Sunday, May 12
Eugene, Ore.
12:00 PM
University of Oregon
25-24, 9-15
3
vs
2
Oregon State
33-15-1, 19-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Oregon State
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
2
12
0
Oregon
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
X
3
8
0
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Nelson Pitches Ducks Past OSU
05/12/19 | Baseball
Ryne Nelson entered in the third and went the rest of the way Sunday, striking out 12 in a 3-2 win over Oregon State.
EUGENE, Ore. — On the day one Oregon baseball alum made his Major League Baseball debut, another potential future pro had a career outing for the Ducks on Sunday.
Junior reliever Ryne Nelson took the ball in the third inning against No. 12 Oregon State and went the rest of the way, striking out a career-high 12 as the UO baseball team beat the Beavers, 3-2 before 3,531 in PK Park. Nelson's outing came on the same day former UO pitcher Cole Irvin made his MLB debut, throwing seven innings to earn a win for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Projected as a potential first-round pick himself, Nelson struck out the possible No. 1 overall pick, OSU catcher Adley Rutschman, twice to end innings Sunday. There was no bigger moment than in the top of the eighth, when Nelson walked a batter to load the bases, but then got Rutschman on a check swing to end the inning.
"It was their guy versus our guy, big on big," UO junior third baseman Spencer Steer said. "And that was going to decide the ballgame. So that was really cool. And I had 100 percent confidence."
How It Happened: the Ducks (25-24, 9-15 Pac-12) jumped out to a lead for the first time in the series, when Steer doubled in Tanner Smith from first base in the bottom of the first inning. Jonny DeLuca followed with an RBI single to plate Steer, and it was 2-0.
DeLuca came through again in the second when the Beavers tried to pitch around the white-hot Steer. With Smith at second and a base open with two out, OSU pitched around Steer and DeLuca made them pay, driving in Smith with another base hit for a 3-0 lead.
Things got heated in the top of the fifth, when OSU's dugout asked umpires to check a dark spot on the brim of Nelson's cap for a possible illegal substance. It proved to be dirt, and an adrenalized Nelson struck out the side, including Rutschman to end the inning.
Oregon State used a walk and two hits to push across a run in the sixth, but Nelson stranded two runners with another strikeout. The game nearly got away from him in the eighth, which Alex McGarry led off with a home run to make it 3-2. A single and two walks loaded the bases for Rutschman, but he struck out to end the threat.
In the ninth, the Beavers (33-15-1, 19-5 Pac-12) put two more runners on with two out. But Nelson ended the game with a strikeout of Jake Dukart, who had drive in OSU's first run of the game.
Nelson Brings The Fire: With Oregon's pitching staff taxed entering the final game of the weekend, coaches sent a text message to Nelson Saturday night telling him they planned to go to him early in Sunday's game and ride him as long as they could. He answered the call.
"He's got some of the best stuff in the country," Steer said. "So when we have a lead and we have Nelly on the mound, we have nothing but confidence in him that he's going to get the win."
Nelson had taken the loss in his previous three outings, but he buckled down Sunday.
"This is definitely pretty big for my confidence, for sure," Nelson said. "I mean, three pretty rough outings that didn't go my way. But the Arizona outing I had my stuff back, and I just knew I had to get back out there and really give it everything I had."
Up Next: The Ducks host Gonzaga in a nonconference game Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Junior reliever Ryne Nelson took the ball in the third inning against No. 12 Oregon State and went the rest of the way, striking out a career-high 12 as the UO baseball team beat the Beavers, 3-2 before 3,531 in PK Park. Nelson's outing came on the same day former UO pitcher Cole Irvin made his MLB debut, throwing seven innings to earn a win for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Projected as a potential first-round pick himself, Nelson struck out the possible No. 1 overall pick, OSU catcher Adley Rutschman, twice to end innings Sunday. There was no bigger moment than in the top of the eighth, when Nelson walked a batter to load the bases, but then got Rutschman on a check swing to end the inning.
"It was their guy versus our guy, big on big," UO junior third baseman Spencer Steer said. "And that was going to decide the ballgame. So that was really cool. And I had 100 percent confidence."
Highlights from our win in the Civil War series finale. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/XFT4p6pVPC
— Oregon Duck Baseball (@OregonBaseball) May 12, 2019
How It Happened: the Ducks (25-24, 9-15 Pac-12) jumped out to a lead for the first time in the series, when Steer doubled in Tanner Smith from first base in the bottom of the first inning. Jonny DeLuca followed with an RBI single to plate Steer, and it was 2-0.
DeLuca came through again in the second when the Beavers tried to pitch around the white-hot Steer. With Smith at second and a base open with two out, OSU pitched around Steer and DeLuca made them pay, driving in Smith with another base hit for a 3-0 lead.
Things got heated in the top of the fifth, when OSU's dugout asked umpires to check a dark spot on the brim of Nelson's cap for a possible illegal substance. It proved to be dirt, and an adrenalized Nelson struck out the side, including Rutschman to end the inning.
Oregon State used a walk and two hits to push across a run in the sixth, but Nelson stranded two runners with another strikeout. The game nearly got away from him in the eighth, which Alex McGarry led off with a home run to make it 3-2. A single and two walks loaded the bases for Rutschman, but he struck out to end the threat.
In the ninth, the Beavers (33-15-1, 19-5 Pac-12) put two more runners on with two out. But Nelson ended the game with a strikeout of Jake Dukart, who had drive in OSU's first run of the game.
Nelson Brings The Fire: With Oregon's pitching staff taxed entering the final game of the weekend, coaches sent a text message to Nelson Saturday night telling him they planned to go to him early in Sunday's game and ride him as long as they could. He answered the call.
"He's got some of the best stuff in the country," Steer said. "So when we have a lead and we have Nelly on the mound, we have nothing but confidence in him that he's going to get the win."
Nelson had taken the loss in his previous three outings, but he buckled down Sunday.
"This is definitely pretty big for my confidence, for sure," Nelson said. "I mean, three pretty rough outings that didn't go my way. But the Arizona outing I had my stuff back, and I just knew I had to get back out there and really give it everything I had."
Up Next: The Ducks host Gonzaga in a nonconference game Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nelson, Ryne (3-4)
L: Chamberlain, C. (3-4)
Batting:
HR: McGarry, Alex 1
RBI: McGarry, Alex 1 ; Dukart, Jake 1
SH: Dukart, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Malone, Tyler 1 ; McGarry, Alex 1
Batting:
2B: Steer, Spencer 1
RBI: Steer, Spencer 1 ; DeLuca, Jonny 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Tanner 2 ; Steer, Spencer 1
CS: Steer, Spencer 1 ; Campbell, Cameron 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF/INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball2024-25 Oregon Baseball Intro Video
Thursday, June 12
Oregon Baseball | Eugene Regional | Postgame vs. Cal Poly
Saturday, May 31
Oregon Baseball | Eugene Regional | Postgame vs. Utah Valley
Saturday, May 31
Grayson Grinsell & Jacob Walsh | NCAA Selection Show
Monday, May 26
