Thursday, May 26
Scottsdale, Ariz.
9:00 AM
University of Oregon
35-23
2
vs
4
Arizona State
26-31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Oregon
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
6
0
Arizona State
0
0
1
0
0
2
0
1
X
4
12
0
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Ducks Eliminated In Scottsdale
05/26/22 | Baseball
Oregon lost Thursday to Arizona State, 4-2, at the Pac-12 Tournament.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Oregon was eliminated from the Pac-12 Conference baseball tournament Thursday when the Ducks lost 4-2 to Arizona State at Scottsdale Stadium.
The Ducks faced a must-win situation after falling Wednesday to Arizona in the double-elimination tournament. But of their six hits against the eighth-seeded Sun Devils just one came with runners in scoring position, and Oregon was 0-for-9 hitting with two outs.
"When you're 1-for-13 with guys in scoring position you're gonna lose, and that's what we did today," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. "… We've got to circle the wagons and figure out what the heck that was all about, and go from there."
Oregon fell to 35-23 this season and now awaits the announcement of NCAA Regional fields Monday. The Ducks have been projected in recent weeks as a potential host team for a regional.
"Obviously we would have loved to win a game, two games or even the tournament here to put a staple on that thing, and we didn't do that," Wasikowski said. "And so, you know, we put our hosting fate in the hands of the committee, which is not what we wanted to do."
How It Happened: Oregon's struggles to capitalize at the plate emerged early in Thursday's game, when Colby Shade and Anthony Hall walked with one out in the first and were stranded. UO starter Isaac Ayon pitched out of a jam himself in the bottom of the inning, after allowing consecutive one-out singles.
Shade and Hall again reached with one out in the third, and again were stranded. The Sun Devils put two on with nobody out in the bottom of the inning, and Ayon retired the next two hitters before an RBI single gave ASU an early 1-0 lead.
The Ducks answered in the top of the fourth to take the lead. After Sam Novitske walked with one out, Bennett Thompson and Gavin Grant both singled. Grant's single plated Novitske and put runners at the corners, and Tanner Smith followed with a sacrifice fly to give Oregon a 2-1 lead.
Ayon needed just seven pitches to get through the bottom of the fourth, despite allowing a two-out base hit. ASU retook the lead in the sixth, however, on a one-out single followed by a two-run home run.
The Ducks had at least one baserunner in the first eight innings, but their only offense came in the fourth. Arizona State added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, and Oregon was retired in order for the only time all day in the ninth.
On The Mound: Ayon (4-4) scattered 10 hits in 5.1 innings, striking out five without allowing a walk. The homer was the only extra-base hit he allowed.
"Isaac was fine; I didn't think he was stellar, but I thought he was fine — good enough," Wasikowski said. "The story of the day today was, offensively we didn't get it done."
Rio Britton relieved Ayon to get the last two outs of the sixth inning, then pitched around a walk in the seventh. Caleb Sloan allowed two hits in the eighth before recording an out, then was relieved by Kolby Somers, who retired the next two hitters, one on a sacrifice fly.
At The Plate: Tanner Smith beat out an infield hit in the sixth inning for his 81st hit of the year, tying KC Serna for the UO single-season record. Serna set the record in 2010.
Shade reached base four times in the game — twice after being hit by a pitch — and Novitske worked three of Oregon's seven walks. But the Ducks stranded 11 runners on base in the game.
"We've got to figure out the reasons why that happened," Wasikowski said. "And you know, it starts with the coaches — why weren't we able to prepare our guys to be able to hit better than we did, in a place that's an offensive place and you should be able to."
Up Next: The Ducks find out their NCAA Tournament fate Monday.
The Ducks faced a must-win situation after falling Wednesday to Arizona in the double-elimination tournament. But of their six hits against the eighth-seeded Sun Devils just one came with runners in scoring position, and Oregon was 0-for-9 hitting with two outs.
"When you're 1-for-13 with guys in scoring position you're gonna lose, and that's what we did today," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. "… We've got to circle the wagons and figure out what the heck that was all about, and go from there."
Oregon fell to 35-23 this season and now awaits the announcement of NCAA Regional fields Monday. The Ducks have been projected in recent weeks as a potential host team for a regional.
"Obviously we would have loved to win a game, two games or even the tournament here to put a staple on that thing, and we didn't do that," Wasikowski said. "And so, you know, we put our hosting fate in the hands of the committee, which is not what we wanted to do."
How It Happened: Oregon's struggles to capitalize at the plate emerged early in Thursday's game, when Colby Shade and Anthony Hall walked with one out in the first and were stranded. UO starter Isaac Ayon pitched out of a jam himself in the bottom of the inning, after allowing consecutive one-out singles.
Shade and Hall again reached with one out in the third, and again were stranded. The Sun Devils put two on with nobody out in the bottom of the inning, and Ayon retired the next two hitters before an RBI single gave ASU an early 1-0 lead.
The Ducks answered in the top of the fourth to take the lead. After Sam Novitske walked with one out, Bennett Thompson and Gavin Grant both singled. Grant's single plated Novitske and put runners at the corners, and Tanner Smith followed with a sacrifice fly to give Oregon a 2-1 lead.
Ayon needed just seven pitches to get through the bottom of the fourth, despite allowing a two-out base hit. ASU retook the lead in the sixth, however, on a one-out single followed by a two-run home run.
The Ducks had at least one baserunner in the first eight innings, but their only offense came in the fourth. Arizona State added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, and Oregon was retired in order for the only time all day in the ninth.
On The Mound: Ayon (4-4) scattered 10 hits in 5.1 innings, striking out five without allowing a walk. The homer was the only extra-base hit he allowed.
"Isaac was fine; I didn't think he was stellar, but I thought he was fine — good enough," Wasikowski said. "The story of the day today was, offensively we didn't get it done."
Rio Britton relieved Ayon to get the last two outs of the sixth inning, then pitched around a walk in the seventh. Caleb Sloan allowed two hits in the eighth before recording an out, then was relieved by Kolby Somers, who retired the next two hitters, one on a sacrifice fly.
At The Plate: Tanner Smith beat out an infield hit in the sixth inning for his 81st hit of the year, tying KC Serna for the UO single-season record. Serna set the record in 2010.
Shade reached base four times in the game — twice after being hit by a pitch — and Novitske worked three of Oregon's seven walks. But the Ducks stranded 11 runners on base in the game.
"We've got to figure out the reasons why that happened," Wasikowski said. "And you know, it starts with the coaches — why weren't we able to prepare our guys to be able to hit better than we did, in a place that's an offensive place and you should be able to."
Up Next: The Ducks find out their NCAA Tournament fate Monday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Osman, G. (3-1)
L: Ayon, Isaac (4-4)
S: Peery, Brock (10)
Batting:
RBI: Smith, Tanner 1 ; Grant, Gavin 1
SH: Novitske, Sam 1
SF: Smith, Tanner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Novitske, Sam 1 ; Thompson, Bennett 1
SB: Shade, Colby 1 ; Cowley, Drew 1 ; Grant, Gavin 1
HBP: Shade, Colby 2
Batting:
HR: Murphy, Kai 1
RBI: Lampe, Joe 1 ; Davis, Conor 1 ; Murphy, Kai 2
SF: Lampe, Joe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lampe, Joe 1 ; Rogers, Will 2 ; Murphy, Kai 1
SB: Baez,N 1 ; Haas, Hunter 1
CS: Haas, Hunter 1
HBP: McLain,S 1 ; Haas, Hunter 1
PO: Haas, Hunter 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
1B/OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
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