Saturday, March 10
Eugene, Ore.
2:00 PM
University of Oregon
10-3
4
vs
1
UC Davis
3-8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UC Davis
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
Oregon
0
0
2
0
0
1
1
0
X
4
7
0
Photo by: Deborah Mundorff
STARTING PITCHING, GOLDFARB, NELSON LEAD DUCKS TO SWEEP OF AGGIES
03/10/18 | Baseball
Eugene, Ore. – Oregon starting pitchers combined to allow only one run and four hits in 12 innings of work, and Jakob Goldfarb's hot hitting led the offense as the Ducks swept a doubleheader from UC Davis Saturday afternoon. The Ducks recorded a 4-1 win in game one over the Aggies, taking the nightcap in a 7-2 decision.
The sweep extended the Oregon winning streak to five and marked the ninth victory for the Ducks in the last 10 games.
In game one, Oregon defeated UC Davis, 4-1. Sophomore right-handed pitcher James Acuna was outstanding in his fourth start of the season, allowing only two hits and one run in seven innings of work while striking out one. He earned the victory to improve to 2-0 on the season while lowering his ERA to 2.29.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Kenyon Yovan earned his fourth save of the season with two scoreless innings, striking out four.
Despite his dominant pitching line, Acuna was quick to deflect any credit for his performance to the defense.
"My defense has really bailed me out on a lot of things," said Acuna. "The fastball command today wasn't really there. The off speed wasn't there. I ended up working myself out of a lot of situations.
When asked if the outing was more difficult without a high volume of strikeouts, Acuna continued to cite his defense as the primary reason for his success.
"When you have a defense that I have behind me, it makes it a lot more simple. I have a lot of trust in them, and it makes it a lot easier."
In the nightcap, freshman lefty Kolby Somers was excellent in his first career start and faced the minimum through five scoreless innings, striking out four while allowing two hits and no walks. The effort by Somers was praised by Horton, who said the lefty looked anything but a rookie.
"It didn't look like his first college start," said Oregon head coach George Horton. "He got through five innings and looked like he was in total command."
Goldfarb went 4-for-6 in the doubleheader with two doubles, three runs scored and an RBI. Ryne Nelson was 3-for-4 in game two with two RBI and went 4-for-7 in the twinbill, also pitching two scoreless innings and striking out five to earn his second save of the season.
The hot streak for Goldfarb continues a season in which the redshirt junior is hitting at a .385 clip, including a four-game stretch reaching base in 10 of 16 plate appearances while going 7-for-13 (.538).
"I'm just trying to see the ball and keep my approach simple, staying up the middle of the field and keeping my swing in line," said Goldfarb. "Right now it's going well."
The Oregon bullpen extended their consecutive scoreless innings streak to 9.1 innings before UC Davis scored twice in the top of the eighth in Game Two.
After playing 16 innings of the doubleheader at shortstop, Nelson was summoned to close out game two on the mound. While the transition may seem unusual, Nelson indicated he had ample warmup time and was ready to go when called upon while also discussing the enjoyment involved in a doubleheader sweep.
"It's a lot of fun to play two games of baseball with two wins. There's not much more you can ask for, and it was as lot of fun out there," said Nelson. "In the seventh, he sent me down and I got probably about 16 warmup pitches, and I knew I had eight more out there. I was loose."
When asked about the decision to use Nelson, Horton indicated that because of the usage of Parker Kelly Friday night and Yovan in game one of today's series, both for multiple innings, that the sophomore from Henderson, Nevada who started both games of the doubleheader at shortstop would be his option at closer.
"We had used Parker, and we didn't want to use him. And we used Kenyon for two innings, and he said he was good to go, but we didn't want to use him. It became apparent to finish the game if it were close, that Nellie was going to be our guy, so Coach (Jason) Dietrich had him warming up the inning before."
Horton also described Nelson as a player with an incredibly high ceiling who is a likely future big leaguer on the mound rather than as a shortstop.
"He's (Nelson) going to be a Major League pitcher someday, so the last thing we want to do is hurt him," said Horton.
How it Happened: In game one, Acuna was dominant in the victory and set the tone on a day that would see the Ducks' hurlers shut down the Aggies offense.
UC Davis started the scoring in the top of third, with Tanner Murray hitting a leadoff double, advancing to third on a wild pitch, and scoring on a fielder's choice by Matt Smith. Oregon scored twice in the bottom of the frame, with Kyle Kasser's RBI single scoring Ryne Nelson to even the score. The next hitter, Jonny DeLuca, hit a sacrifice fly to score Evan Williams, giving the Ducks a lead they would not relinquish.
The Ducks would score single runs in the sixth on an RBI single by David Patzlaff and in the seventh when Spencer Steer scored on a wild pitch.
Kasser went 2-for-3 and recorded his third consecutive multi-hit game and was hitting .571 (8-for-14) during his last four-game stretch through game one.
Game Two: Freshman lefty Somers did not allow a UC Davis runner beyond first base in his five innings of work, while catcher Braden Stutzman aided by throwing out two Aggie runners, one to end the second and another to end the fourth.
No UC Davis runner would reach second base until the seventh inning, as Aggie center fielder Alex Aguiar would walk with no outs and advance to second on a wild pitch. Oregon reliever Hunter Breault, in his second inning of work, retired the next two hitters, with left-handed pitcher Nico Tellache entering from the bullpen for a one-pitch out to end the frame.
The scoring began in the second inning, when DeLuca hit a one-out double and subsequently scored on an two-out, two-strike RBI single by Gabe Matthews. Goldfarb would then double to move Matthews, but both runners were stranded.
UC Davis right-handed pitcher Blake Hannah retired seven in a row before Goldfarb hit a one-out double in the fourth, advancing to third on an error by the UC Davis left fielder. Nelson's RBI single plated Goldfarb and extended the Oregon lead to 2-0. Goldfarb singled to lead off the sixth for this third hit of the game, marking the eighth time in his last 11 plate appearances he had reached base. He would score on a sacrifice fly by designated hitter Taylor Travess, and a squeeze bunt by Stutzman scored Nelson to extend the Oregon lead to 4-0 through six.
Breault pitched 1.2 consecutive scoreless innings, and the Oregon bullpen extended its consecutive innings streak to 9.1 before a two-run double by Aggie pinch-hitter Guillermo Salazar off reliever Nelson to narrow the lead to 4-2. Nelson proceeded to strike out the next three hitters to end the threat.
Oregon broke the game open in the bottom of the eighth, beginning with Nelson's RBI double to right-center in the eighth that scored Matthews. Later in the inning, Williams hit a two-run double also to right-center that extended the Oregon lead to five.
Nelson would subsequently pitch a scoreless ninth to preserve the victory and earn his second save of the season. In two scoreless innings, Nelson struck out five Aggie hitters.
Duck Notes: Oregon starters pitched 12 scoreless innings in the doubleheader, allowing four hits and one walk … Goldfarb had reached base eight times in 11 plate appearances before an eighth-inning flyout … Kyle Kasser had hits in each game to extend his hitting streak to five games ... Breault has now pitched 7.2 consecutive scoreless innings to start his college career … Oregon pitchers have struck out 32 hitters so far in the series.
On Deck: The Ducks host UC Davis in the series finale on Sunday at PK Park, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
The sweep extended the Oregon winning streak to five and marked the ninth victory for the Ducks in the last 10 games.
In game one, Oregon defeated UC Davis, 4-1. Sophomore right-handed pitcher James Acuna was outstanding in his fourth start of the season, allowing only two hits and one run in seven innings of work while striking out one. He earned the victory to improve to 2-0 on the season while lowering his ERA to 2.29.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Kenyon Yovan earned his fourth save of the season with two scoreless innings, striking out four.
Despite his dominant pitching line, Acuna was quick to deflect any credit for his performance to the defense.
"My defense has really bailed me out on a lot of things," said Acuna. "The fastball command today wasn't really there. The off speed wasn't there. I ended up working myself out of a lot of situations.
When asked if the outing was more difficult without a high volume of strikeouts, Acuna continued to cite his defense as the primary reason for his success.
"When you have a defense that I have behind me, it makes it a lot more simple. I have a lot of trust in them, and it makes it a lot easier."
In the nightcap, freshman lefty Kolby Somers was excellent in his first career start and faced the minimum through five scoreless innings, striking out four while allowing two hits and no walks. The effort by Somers was praised by Horton, who said the lefty looked anything but a rookie.
"It didn't look like his first college start," said Oregon head coach George Horton. "He got through five innings and looked like he was in total command."
Goldfarb went 4-for-6 in the doubleheader with two doubles, three runs scored and an RBI. Ryne Nelson was 3-for-4 in game two with two RBI and went 4-for-7 in the twinbill, also pitching two scoreless innings and striking out five to earn his second save of the season.
The hot streak for Goldfarb continues a season in which the redshirt junior is hitting at a .385 clip, including a four-game stretch reaching base in 10 of 16 plate appearances while going 7-for-13 (.538).
"I'm just trying to see the ball and keep my approach simple, staying up the middle of the field and keeping my swing in line," said Goldfarb. "Right now it's going well."
The Oregon bullpen extended their consecutive scoreless innings streak to 9.1 innings before UC Davis scored twice in the top of the eighth in Game Two.
After playing 16 innings of the doubleheader at shortstop, Nelson was summoned to close out game two on the mound. While the transition may seem unusual, Nelson indicated he had ample warmup time and was ready to go when called upon while also discussing the enjoyment involved in a doubleheader sweep.
"It's a lot of fun to play two games of baseball with two wins. There's not much more you can ask for, and it was as lot of fun out there," said Nelson. "In the seventh, he sent me down and I got probably about 16 warmup pitches, and I knew I had eight more out there. I was loose."
When asked about the decision to use Nelson, Horton indicated that because of the usage of Parker Kelly Friday night and Yovan in game one of today's series, both for multiple innings, that the sophomore from Henderson, Nevada who started both games of the doubleheader at shortstop would be his option at closer.
"We had used Parker, and we didn't want to use him. And we used Kenyon for two innings, and he said he was good to go, but we didn't want to use him. It became apparent to finish the game if it were close, that Nellie was going to be our guy, so Coach (Jason) Dietrich had him warming up the inning before."
Horton also described Nelson as a player with an incredibly high ceiling who is a likely future big leaguer on the mound rather than as a shortstop.
"He's (Nelson) going to be a Major League pitcher someday, so the last thing we want to do is hurt him," said Horton.
How it Happened: In game one, Acuna was dominant in the victory and set the tone on a day that would see the Ducks' hurlers shut down the Aggies offense.
UC Davis started the scoring in the top of third, with Tanner Murray hitting a leadoff double, advancing to third on a wild pitch, and scoring on a fielder's choice by Matt Smith. Oregon scored twice in the bottom of the frame, with Kyle Kasser's RBI single scoring Ryne Nelson to even the score. The next hitter, Jonny DeLuca, hit a sacrifice fly to score Evan Williams, giving the Ducks a lead they would not relinquish.
The Ducks would score single runs in the sixth on an RBI single by David Patzlaff and in the seventh when Spencer Steer scored on a wild pitch.
Kasser went 2-for-3 and recorded his third consecutive multi-hit game and was hitting .571 (8-for-14) during his last four-game stretch through game one.
Game Two: Freshman lefty Somers did not allow a UC Davis runner beyond first base in his five innings of work, while catcher Braden Stutzman aided by throwing out two Aggie runners, one to end the second and another to end the fourth.
No UC Davis runner would reach second base until the seventh inning, as Aggie center fielder Alex Aguiar would walk with no outs and advance to second on a wild pitch. Oregon reliever Hunter Breault, in his second inning of work, retired the next two hitters, with left-handed pitcher Nico Tellache entering from the bullpen for a one-pitch out to end the frame.
The scoring began in the second inning, when DeLuca hit a one-out double and subsequently scored on an two-out, two-strike RBI single by Gabe Matthews. Goldfarb would then double to move Matthews, but both runners were stranded.
UC Davis right-handed pitcher Blake Hannah retired seven in a row before Goldfarb hit a one-out double in the fourth, advancing to third on an error by the UC Davis left fielder. Nelson's RBI single plated Goldfarb and extended the Oregon lead to 2-0. Goldfarb singled to lead off the sixth for this third hit of the game, marking the eighth time in his last 11 plate appearances he had reached base. He would score on a sacrifice fly by designated hitter Taylor Travess, and a squeeze bunt by Stutzman scored Nelson to extend the Oregon lead to 4-0 through six.
Breault pitched 1.2 consecutive scoreless innings, and the Oregon bullpen extended its consecutive innings streak to 9.1 before a two-run double by Aggie pinch-hitter Guillermo Salazar off reliever Nelson to narrow the lead to 4-2. Nelson proceeded to strike out the next three hitters to end the threat.
Oregon broke the game open in the bottom of the eighth, beginning with Nelson's RBI double to right-center in the eighth that scored Matthews. Later in the inning, Williams hit a two-run double also to right-center that extended the Oregon lead to five.
Nelson would subsequently pitch a scoreless ninth to preserve the victory and earn his second save of the season. In two scoreless innings, Nelson struck out five Aggie hitters.
Duck Notes: Oregon starters pitched 12 scoreless innings in the doubleheader, allowing four hits and one walk … Goldfarb had reached base eight times in 11 plate appearances before an eighth-inning flyout … Kyle Kasser had hits in each game to extend his hitting streak to five games ... Breault has now pitched 7.2 consecutive scoreless innings to start his college career … Oregon pitchers have struck out 32 hitters so far in the series.
On Deck: The Ducks host UC Davis in the series finale on Sunday at PK Park, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Acuna, James (2-0)
L: Brown, Chris (1-2)
S: Yovan, Kenyon (4)
Batting:
2B: Murray, Tanner 1
RBI: Smith, Matt 1
SH: Ouellette, Steve 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Murray, Tanner 1
CS: Hooper, Ryan 1
HBP: Pluschkell, Brad 1 ; Hooper, Ryan 1 ; Denholm, Logan 1 ; Murray, Tanner 1
PO: Smith, Matt 1
Batting:
2B: Kasser, Kyle 1
RBI: Kasser, Kyle 1 ; DeLuca, Jonny 1 ; Patzlaff, Daniel 1
SF: DeLuca, Jonny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Steer, Spencer 1 ; Goldfarb, Jakob 1 ; Nelson, Ryne 1 ; Williams, Evan 1
SB: Kasser, Kyle 1 ; Matthews, Gabe 1 ; Goldfarb, Jakob 1 ; Nelson, Ryne 1
HBP: Kasser, Kyle 1 ; Nelson, Ryne 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
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0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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