Friday, April 17
Champaign, Ill.
1:32 p.m.
University of Oregon
27-10, 0
16
at
6
Illinois
19-17, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 19 | 1 |
| Illinois | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
Photo by: Zoe Rivers
Ducks Break Out the Bats in Run-Rule Win
04/17/26 | Baseball
Champaign, Ill. — No. 19 Oregon belted four home runs while piling up 19 hits in a 16-6 (7 inning) win over Illinois in Big Ten Conference action on Friday at Illinois Field.
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Freshman Naulivou Lauaki Jr. hit a pair of tape-measure home runs and drove in a career-best five runs, while Ryan Cooney went 5-for-5 with three runs scored and Maddox Moloney added four RBI and a home run while going 2-for-5 at the plate. Drew Smith slugged Oregon's first home run, a two-run shot in the first inning, while going 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored.
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Lauaki's blasts both traveled more than 470 feet and had exit velocities in excess of 110 miles per hour. His first, a three-run shot, was measured at 496 feet and came off the bat at 114 miles per hour. The second went over the batter's eye in center field, going 471 feet with an exit velocity of 112 miles per hour. Both Smith's and Molony's homer were no-doubters as well, with Smith's traveling 441 feet and Molony's covering 407 feet.
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Will Sanford (6-1) and Tanner Bradley combined to hold Illinois (19-17, 7-9 Big Ten) to six runs on a day where the wind was blowing straight out to left field in excess of 25 miles per hour. The Illini hit five home runs, but Sanford and Bradley were able to limit them to four solo home runs and one two-run shot.
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How It Happened: The teams traded runs over the first two innings. Smith belted a two-out, two-run home run after Cooney delivered his first base hit, to give Oregon (27-10, 11-5 Big Ten) the lead in the top of the first. The Illini matched Oregon with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to tie the game.
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Moloney crushed a line-drive over the wall in left-center field in the second inning, but once again Illinois countered with a solo shot of its own in the second to tie the game heading into the third.
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The Ducks broke it open with five runs in the top of the third while hitting for the cycle as a team in the inning. Brayden Jaksa led off the frame with a triple into the right field corner before scoring on a Cooney double into the right-center field gap. Smith singled to move Cooney to third, before the Ducks' second baseman was retired after getting caught in a rundown on an Angel Lay ground ball.
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After a strikeout, Burke-Lee Mabeus plated Smith with a base hit to center for a 5-3 lead, bringing Lauaki to the plate with two on. The Ducks' designated hitter made it 8-3 with a laser over the left-center field wall.
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Oregon tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning to push the lead to 11-3. Molony picked all three RBI with a bases loaded double to left field that bounced over the left-fielder's head allowing Laya to come all the way around from first.
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Illinois climbed back too with five runs with solo home runs in the bottom of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings but Oregon put the game away with five runs in the seventh to secure a run-rule victory.
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Mabeus led off the seventh and scored on Lauaki's second home run of the day. Jax Gimenez reached on a one-out triple, before scoring on a wild pitch. Jaksa and Cooney put together back-to-back singles before coming around to score on a Laya two-bagger that landed inside the left-field line.
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Box Score Notes: Molony's home run was his 31st career long ball, tying Tanner Smith (2019-23) for third all-time in program history ... Smith's was his 24th, tying him for ninth all-time in program history with Anson Aroz (2022-25) and Kenyon Yovan (2017-21) … Gimenez extended his reached base streak to 27 games with his seventh-inning triple … Oregon's 19 hits tied for the second most this season, behind only the Ducks' 20 hits at Purdue on March 8 … Oregon scored in double digits for the 11th time this season, with the 16 runs ranking as the third most this season … Oregon's four home runs tied for the eighth most in a single game in program history … It was the sixth time this season that Oregon hit four homers in a game … Eight of Oregon's nine starters had at lead one hit, with six having multiple hits … Six of Oregon's starters drove in at least one run with four players having multiple RBI.
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On Deck: Game two of the series is on Saturday with a 1:02 p.m. (PT) first pitch.
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Freshman Naulivou Lauaki Jr. hit a pair of tape-measure home runs and drove in a career-best five runs, while Ryan Cooney went 5-for-5 with three runs scored and Maddox Moloney added four RBI and a home run while going 2-for-5 at the plate. Drew Smith slugged Oregon's first home run, a two-run shot in the first inning, while going 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored.
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Lauaki's blasts both traveled more than 470 feet and had exit velocities in excess of 110 miles per hour. His first, a three-run shot, was measured at 496 feet and came off the bat at 114 miles per hour. The second went over the batter's eye in center field, going 471 feet with an exit velocity of 112 miles per hour. Both Smith's and Molony's homer were no-doubters as well, with Smith's traveling 441 feet and Molony's covering 407 feet.
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Will Sanford (6-1) and Tanner Bradley combined to hold Illinois (19-17, 7-9 Big Ten) to six runs on a day where the wind was blowing straight out to left field in excess of 25 miles per hour. The Illini hit five home runs, but Sanford and Bradley were able to limit them to four solo home runs and one two-run shot.
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How It Happened: The teams traded runs over the first two innings. Smith belted a two-out, two-run home run after Cooney delivered his first base hit, to give Oregon (27-10, 11-5 Big Ten) the lead in the top of the first. The Illini matched Oregon with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to tie the game.
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Moloney crushed a line-drive over the wall in left-center field in the second inning, but once again Illinois countered with a solo shot of its own in the second to tie the game heading into the third.
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The Ducks broke it open with five runs in the top of the third while hitting for the cycle as a team in the inning. Brayden Jaksa led off the frame with a triple into the right field corner before scoring on a Cooney double into the right-center field gap. Smith singled to move Cooney to third, before the Ducks' second baseman was retired after getting caught in a rundown on an Angel Lay ground ball.
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After a strikeout, Burke-Lee Mabeus plated Smith with a base hit to center for a 5-3 lead, bringing Lauaki to the plate with two on. The Ducks' designated hitter made it 8-3 with a laser over the left-center field wall.
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Oregon tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning to push the lead to 11-3. Molony picked all three RBI with a bases loaded double to left field that bounced over the left-fielder's head allowing Laya to come all the way around from first.
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Illinois climbed back too with five runs with solo home runs in the bottom of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings but Oregon put the game away with five runs in the seventh to secure a run-rule victory.
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Mabeus led off the seventh and scored on Lauaki's second home run of the day. Jax Gimenez reached on a one-out triple, before scoring on a wild pitch. Jaksa and Cooney put together back-to-back singles before coming around to score on a Laya two-bagger that landed inside the left-field line.
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Box Score Notes: Molony's home run was his 31st career long ball, tying Tanner Smith (2019-23) for third all-time in program history ... Smith's was his 24th, tying him for ninth all-time in program history with Anson Aroz (2022-25) and Kenyon Yovan (2017-21) … Gimenez extended his reached base streak to 27 games with his seventh-inning triple … Oregon's 19 hits tied for the second most this season, behind only the Ducks' 20 hits at Purdue on March 8 … Oregon scored in double digits for the 11th time this season, with the 16 runs ranking as the third most this season … Oregon's four home runs tied for the eighth most in a single game in program history … It was the sixth time this season that Oregon hit four homers in a game … Eight of Oregon's nine starters had at lead one hit, with six having multiple hits … Six of Oregon's starters drove in at least one run with four players having multiple RBI.
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On Deck: Game two of the series is on Saturday with a 1:02 p.m. (PT) first pitch.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sanford, Will (6-1)
L: Regan Hall (5-4)
Batting:
2B: Cooney, Ryan 1 ; Laya, Angel 1 ; Molony, Maddox 1
3B: Gimenez, Jax 1 ; Jaksa, Brayden 1
HR: Smith, Drew 1 ; Molony, Maddox 1 ; Lauaki Jr., Naulivou 2
RBI: Cooney, Ryan 1 ; Smith, Drew 2 ; Laya, Angel 2 ; Molony, Maddox 4 ; Mabeus, Burke-Lee 1 ; Lauaki Jr., Naulivou 5
Base Running:
RUNS: Gimenez, Jax 1 ; Jaksa, Brayden 3 ; Cooney, Ryan 3 ; Smith, Drew 2 ; Laya, Angel 2 ; Molony, Maddox 1 ; Mabeus, Burke-Lee 2 ; Lauaki Jr., Naulivou 2
HBP: Laya, Angel 1
Batting:
2B: Nick Groves 1 ; Kyle Schupmann 1
HR: Michael Farina 1 ; Jack Zebig 1 ; Collin Jennings 1 ; Cole Crafton 1 ; Daniel Contreras 1
RBI: Michael Farina 1 ; Jack Zebig 2 ; Collin Jennings 1 ; Cole Crafton 1 ; Daniel Contreras 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nick Groves 1 ; Michael Farina 1 ; Jack Zebig 1 ; Collin Jennings 1 ; Cole Crafton 1 ; Daniel Contreras 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
3
H
5
RBI
1
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
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INF/OF
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INF/RHP
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/ BaseballOregon Baseball vs. Nebraska | 3 GAME SERIES HIGHLIGHTS (2026)
Monday, April 13
Devin Bell | Postgame vs. Nebraska (Game 3)
Sunday, April 12
Angel Laya | Postgame vs. Nebraska (Game 3)
Sunday, April 12
Tanner Bradley | Postgame vs. Nebraska (Game 3)
Sunday, April 12
