Friday, May 9
Eugene, Ore.
6:05 p.m.
University of Oregon
36-13, 0
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Washington
27-23, 0
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Washington
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Oregon
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Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Stretch Run Begins WIth Rivalry Win
05/09/25 | Baseball
On the night Bob Kilkenny Field at PK Park was formally unveiled, the UO baseball team beat Washington, 5-0.
EUGENE, Ore. — With two weeks left to play themselves to the top of the Big Ten Conference and improve their chances of hosting postseason games, all the Oregon baseball team can do is take it one game at a time. Friday night was an impressive example.
The Ducks got seven innings from ace Grayson Grinsell to lead a shutout effort by the pitching staff, and they jumped on another one of the Big Ten's top Friday starters to beat Washington at PK Park, 5-0. Oregon (36-13, 17-8 Big Ten) moved within three games of first-place Iowa with five to play — the last three of those being against the Hawkeyes.
"We know what the position is that we're in," said UO outfielder Anson Aroz, who had three hits Friday. "We're taking each day like it's our last and just trying to win one game."
With Iowa playing a nonconference series this week, Oregon has a chance to get within two games of the Hawkeyes before heading to play them in Iowa City next week. UCLA remained a game ahead of the Ducks for second place in the Big Ten by also winning Friday.
"They always say it doesn't matter how you play in February and March, it matters how you play in May and June — and I think we take that to heart," said Grinsell, who posted his seventh quality start of the season. "We're ready to go with five games left now; six before today. We're gonna go out every game like we want to win this thing, because we do."
Friday's win followed a pregame ceremony during which Oregon's home facility was officially named Bob Kilkenny Field at PK Park, in honor of the father of former UO athletic director Pat Kilkenny. A crowd of 3,866 packed the stands to take it all in.
"Really special," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. "I know that means a lot to coach (George) Horton; we love coach and that's a really big, big thing for our guys. They wanted to put up a great performance, and Grayson did that. To have the whole family here, we gave the game ball to Pat obviously, in honor of Bob and what the family wanted to do for that great legacy."
How It Happened: Grinsell (8-2) only allowed two runners to reach third base all night, but one was in the first inning. A two-out single and an error on a pickoff attempt put the Huskies 90 feet away from the game's first run, but Grinsell retired the next hitter to strand the runner.
The Ducks then went to work against UW starter Max Banks, who hadn't lost a Friday start in Big Ten play until facing the Ducks. After Mason Neville walked to open the bottom of the first, Parker Stinson successfully executed a sacrifice bunt and Jacob Walsh followed with an RBI single.
Walsh was the first of five straight Ducks to reach before Banks settled in for the night. Drew Smith was hit by a pitch to advance Walsh to second, and Aroz's first hit of the night plated Walsh for a 2-0 lead. Maddox Molony and Burke-Lee Mabeus then walked, forcing in Smith, and two batters later Carter Garate was hit by a pitch to score Aroz and make it 4-0.
"That's big-time stuff," Aroz said. "We want to give Grayson the run support that we can, and (also) beat good pitchers, because we're going to run into them down the road."
The pitcher's duel that most anticipated Friday then developed, with Banks getting through six innings and only allowing one more runner as far as second base. Grinsell, meanwhile, got a strikeout with the bases loaded in the fourth to end that threat, and another strikeout to cap a 121-pitch effort in the seventh.
"It was a gritty one today," Grinsell said. "Just tried to stay one pitch at a time, trusted in (pitching coach Blake Hawksworth) and Waz and it turned out the way we wanted to with the win."
After Grinsell finished his seven scoreless innings, Jeffery Heard provided some insurance with a solo homer off the UW bullpen in the bottom of the seventh. It was Heard's first home run since Feb. 28.
"It felt really good," Heard said. "I mean, it's no secret it's been a minute since I've hit one. So it felt nice, for sure."
Cole Stokes threw the eighth for Oregon, striking out four hitters after the second reached on a passed ball. Seth Mattox continued to hold down the back of the UO bullpen, throwing a 1-2-3 ninth to complete the shutout.
Notable: Grinsell has allowed 12 earned runs in 65.1 innings over his last 10 starts. … Grinsell's 251 career strikeouts moves him into fourth all-time at Oregon, passing Alex Keudell (2009-12). … Grinsell's 17th career win moved him into a tie for 10th in UO history with Tyler Anderson (2009-11) and Mike Nicksic (1966-68). … The UO staff has posted four straight quality starts in conference play. … Heard's homer was the 91st by the team this season, 10 behind the program record set in 2023. … Neville's walk in the first was his 50th of the year, tied for the UO single-season record with Aaron Zavala in 2021.
Up Next: The two teams meet again Saturday (2 p.m., B1G+).
The Ducks got seven innings from ace Grayson Grinsell to lead a shutout effort by the pitching staff, and they jumped on another one of the Big Ten's top Friday starters to beat Washington at PK Park, 5-0. Oregon (36-13, 17-8 Big Ten) moved within three games of first-place Iowa with five to play — the last three of those being against the Hawkeyes.
"We know what the position is that we're in," said UO outfielder Anson Aroz, who had three hits Friday. "We're taking each day like it's our last and just trying to win one game."
With Iowa playing a nonconference series this week, Oregon has a chance to get within two games of the Hawkeyes before heading to play them in Iowa City next week. UCLA remained a game ahead of the Ducks for second place in the Big Ten by also winning Friday.
"They always say it doesn't matter how you play in February and March, it matters how you play in May and June — and I think we take that to heart," said Grinsell, who posted his seventh quality start of the season. "We're ready to go with five games left now; six before today. We're gonna go out every game like we want to win this thing, because we do."
Friday's win followed a pregame ceremony during which Oregon's home facility was officially named Bob Kilkenny Field at PK Park, in honor of the father of former UO athletic director Pat Kilkenny. A crowd of 3,866 packed the stands to take it all in.
"Really special," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. "I know that means a lot to coach (George) Horton; we love coach and that's a really big, big thing for our guys. They wanted to put up a great performance, and Grayson did that. To have the whole family here, we gave the game ball to Pat obviously, in honor of Bob and what the family wanted to do for that great legacy."
How It Happened: Grinsell (8-2) only allowed two runners to reach third base all night, but one was in the first inning. A two-out single and an error on a pickoff attempt put the Huskies 90 feet away from the game's first run, but Grinsell retired the next hitter to strand the runner.
The Ducks then went to work against UW starter Max Banks, who hadn't lost a Friday start in Big Ten play until facing the Ducks. After Mason Neville walked to open the bottom of the first, Parker Stinson successfully executed a sacrifice bunt and Jacob Walsh followed with an RBI single.
Walsh was the first of five straight Ducks to reach before Banks settled in for the night. Drew Smith was hit by a pitch to advance Walsh to second, and Aroz's first hit of the night plated Walsh for a 2-0 lead. Maddox Molony and Burke-Lee Mabeus then walked, forcing in Smith, and two batters later Carter Garate was hit by a pitch to score Aroz and make it 4-0.
"That's big-time stuff," Aroz said. "We want to give Grayson the run support that we can, and (also) beat good pitchers, because we're going to run into them down the road."
The pitcher's duel that most anticipated Friday then developed, with Banks getting through six innings and only allowing one more runner as far as second base. Grinsell, meanwhile, got a strikeout with the bases loaded in the fourth to end that threat, and another strikeout to cap a 121-pitch effort in the seventh.
"It was a gritty one today," Grinsell said. "Just tried to stay one pitch at a time, trusted in (pitching coach Blake Hawksworth) and Waz and it turned out the way we wanted to with the win."
After Grinsell finished his seven scoreless innings, Jeffery Heard provided some insurance with a solo homer off the UW bullpen in the bottom of the seventh. It was Heard's first home run since Feb. 28.
"It felt really good," Heard said. "I mean, it's no secret it's been a minute since I've hit one. So it felt nice, for sure."
Cole Stokes threw the eighth for Oregon, striking out four hitters after the second reached on a passed ball. Seth Mattox continued to hold down the back of the UO bullpen, throwing a 1-2-3 ninth to complete the shutout.
Notable: Grinsell has allowed 12 earned runs in 65.1 innings over his last 10 starts. … Grinsell's 251 career strikeouts moves him into fourth all-time at Oregon, passing Alex Keudell (2009-12). … Grinsell's 17th career win moved him into a tie for 10th in UO history with Tyler Anderson (2009-11) and Mike Nicksic (1966-68). … The UO staff has posted four straight quality starts in conference play. … Heard's homer was the 91st by the team this season, 10 behind the program record set in 2023. … Neville's walk in the first was his 50th of the year, tied for the UO single-season record with Aaron Zavala in 2021.
Up Next: The two teams meet again Saturday (2 p.m., B1G+).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Grinsell, Grayson (8-2)
L: Banks,Max (6-3)
Base Running:
SB: Taggart,Casen 1
HBP: DeCarlo,Sam 1 ; Knight,Malakhi 1
Batting:
HR: Heard, Jeffery 1
RBI: Heard, Jeffery 1 ; Walsh, Jacob 1 ; Aroz, Anson 1 ; Mabeus, Burke-Lee 1 ; Garate, Carter 1
SH: Stinson, Parker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Neville, Mason 1 ; Heard, Jeffery 1 ; Walsh, Jacob 1 ; Smith, Drew 1 ; Aroz, Anson 1
HBP: Smith, Drew 1 ; Garate, Carter 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
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H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
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H
2
RBI
1
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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1B
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