”
The Ducks planned to throw freshman Kyle Robeniol, who is 3-2 with a 5.16 ERA. Among the bullpen arms who didn't get used against USC were Cooper Stiles and Parker Kelly, and freshman Matt Mercer faced just four batters Friday.
Notable: Moniot finished the weekend 4-for-9 with a home run from each side of the plate, and a couple of sparkling defensive plays at shortstop. A.J. Balta had an RBI single in the second Sunday on his way to a 5-for-11 weekend that included five RBIs. Grebeck reached base and eventually scored to lead off all three games, helping extend Oregon's streak of games with a first-inning run to seven. … Reliever Isaiah Carranza made his return to the mound a week after being pulled from an appearance with apparent discomfort in his side. He got through the sixth and seventh without incident before giving way in the eighth to Warren. … The Ducks had some adventures in the batter's box Sunday. Moniot was called out on a sacrifice bunt attempt when he stepped on the plate while bunting. In the sixth, Slade Heggen struck out and then interfered with the opposing catcher to boot, resulting in Daniel Patzlaff being called out on a stolen base attempt.
Up Next: First pitch Monday at PK Park against OSU is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Peterson, David (3-2)
L: Davis, Kyle (2-6)
S: Nogosek, Stephen (9)
Batting:
HR: Carrillo, Adalberto 1
RBI: Dempster, Corey 1 ; Oppenheim, David 1 ; Carrillo, Adalberto 3
SF: Oppenheim, David 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ramirez, AJ 1 ; Rios, Frankie 1 ; Carrillo, Adalberto 2 ; Paulson, Dillon 1
SB: Dempster, Corey 1
CS: Martinez, Jeremy 1
HBP: Oppenheim, David 1
PO: Rios, Frankie 1
Batting:
2B: Bennett, Jake 1 ; Moniot, Travis 1
RBI: Kasser, Kyle 2 ; Balta, A.J. 1 ; Goldfarb, Jakob 1 ; Bennett, Jake 2 ; Packard, Steven 1
SF: Bennett, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Grebeck, Austin 3 ; Kasser, Kyle 2 ; Heggen, Slade 1 ; Breshears, Carson 1 ; Moniot, Travis 1
CS: Bennett, Jake 1 ; Catalano, Nick 1
HBP: Grebeck, Austin 2
PO: Grebeck, Austin 1
