University of Oregon
20-12, 6-4
Washington State
7-24, 0-10
Bats Stay Hot For Ducks
04/12/19 | Baseball
The Oregon baseball team continued to put up numbers offensively, scoring 11 in the sixth Friday for a 21-3 victory at Washington State.
The UO baseball team (20-12) set two program records with 11 runs and eight hits in the sixth inning Friday, helping the Ducks to a 21-3 victory over the Cougars at Bailey-Brayton Field. Oregon has wins in four straight and eight of its last 10, and scored its most runs in a three-game stretch since 2009, 41 — including 12 in Tuesday's win at No. 7 Oregon State.
How It Happened: The first five hitters to come to the plate came around to score, with Gabe Matthews making it 1-0 on a bases loaded walk and Jonny DeLuca following with a two-run double. The Cougars (7-24) brought their own leadoff man home in the bottom of the first, but that was the only run allowed over five innings by UO starter Robert Ahlstrom (5-4).
Max Foxcroft also walked with the bases loaded in the third, kicking off a four-run inning capped by Spencer Steer's two-run single. DeLuca tripled and scored in the fourth, giving Oregon a 10-1 lead.
The Ducks would more than double that advantage in the record-setting sixth. Tanner Smith had a two-run triple in the inning, DeLuca capped his night with an RBI double before being lifted for a pinch runner, and Sam Novitske singled twice in the inning, driving in three runs in the process. UO coach George Horton substituted liberally as the inning wore on, with A.J. Miller coming off the bench and driving in a run with his first career hit.
Quotable:
UO coach George Horton
"Guys more and more are buying in, and they're seeing the result. It was our night."
Beyond The Box Score: Oregon's all-time record for margin of victory is 20, against Sacramento State in 1979. … All nine members of the UO starting lineup scored at least once, and eight of the nine drove in at least one run. … The Ducks had scored 10 runs in an inning three times, most recently against Seattle on Feb. 27, 2018. … The last time Oregon scored at least 20 runs in a game was against New Mexico State on Feb. 21, 2015. The program record for a single game is 23 runs, against Portland State on May 6, 1974. … Freshman Aaron Zavala established a career high with four hits, and DeLuca tied his career high with three hits. Novitske's four RBIs were a career high, as were Foxcroft's three RBIs.
On Deck: The series continues Saturday at 12:05 p.m., with Oregon's Cullen Kafka (3-2, 4.57) scheduled to face WSU left-hander A.J. Block (0-4, 5.50). The game originally scheduled for 2:05 p.m. was moved up because of expected poor weather in the afternoon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ahlstrom, Robert (5-4)
L: White, Brandon (2-5)
Batting:
2B: Smith, Tanner 1 ; DeLuca, Jonny 2
3B: Smith, Tanner 1 ; DeLuca, Jonny 1
RBI: Novitske, Sam 4 ; Smith, Tanner 2 ; Steer, Spencer 2 ; Froemke, Kyle 1 ; Matthews, Gabe 1 ; DeLuca, Jonny 3 ; Williams, Evan 1 ; Zavala, Aaron 1 ; Miller, A.J. 1 ; Foxcroft, Max 3
SH: Smith, Tanner 1
SF: Williams, Evan 1 ; Foxcroft, Max 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Novitske, Sam 3 ; Smith, Tanner 2 ; Steer, Spencer 2 ; Matthews, Gabe 2 ; DeLuca, Jonny 2 ; Adams, Taylor 1 ; Williams, Evan 2 ; Zavala, Aaron 2 ; Miller, A.J. 1 ; Campbell, Cameron 1 ; Foxcroft, Max 3
SB: Steer, Spencer 1
HBP: Tosti, Vinny 1 ; Adams, Taylor 1 ; Williams, Evan 1 ; Campbell, Cameron 1
Batting:
2B: Polinsky, Bradley 1
RBI: Blunt, Koby 1 ; Notaro, Anthony 1 ; Barnum, Brody 1
SH: Alvarez, Andres 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Plew, Dillon 1 ; Sinatro, Danny 1 ; Polinsky, Bradley 1
SB: Montez, Collin 1
HBP: Polinsky, Bradley 1
