Freshman Smith gives Ducks walk-off win

Friday, February 22

Eugene, Ore.

3:00 PM

University of Oregon

2-2

Saint Mary's

4-1

Saint Mary's

Oregon

Photo by: Eric Evans Photo

02/22/19 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score: Oregon 3, Saint Mary's 2

EUGENE, Ore. – Freshman Tanner Smith drove in Jakob Goldfarb with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Oregon a 3-2 win over Saint Mary's in game one of a four-game series at PK Park on Friday.

How it Happened: Goldfarb led off the inning with an infield hit and moved to third on a base hit to right field by freshman Aaron Zavala.

After an intentional walk to Taylor Adams loaded the bases, Saint Mary's (4-1) moved their right fielder into the infield to give the team five players in the infield and two in the outfield.

Smith responded lifting a fly ball to right field that center fielder Jacob Talamante caught racing toward the right-field fence. Goldfarb tagged and scored easily giving the Ducks (2-2) the win.

Goldfarb, who went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-run RBI single that scored freshman Sam Novitzke and sophomore Jonny DeLuca.

Novitske reached on a base on balls to start the inning before DeLuca and Spencer Steer were both hit by pitches to load the bases.

Saint Mary's tied the game in the top of the ninth. After getting a leadoff fly out, Christian Ciuffetelli walked the next two hitters he faced. Nico Tellache came in relief and walked the next hitter to load the bases. Pinch hitter Marc Goulart hit a high chopper to freshman second baseman Max Foxcroft, whose only play was to first allowing pinch runner Talamante to score and tie the game.

Pitcher's Duel: The two starters dominated the early innings keeping runs off the board. Oregon junior Cole Stringer allowed just one run on three hits in six innings of work, while fanning six and walking just two.

He battled SMC starter Ken Waldichuk, who was a first-team West Coast Conference and second-team All-American in 2018, leaving with a 2-1 lead. Waldichuk left after five-plus innings with the bases loaded. He was charged with two of Oregon's runs while allowing three hits and striking out eight. He walked two batters and hit three others.

Brett Walker gave Oregon two key scoreless innings of relief. The sophomore right-hander didn't allow a hit while striking out one.

Quotable: Junior right-handed pitcher Cole Stringer
"My fastball command was good, and my changeup kept them off balance. I just wanted to save the bullpen for later on in the series so my mentality was to continue to throw strikes."

Duck Notes: The win was Oregon's 350th since baseball returned in 2009 ... It was Oregon's first walk-off win since beating USC on April 29, 2018 on a Ray Soderman RBI double … Spencer Steer was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning marking the 26th time he has been hit by a pitch in his career … That ranks fourth all-time at Oregon … Stringer's six innings pitched was his longest stint since May 21, 2017 when he threw six innings in a win at USC … His six Ks were the most he has had since fanning a career-high eight Fresno State hitters on Feb. 19, 2017 … Goldfarb has recorded three hits in both of his games played this season … Novitske reached base twice on walks … He has reached base multiple times in all four Oregon games while batting leadoff and has a .500 on-base percentage … Oregon held Saint Mary's batters to 1-for-10 with runners on base and 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position … Oregon finished with just six hits after collecting 42 in three games at Texas Tech.

On Deck: Oregon and Saint Mary's will play a doubleheader Saturday with the first game starting at 1 p.m. Junior right-hander Ryne Nelson will face Kevin Milam in the first game, while sophomore righty Cullen Kafka will battle Carlos Lomelli in the nightcap. The second game will start 45 minutes after the first game ends.