Friday, March 9
Eugene, Ore.
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
9-3
5
vs
4
UC Davis
3-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UC Davis
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
4
12
1
Oregon
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
X
5
11
1
Photo by: Deborah Mundorff
DOMINANT BULLPEN CARRIES DUCKS TO VICTORY
03/09/18 | Baseball
Eugene, Ore. - Oregon took advantage of a UC Davis error in the bottom of the seventh to score a go-ahead run, and a dominant relief performance by junior right-handed pitcher Parker Kelly preserved a 5-4 Ducks win at PK Park Friday evening.
Kelly was overpowering in relief and improved to 4-0 with the victory, striking out seven hitters in three innings of work. Oregon scored the go-ahead run that turned out to be the eventual game-winner on an error in the bottom of the seventh, and the Ducks struck out a season-best 17 hitters on the evening, including a career-high nine from starter Matt Mercer.
Oregon head coach George Horton praised the efforts of the bullpen, including the dominant, three-inning effort from Kelly.
"I think our bridge guy, Jesse Hobaica, who we haven't used a whole lot, came in in a tough spot and did the job, and good for him," said Horton. "Because Kenyon (Yovan) wasn't available tonight, we asked Parker to do some extra work and he did it. In the past, his second inning has been worrisome for us. He went three with that dominant stuff tonight, and I'm not sure you can do it any better than that. He's been awfully good for us early in the season."
After extending his team lead in victories, Kelly preserved the Ducks bullpen with the team playing three games over the next two days.
"I just tried to go and do my job and put up zeroes for us," said Kelly. "We're going to have a doubleheader tomorrow, but we've got plenty of arms, and I think we're ready to go.
"We talk about dominating the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, and that's what we're doing."
The win was the seventh in the last eight games for Oregon (10-3), who took the series opener from the Aggies (3-7) after the rain washed out the scheduled series opener on Thursday.
How it Happened: Kelly entered in relief of the lefty Hobaica in the seventh after a leadoff single and proceeded to strike out Aggies left fielder Alex Aguilar. After a great diving play by Oregon third baseman Spencer Steer retired Logan Denholm for the first time in the game, Kelly fanned Tanner Murray to end the threat in the seventh.
The Ducks took the lead in the bottom of the seventh. After a one-out double by Steer, the throw from Murray on a grounder by Oregon first baseman Gabe Matthews was mishandled by Aggie pitcher Daniel Baraja, allowing Steer to score from second.
Kelly proceeded to strike out five hitters in the last two innings of work, allowing only a two-out single to UC Davis designated hitter Ryan Anderson in the ninth.
Kyle Kasser was 3-for-4 in the victory, scoring twice and driving in another run. Kasser has six hits in his last 11 at-bats (.545) over a three-game span. A trio of Ducks contributed two hits: Jonny DeLuca, Jakob Goldfarb, and Ryne Nelson.
Aggie shortstop Brad Pluschkell led off the game with a double to right-center, advancing to third on an error. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Caleb Van Blake to give UC Davis a 1-0 advantage early. Oregon would even the score quickly in the bottom of the frame, with Kasser reaching on a leadoff double down the left-field line and scoring on an RBI single from DeLuca.
Logan Denholm homered for UC Davis to start the second, and after allowing a walk and single to the next two hitters, respectively, Mercer struck out the side to escape trouble. The Ducks tied the score in the second on a Ray Soderman RBI groundout. Denholm struck again in the third, with his RBI single plating Anderson, allowing the Aggies to regain the lead.
Goldfarb's hot hitting continued with an RBI single in the bottom of the third to tie the game, and he is now tied for the team lead in RBI with 12.
Mercer exited the game in the top of the sixth with two outs, with senior lefty Hobaica striking out Anderson to end the threat in the sixth. The Ducks stranded a runner on third in the sixth before plating the game-winner one inning later.
Duck Notes: Kelly's seven K's gives him 17 strikeouts in 11 innings of work this season … Mercer has recorded 23 strikeouts in 24 innings on the mound this season ... Kasser has consecutive multi-hit games … The top three hitters in the Ducks lineup (Kasser, DeLuca, Steer) finished 6-for-12 with two RBIs and three runs scored in the win … Oregon pitchers limited UC Davis to a 2-for-12 night (.167) with runners in scoring position … Nelson reached base in three of four plate appearances.
On deck: The Ducks play a doubleheader against UC Davis on Saturday at PK Park, with game one slated for 2:00 p.m.
Kelly was overpowering in relief and improved to 4-0 with the victory, striking out seven hitters in three innings of work. Oregon scored the go-ahead run that turned out to be the eventual game-winner on an error in the bottom of the seventh, and the Ducks struck out a season-best 17 hitters on the evening, including a career-high nine from starter Matt Mercer.
Oregon head coach George Horton praised the efforts of the bullpen, including the dominant, three-inning effort from Kelly.
"I think our bridge guy, Jesse Hobaica, who we haven't used a whole lot, came in in a tough spot and did the job, and good for him," said Horton. "Because Kenyon (Yovan) wasn't available tonight, we asked Parker to do some extra work and he did it. In the past, his second inning has been worrisome for us. He went three with that dominant stuff tonight, and I'm not sure you can do it any better than that. He's been awfully good for us early in the season."
After extending his team lead in victories, Kelly preserved the Ducks bullpen with the team playing three games over the next two days.
"I just tried to go and do my job and put up zeroes for us," said Kelly. "We're going to have a doubleheader tomorrow, but we've got plenty of arms, and I think we're ready to go.
"We talk about dominating the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, and that's what we're doing."
The win was the seventh in the last eight games for Oregon (10-3), who took the series opener from the Aggies (3-7) after the rain washed out the scheduled series opener on Thursday.
How it Happened: Kelly entered in relief of the lefty Hobaica in the seventh after a leadoff single and proceeded to strike out Aggies left fielder Alex Aguilar. After a great diving play by Oregon third baseman Spencer Steer retired Logan Denholm for the first time in the game, Kelly fanned Tanner Murray to end the threat in the seventh.
The Ducks took the lead in the bottom of the seventh. After a one-out double by Steer, the throw from Murray on a grounder by Oregon first baseman Gabe Matthews was mishandled by Aggie pitcher Daniel Baraja, allowing Steer to score from second.
Kelly proceeded to strike out five hitters in the last two innings of work, allowing only a two-out single to UC Davis designated hitter Ryan Anderson in the ninth.
Kyle Kasser was 3-for-4 in the victory, scoring twice and driving in another run. Kasser has six hits in his last 11 at-bats (.545) over a three-game span. A trio of Ducks contributed two hits: Jonny DeLuca, Jakob Goldfarb, and Ryne Nelson.
Aggie shortstop Brad Pluschkell led off the game with a double to right-center, advancing to third on an error. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Caleb Van Blake to give UC Davis a 1-0 advantage early. Oregon would even the score quickly in the bottom of the frame, with Kasser reaching on a leadoff double down the left-field line and scoring on an RBI single from DeLuca.
Logan Denholm homered for UC Davis to start the second, and after allowing a walk and single to the next two hitters, respectively, Mercer struck out the side to escape trouble. The Ducks tied the score in the second on a Ray Soderman RBI groundout. Denholm struck again in the third, with his RBI single plating Anderson, allowing the Aggies to regain the lead.
Goldfarb's hot hitting continued with an RBI single in the bottom of the third to tie the game, and he is now tied for the team lead in RBI with 12.
Mercer exited the game in the top of the sixth with two outs, with senior lefty Hobaica striking out Anderson to end the threat in the sixth. The Ducks stranded a runner on third in the sixth before plating the game-winner one inning later.
Duck Notes: Kelly's seven K's gives him 17 strikeouts in 11 innings of work this season … Mercer has recorded 23 strikeouts in 24 innings on the mound this season ... Kasser has consecutive multi-hit games … The top three hitters in the Ducks lineup (Kasser, DeLuca, Steer) finished 6-for-12 with two RBIs and three runs scored in the win … Oregon pitchers limited UC Davis to a 2-for-12 night (.167) with runners in scoring position … Nelson reached base in three of four plate appearances.
On deck: The Ducks play a doubleheader against UC Davis on Saturday at PK Park, with game one slated for 2:00 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kelly, Parker (4-0)
L: Barraza, Daniel (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Pluschkell, Brad 2 ; Aguiar, Alex 1
HR: Denholm, Logan 1
RBI: Van Blake, Caleb 1 ; Hooper, Ryan 1 ; Denholm, Logan 2
SF: Van Blake, Caleb 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pluschkell, Brad 1 ; Anderson, Ryan 1 ; Aguiar, Alex 1 ; Denholm, Logan 1
Batting:
2B: Kasser, Kyle 1 ; Steer, Spencer 1
3B: Goldfarb, Jakob 1
RBI: Kasser, Kyle 1 ; DeLuca, Jonny 1 ; Goldfarb, Jakob 1 ; Soderman, Ray 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kasser, Kyle 2 ; Steer, Spencer 1 ; Goldfarb, Jakob 1 ; Nelson, Ryne 1
SB: Nelson, Ryne 1
PO: Steer, Spencer 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
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LHP
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RHP/INF
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RHP
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INF
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