University of Oregon
11-7, 3-3
Washington State
14-5, 3-3
Ducks propelled by bats, bullpen in series-clinching win
03/19/23 | Baseball
Oregon (11-7, 3-3 Pac-12) received a stellar performance from a trio of bullpen arms to seal the victory on Sunday.
How it happened: Washington State found itself in an early lead in the first inning despite a leadoff home run from Rikuu Nishida. The Cougars took a 7-1 lead in the bottom half of the opening frame after scoring seven runs off Oregon starter Jackson Pace.
The Washington State bats would go cold from there, adding just two more hits throughout the contest against the Duck bullpen arms. Matthew Grabmann was the first to appear in relief, pitching three scoreless innings and matching a career-high with four strikeouts.
Oregon began to chip away at the Cougars' lead in the fourth. Cromwick turned on a 0-1 pitch to left field to make the deficit 7-3. The Ducks continued to cut at the Washington State lead in the fifth, tacking on three more runs. Drew Cowley had his first RBI on the day with a groundout before a Tanner Smith two-run home run. The home run from Smith was the 246th of his career, tying him atop of the all-time career hits list with Gabe Matthews.
Matt Dallas (2-0) continued the relief effort for Oregon, throwing four shutout innings and matching a career-high with five strikeouts to secure the second win of the season for the senior.
The Ducks put the game away with a seven-run offensive explosion in the top of the seventh. Oregon scored all seven runs in the inning with one out. After Cowley drove in Colby Shade with an RBI double, Sabin Ceballos brought home the Duck third baseman with a single. Cromwick added his fourth RBI on the day with an RBI single, leading to a three-run home run from Carter Garate to top off the inning.
Josh Mollerus wrapped things up for the Ducks, finishing off a stellar bullpen performance. The senior went 1.2 innings on just 18 pitches to close out the game and the series.
Box Score Notes: Smith's fifth-inning bomb was the 22nd of his career, tying him with Gabe Matthews for fifth most in program history … Shade finished Sunday's game with his second four-hit game of the week (4-5, 2B vs. Niagara) … Cowley added two RBI to his season for a team-leading 13 on the season.
On Deck: Oregon returns to PK Park for a four-game series against Northwestern State. Game one is on Friday, March 24, with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Dallas, Matt (2-0)
L: Wilford, Connor (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Cowley, Drew 1 ; Ceballos, Sabin 1
HR: Nishida, Rikuu 1 ; Smith, Tanner 1 ; Cromwick, Josiah 1 ; Garate, Carter 1
RBI: Nishida, Rikuu 1 ; Cowley, Drew 2 ; Ceballos, Sabin 1 ; Smith, Tanner 2 ; Cromwick, Josiah 4 ; Garate, Carter 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Nishida, Rikuu 2 ; Shade, Colby 2 ; Cowley, Drew 1 ; Ceballos, Sabin 1 ; Smith, Tanner 2 ; Walsh, Jacob 2 ; Cromwick, Josiah 2 ; Garate, Carter 1
Batting:
RBI: Advincula, Jonah 1 ; Magee, Cam 1 ; Morrow, Jacob 2 ; Fuchs, Greg 1 ; Russell, Kyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Magee, Cam 1 ; McKeon, Jacob 1 ; Brown, Sam 1 ; Morrow, Jacob 1 ; Matthews, Bryce 1 ; Fuchs, Greg 1 ; Russell, Kyle 1
SB: Fuchs, Greg 1 ; Russell, Kyle 1
HBP: Magee, Cam 1 ; Brown, Sam 1 ; Morrow, Jacob 1 ; Matthews, Bryce 1
