University of Oregon
22-9, 10-5
Michigan
17-14, 8-7
Rally Comes Up Short As Ducks Drop Finale
04/06/25 | Baseball
Oregon won the series against Michigan over the weekend despite a one-run loss Sunday.
The No. 15 Ducks (22-9, 10-5 Big Ten) took two of three from the Wolverines to end a three-game losing streak, but dropped the finale 12-11 before 2,536 fans — several of them canines on Bark in the Park day. After two run-rule wins to open the series, Oregon used a five-run fifth inning Sunday to rally into a 7-6 lead, but saw Michigan rally back.
"They're happy that they won a series, right; when you win a series, it's good," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. "The objective was to win today for a sweep, and I think that they feel like they left a lot on the table today."
Offensively the Ducks enjoyed a two-homer day from Mason Neville, and also got home runs from Jacob Walsh and Drew Smith. But the Ducks were 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position, including 1-for-5 with a runner on third and less than two outs, and 0-of-4 with the bases loaded.
And the bullpen continues to struggle to find the strike zone, with five relievers Sunday combining for eight walks, one hit batter and a wild pitch.
"We're going to dive into the tape, and we're going to assess how we're using guys, who we're using in spots, and try to make as good a decision as we possibly can to be able to fix it," Wasikowski said. "It's a real issue."
How It Happened: UO starter Will Sanford pitched around two singles and a walk over the first two innings, and Oregon took a 1-0 lead on the fourth leadoff homer of the season by Neville.
An RBI triple followed by a single gave Michigan a 2-1 lead in the third, but Neville scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning to tie it. That was the only run Oregon managed after loading the bases with nobody out in the inning.
Another RBI triple and run-scoring single in the fourth put Michigan back in front, and a two-run homer in the top of the fifth made it 6-2. The Ducks rallied back in front in the bottom of the inning, however, beginning with a mammoth two-run homer from Walsh that bounced off Oregon's practice facility and onto Papé Field — in the midst of a UO lacrosse game — well beyond the right-field fence.
A single by Chase Meggers, a walk to Anson Aroz and a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position, and Maddox Molony plated both with a single. He later scored on a double steal, giving Oregon a 7-6 lead.
It was short-lived, as Michigan scored four in the sixth off two UO relievers. The Ducks loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half, but couldn't score.
Two walks with the bases loaded put the Wolverines up 12-7 in the eighth. Smith's three-run homer in the bottom half gave Oregon life, and another solo shot by Neville in the ninth made it a one-run game, but the Ducks got no closer.
Up Next: The Ducks open a three-game series at Maryland on Friday (3 p.m., B1G+).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Will Rogers (2-2)
L: Knox, Kellan (1-2)
S: Max Debiec (3)
Batting:
2B: Jeter Ybarra 1
3B: Colby Turner 1 ; Matt Spear 1
HR: Colby Turner 1 ; Jeter Ybarra 1
RBI: Brayden Jefferis 1 ; Colby Turner 5 ; Cole Caruso 1 ; Jeter Ybarra 2 ; Matt Spear 2 ; Greg Pace Jr 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brayden Jefferis 1 ; Mitch Voit 3 ; Keegan O'Hearn 1 ; Colby Turner 3 ; Jeter Ybarra 1 ; Robert Hamchuk 1 ; Matt Spear 1 ; Greg Pace Jr 1
CS: Brayden Jefferis 1 ; Mitch Voit 1
HBP: Mitch Voit 2 ; Robert Hamchuk 1
Batting:
HR: Neville, Mason 2 ; Walsh, Jacob 1 ; Smith, Drew 1
RBI: Neville, Mason 2 ; Walsh, Jacob 2 ; Molony, Maddox 2 ; Smith, Drew 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Neville, Mason 2 ; Hellman, Dominic 1 ; Walsh, Jacob 1 ; Meggers, Chase 2 ; Aroz, Anson 2 ; Molony, Maddox 1 ; Smith, Drew 1 ; Cooney, Ryan 1
SB: Molony, Maddox 2 ; Cooney, Ryan 1
HBP: Meggers, Chase 1
