Saturday, April 8
Eugene, Ore.
3:00 PM
University of Oregon
20-8, 7-4
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Oregon State
19-11, 6-8
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9
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H
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Oregon State
0
0
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Oregon
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4
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Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Rivalry Series Will Be Decided Sunday
04/08/23 | Baseball
Oregon took an early lead over OSU on Saturday but the Beavers won 4-2 to even the series.
EUGENE, Ore. — Another tightly played game between in-state rivals Saturday has produced a tight series that will be decided with a rubber match Sunday.
Oregon gave up two home runs Saturday, the difference in a 4-2 loss to Oregon State before 3,879 fans at PK Park. The Ducks (20-8, 7-4 Pac-12) were in line to capture their second nail-biter in two nights until a three-run homer in the seventh put the Beavers in front and set up a series-deciding game Sunday at noon.
"Two really good ball games," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. "You know, one team came out on top one day, and the other the next day. Both of them were very good games. I'm looking forward to getting back out there again — I wish we could play right now."
Oregon took a 2-0 lead in the third but had only two baserunners the rest of the way, despite hitting several balls hard.
"Good pitching's gonna stifle good hitting, and you see that on both sides right now," Wasikowski said. "And so it's been a pitching and defense weekend so far."
How It Happened: Logan Mercado got the start for Oregon and walked two batters in the first inning. But he got out of that jam and settled in from there, allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts.
The Ducks went up 2-0 in the third, which Dominic Hellman led off with a walk. Hellman took second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a single by Rikuu Nishida. With two outs, Drew Cowley doubled to the gap in right-center field, driving in Nishida.
A two-run inning was enough for Oregon in a 2-0 win Friday night, but Saturday was different. A solo homer with two out in the fourth provided OSU its first run of the series, and the only run off Mercado on Saturday.
Matthew Grabmann took over on the mound for the Ducks in the sixth, and found trouble in the seventh. A one-out walk and a two-out single prompted a mound visit, but Oregon stuck by its reliever. The next hitter made it 4-2 with a three-run homer.
The last 10 UO hitters were retired in order, despite three well-hit flyballs in the eighth and a couple more barreled up in the ninth. Ultimately, though, after Cowley's RBI double in the third only one more UO baserunner the rest of the way reached scoring position.
Notable: The crowd was the seventh-largest in PK Park's history. … The loss ended Oregon's 11-game win streak, the program's longest since a 12-game streak in 1964. … Tanner Smith's sixth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 12 games. … Mercado's six strikeouts were one off his season high, set in his first appearance of the spring on Feb. 17.
Quotable:
Oregon starting pitcher Logan Mercado on his outing Saturday
"My stuff wasn't that great today; I think my release point on the fastball was pretty inconsistent. But when you have that type of day, I think it all comes down to mentality and I think I competed well. For the five things that I went, I think I gave our team a chance to win. It didn't work out but, on to the next."
UO coach Mark Wasikowski on his team's offensive approach
"I thought the at-bats got better towards the end of the game. There were some balls in the eighth inning and the ninth inning that were hit well. Not necessarily the at-bats that we wanted to sustain the pressure that we had on them early; we had a little bit of momentum going there early in the game against them and then they did a nice job … to keep it quiet. You gotta credit the pitchers on the other side for doing that."
Up Next: The Ducks and Beavers will decide the series Sunday at noon.
Oregon gave up two home runs Saturday, the difference in a 4-2 loss to Oregon State before 3,879 fans at PK Park. The Ducks (20-8, 7-4 Pac-12) were in line to capture their second nail-biter in two nights until a three-run homer in the seventh put the Beavers in front and set up a series-deciding game Sunday at noon.
"Two really good ball games," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. "You know, one team came out on top one day, and the other the next day. Both of them were very good games. I'm looking forward to getting back out there again — I wish we could play right now."
Oregon took a 2-0 lead in the third but had only two baserunners the rest of the way, despite hitting several balls hard.
"Good pitching's gonna stifle good hitting, and you see that on both sides right now," Wasikowski said. "And so it's been a pitching and defense weekend so far."
How It Happened: Logan Mercado got the start for Oregon and walked two batters in the first inning. But he got out of that jam and settled in from there, allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts.
The Ducks went up 2-0 in the third, which Dominic Hellman led off with a walk. Hellman took second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a single by Rikuu Nishida. With two outs, Drew Cowley doubled to the gap in right-center field, driving in Nishida.
A two-run inning was enough for Oregon in a 2-0 win Friday night, but Saturday was different. A solo homer with two out in the fourth provided OSU its first run of the series, and the only run off Mercado on Saturday.
Matthew Grabmann took over on the mound for the Ducks in the sixth, and found trouble in the seventh. A one-out walk and a two-out single prompted a mound visit, but Oregon stuck by its reliever. The next hitter made it 4-2 with a three-run homer.
The last 10 UO hitters were retired in order, despite three well-hit flyballs in the eighth and a couple more barreled up in the ninth. Ultimately, though, after Cowley's RBI double in the third only one more UO baserunner the rest of the way reached scoring position.
Notable: The crowd was the seventh-largest in PK Park's history. … The loss ended Oregon's 11-game win streak, the program's longest since a 12-game streak in 1964. … Tanner Smith's sixth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 12 games. … Mercado's six strikeouts were one off his season high, set in his first appearance of the spring on Feb. 17.
Quotable:
Oregon starting pitcher Logan Mercado on his outing Saturday
"My stuff wasn't that great today; I think my release point on the fastball was pretty inconsistent. But when you have that type of day, I think it all comes down to mentality and I think I competed well. For the five things that I went, I think I gave our team a chance to win. It didn't work out but, on to the next."
UO coach Mark Wasikowski on his team's offensive approach
"I thought the at-bats got better towards the end of the game. There were some balls in the eighth inning and the ninth inning that were hit well. Not necessarily the at-bats that we wanted to sustain the pressure that we had on them early; we had a little bit of momentum going there early in the game against them and then they did a nice job … to keep it quiet. You gotta credit the pitchers on the other side for doing that."
Up Next: The Ducks and Beavers will decide the series Sunday at noon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lawson, Ian (2-0)
L: Grabmann, Matthew (0-2)
S: Brown, Ryan (6)
Batting:
HR: McDowell, Micah 1 ; Kasper, Brady 1
RBI: McDowell, Micah 3 ; Kasper, Brady 1
SH: Forrester, Garret 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bazzana, Travis 1 ; Guerra, Mason 1 ; McDowell, Micah 1 ; Kasper, Brady 1
SB: Forrester, Garret 1
HBP: Kane, Mikey 1 ; Macias, Dallas 1
Batting:
2B: Cowley, Drew 1
RBI: Nishida, Rikuu 1 ; Cowley, Drew 1
SH: Grant, Gavin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nishida, Rikuu 1 ; Hellman, Dominic 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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RHP
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