Zavala, strong pitching lead Oregon to DH sweep

Saturday, February 29

Eugene, Ore.

1:00 PM

University of Oregon

5-4

Milwaukee

1-9

Milwaukee

Oregon

Photo by: Samuel Marshall

02/29/20 | Baseball

Box Score Game 1 Box Score: Oregon 7, Milwaukee 2 Game 2 Box Score: Oregon 6, Milwaukee 0

By: Michael Abbott

Eugene, Ore. – Aaron Zavala went 5-for-8 with four RBI, two runs scored and a walk to lead Oregon to a doubleheader sweep of Milwaukee Saturday at PK Park. The Ducks won game one 7-2 and game two 6-0.

Robert Ahlstrom and Peyton Fuller put in back-to-back quality starts while Andrew Mosiello and Keaton Chase combined for five scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Game 1: Oregon 7, Milwaukee 0
Behind a strong start from Ahlstrom, and three hits from Zavala, the Ducks defeated the Panthers 7-0 in game one of the doubleheader.

How it Happened: Sam Olsson put Oregon on top 1-0 with a single to right-center for his first hit of the season, scoring Tanner Smith. Zavala continued his hot start to the season with an RBI-single past the dive of the Panthers' shortstop, scoring Matthews, giving the Ducks a 2-0 lead.

The Ducks scored three more in the third. Kenyon Yovan singled to lead off the inning, and advanced to second on an Olsson walk. Zavala drove in Yovan with a single up the middle, before Evan Williams roped a double to right-center, scoring Olsson and Zavala to give the Ducks a 5-0 advantage.

In the fourth, Sam Novitske walked with one-out in the inning and advanced to second on a Yovan single. Gabe Matthews singled and drove in a Novitske, while Olsson brought home Yovan with a sacrifice fly to center to increase the Ducks lead to 7-0.

Ahlstrom threw seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, while striking out five. Chase came in and pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to secure the win.

Game 1 Box Score Notes: Matthews' two hits moved him into a tie for sixth all-time in career hits with Spencer Steer (2017-19) with 177, and moved into a tie for eighth all-time in multiple-hit games with 45 with Brett Thomas (2011-13) … With a walk in the first inning Matthews moved into second all-time in career walks with 94 … Olsson's RBI single in the first was his first RBI as a Duck … Ahlstrom recorded his second-consecutive quality start.

Game 2: Oregon 6, Milwaukee 0
A five-run third inning, two RBI from Zavala and strong efforts by Fuller and Mosiello secured a 6-0 win over the Panthers to complete the doubleheader sweep.

How it Happened: Yovan drove in Gavin Grant from second with an RBI-single to left, giving the Ducks a 1-0 lead. With the bases loaded, Zavala smashed a two-RBI single to right, scoring Smith and Yovan. A.J. Miller capped off the five-run third inning with a triple to deep center, scoring Matthews and Zavala.

Fuller had arguably his best appearance in a Duck uniform. The junior right-hander struck out a career-high eight batters, including five in a row to end his outing, and limited the Panthers to two hits, while tossing a career-high six innings.

The Ducks tacked on a run in the seventh. After Yovan worked a one-out walk, Zavala advanced him to third with his fifth hit of the day. Williams then pinch-ran for Zavala, and stole second, and an errant throw by the catcher allowed Yovan to come home, giving the Ducks a 6-0 lead.

Mosiello was strong out of the pen, throwing three scoreless innings without allowing a run. The freshman picked up his first career save and racked up four strikeouts and only allowed one hit.

Game 2 Box Score Notes: With the doubleheader sweep the Ducks extended their winning streak to six games … Miller's triple in the third was the first of his career … Miller finished 1-for-3 with two RBI … Gavin Grant was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored … Fuller and Mosiello combined for 12 strikeouts, and only gave up three hits.

Series Notes: Zavala is 8-for-13 with five RBI, three runs scored and a walk … Yovan is 5-for-11 with an RBI and five runs scored … Matthews is 4-for-12 with a home run, three RBI and four runs scored … Over 29 innings, the pitching staff has a 1.86 ERA with 24 strikeouts and has limited Milwaukee to a .202 batting average.

On deck: Oregon will look to complete the four-game sweep of Milwaukee and extend its winning streak to seven tomorrow at 12 p.m. at PK Park.

Quotable:
Aaron Zavala
On his big day at the plate:
"I was just seeing the ball well and was able to capitalize on some of the pitches that I saw. It all just worked out well and I found holes when I needed to."

On the winning streak:
"We have just been finding more holes and I think the guys are just getting more into the swing of the season. I don't think it's a mentality thing, but more of just getting more in tune with everything baseball related."

Coach Mark Wazikowski
On energy levels for the second game:
"I thought those guys' energy levels were fantastic. I thought they really nailed it all the way down to the very end of the game. I didn't think that anybody drifted, or anything like that. These guys like to play, it's fun suiting up with them."

On Fuller's performance:
"He struck six of the last seven guys that he saw. He commanded his stuff, and was in control of his body and his delivery. He competed. He worked both sides of the plate and spun a really good breaking ball in there. I mean there wasn't anything that I didn't like about his performance. I thought it was very dominating."

On the hitter's mentality:
"And A.J. Miller today. He got off the snide, and he smoked a ball over the center fielder's head today worth a couple RBI that were huge. They have just been working at it, credit to the kids."