University of Oregon
21-12, 7-4
Washington State
7-25, 0-11
Ducks Light Up Scoreboard Again
04/13/19 | Baseball
The Oregon baseball team beat Washington State on the road Saturday, 11-8, scoring double-digit runs for the third game in a row.
The Ducks (21-12) scored at least 10 runs for the third straight game, their longest streak since February 2012. Spencer Steer extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a sixth-inning grand slam, Oregon's third home run of the game as the Ducks built an 8-0 lead before WSU got on the board.
How It Happened: Oregon wasn't as opportunistic in the early going one day after winning 21-3, stranding three runners over two scoreless innings to open Saturday's matinee. But Tanner Smith's second home run of the season opened the scoring in the third inning, and the Ducks capitalized on three WSU errors in the fourth to go up 3-0.
Steer flew out with the bases loaded to end that inning, but he came through in the sixth. One inning after Evan Williams made it 4-0 with a solo homer (above), Steer doubled Oregon's lead with a grand slam to right-center field.
Despite rainy conditions, Kafka (4-2) was cruising to that point. The Cougars broke through for two runs in his final inning of work, the bottom of the sixth, but Oregon answered in kind on a two-run single by Novitske in the top of the seventh for a 10-2 lead.
WSU batted around in the eighth inning, with Ryne Nelson entering and allowing a two-run double before a strikeout ended the six-run rally. Nelson then pitched the ninth to record his third save of the season.
Oregon got an insurance run in the ninth on an RBI double by Max Foxcroft. With that, all nine members of the UO starting lineup had at least one hit Saturday. That brought Cameron Campbell home with his fourth run of the day, double his previous career high.
Beyond The Box Score: The Ducks have won nine of their last 11. … Novitske is 7-for-12 with four runs and six RBIs in the series through two games. … Kafka (above) won his second straight start, and is unbeaten in his last four appearances. … Steer's grand slam gave him 27 RBIs on the season, moving him past Gabe Matthews for the team lead. … Keaton Chase made his team-leading 18th appearance in the eighth, entering with the bases loaded and nobody out. He struck out the next batter before allowing a double that cleared the bases ... Oregon had 10-or-more hits for the fifth straight game, the first time that has happened since 2011.
Up Next: The Ducks and Cougars wrap up their series on Sunday at 12:05 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kafka, Cullen (4-2)
L: Block, A.J. (0-5)
S: Nelson, Ryne (3)
Batting:
2B: DeLuca, Jonny 1 ; Zavala, Aaron 1 ; Foxcroft, Max 1
HR: Smith, Tanner 1 ; Steer, Spencer 1 ; Williams, Evan 1
RBI: Novitske, Sam 2 ; Smith, Tanner 1 ; Steer, Spencer 4 ; Williams, Evan 1 ; Foxcroft, Max 1
SH: Foxcroft, Max 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Novitske, Sam 1 ; Smith, Tanner 2 ; Steer, Spencer 1 ; Williams, Evan 2 ; Zavala, Aaron 1 ; Campbell, Cameron 4
SB: Novitske, Sam 1
CS: DeLuca, Jonny 1 ; Foxcroft, Max 1
HBP: Campbell, Cameron 1
Batting:
2B: Plew, Dillon 1 ; Montez, Collin 1 ; Manzardo, Kyle 1
RBI: Plew, Dillon 2 ; Montez, Collin 1 ; Manzardo, Kyle 4 ; Blunt, Koby 1
SH: Sinatro, Danny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sinatro, Danny 2 ; Alvarez, Andres 1 ; Montez, Collin 2 ; Manzardo, Kyle 1 ; Gouldsmith, Garrett 1 ; Blunt, Koby 1
CS: Sinatro, Danny 1
HBP: Smith, Jack 1
