Sunday, April 30
Eugene, Ore.
12:05 PM
University of Oregon
30-13, 13-8
6
vs
9
Arizona State
29-15, 14-6
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4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Arizona State
0
0
0
0
0
3
4
0
2
9
9
2
Oregon
2
2
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
6
7
0
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Sweep Averted By Sun Devils
04/30/23 | Baseball
No. 20 Oregon led through six innings Sunday but No. 12 ASU rallied to win and avoid being swept at PK Park.
EUGENE, Ore. — In a game that turned out to be a microcosm of the weekend series between Oregon and Arizona State, the No. 20 Ducks had the better of things most of the way in Sunday's finale but the No. 12 Sun Devils rallied late to win 9-6 and avoid being swept in the series.
Oregon (30-13, 13-8 Pac-12) had the lead Sunday until the seventh inning, when ASU scored four runs to go ahead 7-5. The Sun Devils homered four times to stave off a series sweep, including twice in the critical seventh inning.
"They did a nice job of hitting," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. "They've got a good offense and they were able to put some at-bats together when they needed to. And I thought that's what the difference was. They did a nice job when they absolutely had to."
The third-place Ducks took the first two games of the series and pulled within 1.5 games of the Sun Devils in the Pac-12. Stanford beat UCLA later Sunday, putting the Cardinal in first place and two games up on the Ducks; Oregon also took two of three from the Cardinal in April.
"We've been able to beat them both two out of three, and had opportunities to sweep them," Wasikowski said. "I like where our club's out and I think they're playing well. And I think they know how good they can be."
How It Happened: Rikuu Nishida was the catalyst for Oregon all day in the leadoff spot, finishing 3-for-4 with four runs. He was hit by a pitch to open the UO half of the first and took second on a two-out single by Drew Smith. Tanner Smith singled to score Nishida, and Jacob Walsh followed with another RBI single that scored Drew Smith.
After a clean top of the second by UO starter Matthew Grabmann, Nishida came up in the bottom half with a runner on and two outs. He went the opposite way for his fourth homer of the spring, doubling Oregon's lead. Nishida later led off the fifth with a double, and scored his third run of the day on a single by Drew Smith for a 5-0 lead.
Grabmann didn't allow a hit over 3 2/3 innings, and Leo Uelmen kept ASU hitless through five. But a leadoff walk in the sixth followed by a two-run homer made it 5-2, and another walk ended Uelmen's day. Grayson Grinsell got the Ducks out of the inning, but not before another run scored on a pop out down the right-field line with the bases loaded.
Oregon was retired in order in the bottom of the sixth, and the Sun Devils took the lead in the seventh on a single, a double and back-to-back homers. The home runs were off UO closer Josh Mollerus, who was called on for a potential eight-out save as the Ducks pulled out all the stops trying to complete the series sweep.
Nishida came through again for Oregon in the bottom of the seventh, singling with one out and scoring when Tanner Smith reached on an error with the bases loaded and two out. Colby Shade moved to third on that play as Oregon pulled within 7-6, and with ASU not holding him on the bag, he took a mammoth lead. Again with the Ducks pulling out all the stops, Shade broke to steal home and tie the game, but the Sun Devils tagged him out at the plate to end the inning, a call upheld by replay.
"We went for it, you know, and it didn't work out; if it does work out, you're feeling great about it," Wasikowski said. "Bang-bang-play type scenario, even so much that it went to review. It's unfortunate that they were able to execute the out at the plate on that play. But, we went for it with our fastest player."
After the Ducks went down in order in the eighth, ASU got some insurance with a two-run homer in the ninth. Gavin Grant walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but Nishida grounded into a double play — the only time in the game he didn't reach base and ultimately score.
Notable: Sabin Ceballos, who leads Oregon's regulars with 47 RBIs and a .654 slugging average, saw a streak of 36 straight starts snapped. Wasikowski said he's considered day to day. … The Ducks homered in their 13th consecutive games, the second-longest streak in program history. … Oregon's 74 home runs are one shy of the school record set in 2022.
Up Next: The Ducks play a nonconference game at Oregon State on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Oregon (30-13, 13-8 Pac-12) had the lead Sunday until the seventh inning, when ASU scored four runs to go ahead 7-5. The Sun Devils homered four times to stave off a series sweep, including twice in the critical seventh inning.
"They did a nice job of hitting," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. "They've got a good offense and they were able to put some at-bats together when they needed to. And I thought that's what the difference was. They did a nice job when they absolutely had to."
The third-place Ducks took the first two games of the series and pulled within 1.5 games of the Sun Devils in the Pac-12. Stanford beat UCLA later Sunday, putting the Cardinal in first place and two games up on the Ducks; Oregon also took two of three from the Cardinal in April.
"We've been able to beat them both two out of three, and had opportunities to sweep them," Wasikowski said. "I like where our club's out and I think they're playing well. And I think they know how good they can be."
How It Happened: Rikuu Nishida was the catalyst for Oregon all day in the leadoff spot, finishing 3-for-4 with four runs. He was hit by a pitch to open the UO half of the first and took second on a two-out single by Drew Smith. Tanner Smith singled to score Nishida, and Jacob Walsh followed with another RBI single that scored Drew Smith.
After a clean top of the second by UO starter Matthew Grabmann, Nishida came up in the bottom half with a runner on and two outs. He went the opposite way for his fourth homer of the spring, doubling Oregon's lead. Nishida later led off the fifth with a double, and scored his third run of the day on a single by Drew Smith for a 5-0 lead.
Grabmann didn't allow a hit over 3 2/3 innings, and Leo Uelmen kept ASU hitless through five. But a leadoff walk in the sixth followed by a two-run homer made it 5-2, and another walk ended Uelmen's day. Grayson Grinsell got the Ducks out of the inning, but not before another run scored on a pop out down the right-field line with the bases loaded.
Oregon was retired in order in the bottom of the sixth, and the Sun Devils took the lead in the seventh on a single, a double and back-to-back homers. The home runs were off UO closer Josh Mollerus, who was called on for a potential eight-out save as the Ducks pulled out all the stops trying to complete the series sweep.
Nishida came through again for Oregon in the bottom of the seventh, singling with one out and scoring when Tanner Smith reached on an error with the bases loaded and two out. Colby Shade moved to third on that play as Oregon pulled within 7-6, and with ASU not holding him on the bag, he took a mammoth lead. Again with the Ducks pulling out all the stops, Shade broke to steal home and tie the game, but the Sun Devils tagged him out at the plate to end the inning, a call upheld by replay.
"We went for it, you know, and it didn't work out; if it does work out, you're feeling great about it," Wasikowski said. "Bang-bang-play type scenario, even so much that it went to review. It's unfortunate that they were able to execute the out at the plate on that play. But, we went for it with our fastest player."
After the Ducks went down in order in the eighth, ASU got some insurance with a two-run homer in the ninth. Gavin Grant walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but Nishida grounded into a double play — the only time in the game he didn't reach base and ultimately score.
Notable: Sabin Ceballos, who leads Oregon's regulars with 47 RBIs and a .654 slugging average, saw a streak of 36 straight starts snapped. Wasikowski said he's considered day to day. … The Ducks homered in their 13th consecutive games, the second-longest streak in program history. … Oregon's 74 home runs are one shy of the school record set in 2022.
Up Next: The Ducks play a nonconference game at Oregon State on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Stevenson, Owen (4-1)
L: Mollerus, Josh (1-2)
S: Pivaroff, Blake (3)
Batting:
2B: Hill, Luke 1 ; Keaschall, Luke 1
HR: Hill, Luke 1 ; Keaschall, Luke 1 ; Tobias, Jacob 1 ; Contrades, Nu'u 1
RBI: Hill, Luke 3 ; Keaschall, Luke 2 ; Tobias, Jacob 1 ; Contrades, Nu'u 3
SF: Contrades, Nu'u 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Crenshaw, Wyatt 1 ; Hill, Luke 2 ; Mclain, Nick 1 ; Keaschall, Luke 1 ; Tobias, Jacob 2 ; Contrades, Nu'u 1 ; Balholm, Bronson 1
HBP: Hill, Luke 1 ; Vu, Kien 1
Batting:
2B: Nishida, Rikuu 1
HR: Nishida, Rikuu 1
RBI: Nishida, Rikuu 2 ; Smith, Drew 1 ; Smith, Tanner 1 ; Walsh, Jacob 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nishida, Rikuu 4 ; Smith, Drew 1 ; Grant, Gavin 1
CS: Shade, Colby 1 ; Smith, Tanner 1
HBP: Nishida, Rikuu 1 ; Shade, Colby 1 ; Cowley, Drew 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
4
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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