Saturday, March 20
Eugene, Ore.
2:00 PM
University of Oregon
9-4, 1-1
7
vs
1
Arizona State
12-4, 1-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Arizona State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
8
0
Oregon
0
0
2
0
0
2
1
2
X
7
6
0
Photo by: Photo: Deborah Mundorff
Kafka leads Ducks to Pac-12 win over ASU
03/20/21 | Baseball
EUGENE, Ore. — Cullen Kafka threw seven brilliant innings and Oregon's bats came alive thanks to a midgame adjustment as the Ducks bounced back to beat Arizona State in PK Park on Saturday, 7-1.
Kakfa threw seven shutout innings, striking out 11 with no walks. The UO hitters were chasing pitches up in the zone early in the game, but they adjusted the second time through the order led by veterans Kenyon Yovan and Gabe Matthews, who each blasted two-run home runs.
"It was a good bounce-back," said Matthews, whose first homer of the year helped the Ducks (9-4, 1-1 Pac-12) rebound from a series-opening loss Friday. "That's what today was all about: bouncing back. I thought we did that, offensively, defensively and pitching. Cullen had a hell of a game, and we got the bats going late in the game. Just a solid all-around performance, I thought."
How It Happened: Kafka set ASU down in order to open the game, before running into trouble in the second. Two singles through the infield and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with nobody out. But two strikeouts and a ground ball got him out of trouble.
Kafka allowed the leadoff man to reach in the third but coaxed a double-play ball. After hitting a batter with one out in the fourth, he retired the last 11 hitters he faced in order.
"The slider was huge today, to really finish them off," Kafka said. "Got a lot of swings and misses on it. And then the two-seam (fastball) came in to get those ground balls for double plays."
UO coach Mark Wasikowski said ASU starter Tyler Thornton's high spin rate was keeping his pitches elevated, and the Ducks were swinging through them early. Oregon struck out five times in the first three innings, but assistant coach Jack Marder told hitters to adjust their approach and attack pitches down in the zone, with big-time results.
Yovan hit a two-run homer during a brief downpour of rain in the third, and Matthew blasted a two-run shot deep to center in the sixth.
"I thought coach Marder did a nice job breaking down the adjustment that needed to be made, and we were able to accomplish that," Wasikowski said.
Tanner Smith doubled home Sam Novitske with an insurance run in the sixth, and Novitske broke the game wide open in the seventh with a single that scored Matthews and Aaron Zavala. Andrew Mosiello pitched the final two innings for the Ducks, allowing one run in the ninth.
On The Mound: Kafka threw 106 pitches over seven innings, retiring 11 hitters via strikeout and nine on ground balls. He matched the longest outing of his career, and exceeded by three his previous career high for strikeouts in a game.
He got help from his defense, which has now gone 61 innings without an error. Wasikowski made note of "critical plays on the infield" throughout the game, including by Novitske at third base and from catcher Jack Scanlon.
At The Plate: The top of the order set the tone, with Smith, Yovan and Matthews combining to go 5-for-10 with five runs and five RBI. Zavala walked three times, and has now reached base in 13 straight games.
Up Next: The Ducks and Sun Devils play the rubber match in their series Sunday at noon.
Kakfa threw seven shutout innings, striking out 11 with no walks. The UO hitters were chasing pitches up in the zone early in the game, but they adjusted the second time through the order led by veterans Kenyon Yovan and Gabe Matthews, who each blasted two-run home runs.
"It was a good bounce-back," said Matthews, whose first homer of the year helped the Ducks (9-4, 1-1 Pac-12) rebound from a series-opening loss Friday. "That's what today was all about: bouncing back. I thought we did that, offensively, defensively and pitching. Cullen had a hell of a game, and we got the bats going late in the game. Just a solid all-around performance, I thought."
How It Happened: Kafka set ASU down in order to open the game, before running into trouble in the second. Two singles through the infield and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with nobody out. But two strikeouts and a ground ball got him out of trouble.
Kafka allowed the leadoff man to reach in the third but coaxed a double-play ball. After hitting a batter with one out in the fourth, he retired the last 11 hitters he faced in order.
"The slider was huge today, to really finish them off," Kafka said. "Got a lot of swings and misses on it. And then the two-seam (fastball) came in to get those ground balls for double plays."
UO coach Mark Wasikowski said ASU starter Tyler Thornton's high spin rate was keeping his pitches elevated, and the Ducks were swinging through them early. Oregon struck out five times in the first three innings, but assistant coach Jack Marder told hitters to adjust their approach and attack pitches down in the zone, with big-time results.
Yovan hit a two-run homer during a brief downpour of rain in the third, and Matthew blasted a two-run shot deep to center in the sixth.
"I thought coach Marder did a nice job breaking down the adjustment that needed to be made, and we were able to accomplish that," Wasikowski said.
Tanner Smith doubled home Sam Novitske with an insurance run in the sixth, and Novitske broke the game wide open in the seventh with a single that scored Matthews and Aaron Zavala. Andrew Mosiello pitched the final two innings for the Ducks, allowing one run in the ninth.
On The Mound: Kafka threw 106 pitches over seven innings, retiring 11 hitters via strikeout and nine on ground balls. He matched the longest outing of his career, and exceeded by three his previous career high for strikeouts in a game.
He got help from his defense, which has now gone 61 innings without an error. Wasikowski made note of "critical plays on the infield" throughout the game, including by Novitske at third base and from catcher Jack Scanlon.
At The Plate: The top of the order set the tone, with Smith, Yovan and Matthews combining to go 5-for-10 with five runs and five RBI. Zavala walked three times, and has now reached base in 13 straight games.
Up Next: The Ducks and Sun Devils play the rubber match in their series Sunday at noon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kafka, Cullen (2-0)
L: Thornton,Tyler (1-1)
Batting:
RBI: Murphy, Kai 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jump,Hunter 1
SB: Haas, Hunter 1
HBP: Long, Ethan 1
Batting:
2B: Smith, Tanner 1
HR: Yovan, Kenyon 1 ; Matthews, Gabe 1
RBI: Smith, Tanner 1 ; Yovan, Kenyon 2 ; Matthews, Gabe 2 ; Novitske, Sam 2
SH: Kasevich, Josh 1 ; Scanlon, Jack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Tanner 1 ; Yovan, Kenyon 2 ; Matthews, Gabe 2 ; Zavala, Aaron 1 ; Novitske, Sam 1
SB: Zavala, Aaron 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
RHP
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INF
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RHP
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INF
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C/RHP
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OF
/ Baseball
RHP/INF
/ Baseball
C/UTL
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