Sunday, June 11
Eugene, Ore.
3:00 PM
University of Oregon
41-22
6
vs
11
Oral Roberts
51-12
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7
8
9
R
H
E
Oral Roberts
1
0
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3
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11
8
0
Oregon
3
0
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0
1
1
0
1
6
8
1
Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto
Season Ends In Super Regional
06/11/23 | Baseball
Oregon had an early lead Sunday but Oral Roberts came from behind to win game three of their series at PK Park.
EUGENE, Ore. — A magical postseason run for the Oregon baseball team ended Sunday, as Oral Roberts won the deciding game of their NCAA Super Regional series at PK Park, 11-6.
Playing in front of the third straight sellout crowd of the weekend, the Ducks got out to an early lead thanks to a three-run homer in the first inning by senior record book-wrecker Tanner Smith. But the season-long pressure on the UO pitching staff due to injuries and inexperience caught up to the Ducks, as the Golden Eagles capitalized on 11 walks and four hit batters to rally back and reach the College World Series.
Oregon's toughness and resiliency was perhaps best characterized Sunday by senior pitcher Matt Dallas, who took a comebacker to the side of his head in the seventh inning. But he was cleared to stay in the game and did so, in order to get the UO pitching staff as deep into the game as possible.
"These guys are absolute warriors," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said postgame, flanked by a group of leaders on the interview dais that included Smith, Dallas, Gavin Grant, Josh Mollerus, Sabin Ceballos, Colby Shade, Drew Cowley and Tyler Ganus. "You saw their hearts and souls on the field. You saw how much they care about this university."
As the lead slipped away in the middle innings Sunday, it only added to the frustration from Oregon's loss in the second game of the series Saturday, when the Ducks were two outs away from qualifying for their first College World Series since 1954. What might have been a game-ending double play induced by Mollerus was instead a screamer toward Grant at second base that extended the inning, and Oral Roberts rallied to win that game before doing so again Sunday.
"It's a game of inches — 6 inches the other way and I knock it down, it's in front of me, we get an out," Grant said. "(If the game-winning hit Saturday was) 6 inches to the left, that's a foul ball. You know, you can look at it every way you want. But we're gonna keep our heads held high because of everything we've done here."
The Ducks ended the season 41-22, having finished the regular season on the bubble for an NCAA Championship tournament berth before rallying to win the Pac-12 Tournament title, then sweeping through the NCAA Regional round at Vanderbilt in three games. In Friday's Super Regional opener, Oregon rallied from an eight-run deficit to win on a walk-off hit by Cowley, needing just one more win to fulfill Wasikowski's commitment to get the program back to Omaha.
"I stand by those words — we will get there," the UO coach said Sunday evening. "We were close this year and we couldn't pull it off. But boy, the efforts of the guys that I got a chance to coach and the coaches that I got to be with every day could not be faulted."
How It Happened: Freshman Jackson Pace (2-4) got the start for the Ducks, making his first appearance in nearly a month — the first indication Sunday of the stress Oregon's staff was under. The first three batters of the game reached, but Pace coaxed a fly ball for the first out. The next batter hit a potential double-play ball that the Ducks didn't execute, with a run scoring on the out.
That 1-0 deficit became a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first. With two outs, Cowley doubled off the wall in right-center, Ceballos walked and Smith followed with his 11th home run of the season, down the right-field line.
The Ducks were playing in front of overflow crowds all weekend, and the faithful in PK Park erupted at the go-ahead blast.
"It's just something you dream of," Smith said of the environment for Super Regionals. "You know, there's just a countless amount of people that were there supporting us today. To be in an environment like that and to play in front of the community like that, it's not only special to me but for this whole institution."
Pace stranded another two runners in the second, before a leadoff single resulted in another run in the third. He was pulled after a walk and a hit batter to open the fourth, and both runners came around to score off Logan Mercado, who threw three innings Friday and another three Sunday. Oral Roberts scored three times in the fourth, to take the lead for good.
Oregon would end up using nine pitchers Sunday, five of them true freshmen. Those first-year Ducks issued eight of the 11 walks by UO pitchers in the game, and were responsible for all four hit batters. Among the veterans unavailable Sunday — and for all or major parts of the season — were Isaac Ayon, Jace Stoffal, Andrew Mosiello and RJ Gordon, and the Ducks were also without freshmen Leo Uelmen, Matthew Grabmann and Hunter Hyatt.
"Everybody was assigned their roles and their jobs, and there wasn't going to be a deal where a lot of guys could go a whole bunch of pitches," Wasikowski said. "We needed to try to figure out a way to mix and match it."
Ceballos homered in the sixth to get Oregon back within one at 5-4. But Oral Roberts put together another three-run inning in the seventh — Friday night starting pitcher Grayson Grinsell came out of the bullpen to open the inning but was pulled with an apparent injury. On came Dallas, who toughed out the rest of the frame in his third appearance of the weekend, despite taking the comebacker to the side of his head.
Grant walked to lead off the seventh for Oregon, and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Ceballos, though the Ducks left the bases loaded. After Mollerus threw a scoreless eighth in his third appearance of the weekend, ORU scored another three in the ninth off three different UO freshmen, before Jacob Hughes came on to end the inning.
The Ducks showed heart until the end. Their all-American Cowley walked with one out in the ninth and advanced to second with two outs, and Smith singled him in from there — hit No. 306 and RBI No. 158 of his illustrious UO career.
Notable: Smith's home run in the first inning was the 31st of his career, breaking the program record previously held by Tom Dodd (1977-79). … Smith wrapped up his career as Oregon's all-time leaders in hits, runs, doubles, home runs, RBIs, at-bats, games started, consecutive games started and multiple-hit games. … The home run by Ceballos was his 18th of the season, breaking the UO single-season record previously set by Kenyon Yovan in 2021.
Quotable:
Senior pitcher Matt Dallas on the experience of the pitching staff this year
"Adversity is really the key word. I mean, from the first day of fall camp, it seemed like we were hit with something — and then we were hit with something else. And it was just kind of a next-guy-up mentality. Whoever's available, whoever's ready, just have heart on the mound and execute pitches. That's really all it's about. It's been great to see some younger dudes step up in a role that maybe at the beginning of the year, they didn't think they would have. … Next year (for) Oregon when we're back in Omaha … those guys are gonna have a huge, huge hand in that. And a big part of it is the experience and the adversity that they faced this year."
Senior pitcher Josh Mollerus on regrouping from Saturday's walk-off loss
"A few different pitches and things go differently that inning, we're not here and instead we're celebrating last night. But it's baseball at the end of the day, it's sports. Something I had to learn to let go of. Last night I didn't sleep particularly well, but the sun always rises. There's always another day."
Mark Wasikowski on the support at PK Park for Super Regionals
"People in this area, they obviously value sports, they obviously value the institution — and what they really value is people that they can stand behind because of their efforts and their work ethic. And I think they saw that in the group that I coach. Even down to today, although it was a tough pill to swallow with the loss, I don't think anybody's leaving the ballpark going, 'Well, those guys didn't give everything that they had for this institution.' I think that's what the people expect out of the athletes at the University of Oregon, and when they get that they honor those programs. And I think they'll honor our program in the future; we'll definitely honor them, because they were fantastic."
Playing in front of the third straight sellout crowd of the weekend, the Ducks got out to an early lead thanks to a three-run homer in the first inning by senior record book-wrecker Tanner Smith. But the season-long pressure on the UO pitching staff due to injuries and inexperience caught up to the Ducks, as the Golden Eagles capitalized on 11 walks and four hit batters to rally back and reach the College World Series.
Oregon's toughness and resiliency was perhaps best characterized Sunday by senior pitcher Matt Dallas, who took a comebacker to the side of his head in the seventh inning. But he was cleared to stay in the game and did so, in order to get the UO pitching staff as deep into the game as possible.
"These guys are absolute warriors," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said postgame, flanked by a group of leaders on the interview dais that included Smith, Dallas, Gavin Grant, Josh Mollerus, Sabin Ceballos, Colby Shade, Drew Cowley and Tyler Ganus. "You saw their hearts and souls on the field. You saw how much they care about this university."
As the lead slipped away in the middle innings Sunday, it only added to the frustration from Oregon's loss in the second game of the series Saturday, when the Ducks were two outs away from qualifying for their first College World Series since 1954. What might have been a game-ending double play induced by Mollerus was instead a screamer toward Grant at second base that extended the inning, and Oral Roberts rallied to win that game before doing so again Sunday.
"It's a game of inches — 6 inches the other way and I knock it down, it's in front of me, we get an out," Grant said. "(If the game-winning hit Saturday was) 6 inches to the left, that's a foul ball. You know, you can look at it every way you want. But we're gonna keep our heads held high because of everything we've done here."
The Ducks ended the season 41-22, having finished the regular season on the bubble for an NCAA Championship tournament berth before rallying to win the Pac-12 Tournament title, then sweeping through the NCAA Regional round at Vanderbilt in three games. In Friday's Super Regional opener, Oregon rallied from an eight-run deficit to win on a walk-off hit by Cowley, needing just one more win to fulfill Wasikowski's commitment to get the program back to Omaha.
"I stand by those words — we will get there," the UO coach said Sunday evening. "We were close this year and we couldn't pull it off. But boy, the efforts of the guys that I got a chance to coach and the coaches that I got to be with every day could not be faulted."
How It Happened: Freshman Jackson Pace (2-4) got the start for the Ducks, making his first appearance in nearly a month — the first indication Sunday of the stress Oregon's staff was under. The first three batters of the game reached, but Pace coaxed a fly ball for the first out. The next batter hit a potential double-play ball that the Ducks didn't execute, with a run scoring on the out.
That 1-0 deficit became a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first. With two outs, Cowley doubled off the wall in right-center, Ceballos walked and Smith followed with his 11th home run of the season, down the right-field line.
The Ducks were playing in front of overflow crowds all weekend, and the faithful in PK Park erupted at the go-ahead blast.
"It's just something you dream of," Smith said of the environment for Super Regionals. "You know, there's just a countless amount of people that were there supporting us today. To be in an environment like that and to play in front of the community like that, it's not only special to me but for this whole institution."
Pace stranded another two runners in the second, before a leadoff single resulted in another run in the third. He was pulled after a walk and a hit batter to open the fourth, and both runners came around to score off Logan Mercado, who threw three innings Friday and another three Sunday. Oral Roberts scored three times in the fourth, to take the lead for good.
Oregon would end up using nine pitchers Sunday, five of them true freshmen. Those first-year Ducks issued eight of the 11 walks by UO pitchers in the game, and were responsible for all four hit batters. Among the veterans unavailable Sunday — and for all or major parts of the season — were Isaac Ayon, Jace Stoffal, Andrew Mosiello and RJ Gordon, and the Ducks were also without freshmen Leo Uelmen, Matthew Grabmann and Hunter Hyatt.
"Everybody was assigned their roles and their jobs, and there wasn't going to be a deal where a lot of guys could go a whole bunch of pitches," Wasikowski said. "We needed to try to figure out a way to mix and match it."
Ceballos homered in the sixth to get Oregon back within one at 5-4. But Oral Roberts put together another three-run inning in the seventh — Friday night starting pitcher Grayson Grinsell came out of the bullpen to open the inning but was pulled with an apparent injury. On came Dallas, who toughed out the rest of the frame in his third appearance of the weekend, despite taking the comebacker to the side of his head.
Grant walked to lead off the seventh for Oregon, and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Ceballos, though the Ducks left the bases loaded. After Mollerus threw a scoreless eighth in his third appearance of the weekend, ORU scored another three in the ninth off three different UO freshmen, before Jacob Hughes came on to end the inning.
The Ducks showed heart until the end. Their all-American Cowley walked with one out in the ninth and advanced to second with two outs, and Smith singled him in from there — hit No. 306 and RBI No. 158 of his illustrious UO career.
Notable: Smith's home run in the first inning was the 31st of his career, breaking the program record previously held by Tom Dodd (1977-79). … Smith wrapped up his career as Oregon's all-time leaders in hits, runs, doubles, home runs, RBIs, at-bats, games started, consecutive games started and multiple-hit games. … The home run by Ceballos was his 18th of the season, breaking the UO single-season record previously set by Kenyon Yovan in 2021.
Quotable:
Senior pitcher Matt Dallas on the experience of the pitching staff this year
"Adversity is really the key word. I mean, from the first day of fall camp, it seemed like we were hit with something — and then we were hit with something else. And it was just kind of a next-guy-up mentality. Whoever's available, whoever's ready, just have heart on the mound and execute pitches. That's really all it's about. It's been great to see some younger dudes step up in a role that maybe at the beginning of the year, they didn't think they would have. … Next year (for) Oregon when we're back in Omaha … those guys are gonna have a huge, huge hand in that. And a big part of it is the experience and the adversity that they faced this year."
Senior pitcher Josh Mollerus on regrouping from Saturday's walk-off loss
"A few different pitches and things go differently that inning, we're not here and instead we're celebrating last night. But it's baseball at the end of the day, it's sports. Something I had to learn to let go of. Last night I didn't sleep particularly well, but the sun always rises. There's always another day."
Mark Wasikowski on the support at PK Park for Super Regionals
"People in this area, they obviously value sports, they obviously value the institution — and what they really value is people that they can stand behind because of their efforts and their work ethic. And I think they saw that in the group that I coach. Even down to today, although it was a tough pill to swallow with the loss, I don't think anybody's leaving the ballpark going, 'Well, those guys didn't give everything that they had for this institution.' I think that's what the people expect out of the athletes at the University of Oregon, and when they get that they honor those programs. And I think they'll honor our program in the future; we'll definitely honor them, because they were fantastic."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Caleb Isaacs (8-0)
L: Pace, Jackson (2-4)
S: Dalton Patten (5)
Batting:
RBI: Jake McMurray 2 ; Justin Quinn 1 ; Jonah Cox 1 ; Matt Hogan 2 ; Mac McCroskey 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Jake McMurray 3 ; Jonah Cox 1 ; Matt Hogan 1 ; Mac McCroskey 1 ; Holden Breeze 1 ; Sam Thompson 1 ; Jacob Godman 1 ; Blaze Brothers 2
SB: Jonah Cox 1 ; Matt Hogan 1
HBP: Jonah Cox 1 ; Matt Hogan 1 ; Blaze Brothers 2
Batting:
2B: Cowley, Drew 1
HR: Ceballos, Sabin 1 ; Smith, Tanner 1
RBI: Ceballos, Sabin 2 ; Smith, Tanner 4
SF: Ceballos, Sabin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cowley, Drew 2 ; Ceballos, Sabin 2 ; Smith, Tanner 1 ; Grant, Gavin 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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