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Ducks Take Two, Go For Sweep Sunday

by GoDucks.com
May 4, 2024

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon entered Saturday two games behind Utah in the Pac-12 standings. The Ducks will enter Sunday tied with the Utes, and looking to finish off an elusive series sweep of a conference opponent.

A day after Friday's scheduled series opener was postponed due to weather, the UO baseball team swept a doubleheader with Utah on Saturday at PK Park. The No. 21 Ducks came from behind in the middle innings to win the opener, 7-5, then took an early lead to support a dominant pitching performance in a 5-1 victory to cap the day.

Weather continued to be a factor Saturday. But the teams got both games in. And Oregon got the sweep.

"The guys played well," said UO coach Mark Wasikowski, whose team improved to 32-14 overall and 14-9 in the Pac-12. "I don't think it was perfect or clean or anything like that; it's a real challenge when the conditions were the way they were. So to come out with two wins when the conditions were like they were is really good."
 

For the third time this season, Oregon will enter a series finale against a Pac-12 foe with the chance to secure a sweep. The Ducks have yet to do so in those previous chances.

"There's definitely just a lot of excitement in the locker room just to get that opportunity again," said Logan Mercado, who entered the ninth inning of game one with the bases loaded and nobody out, and retired the next three hitters in order for his seventh save. "They're just really riled up to go out there and really take that next step for us."

Game One: The Ducks struck first in the opener, and would need to strike a few times more to secure the win. In the bottom of the first, Chase Meggers was hit by a pitch and Drew Smith singled. Both moved up on a wild pitch and then Jacob Walsh did his job to perfection, hitting behind the runners and driving in Meggers with a ground out to first base.

"Cold, wet, it's not great baseball conditions," Walsh said. "So, you know, try to just take anything you can get on days like this."

The Utes, who came into the weekend tied with Arizona for first place in the Pac-12, took the lead with two runs in the third and made it 4-1 with two more in the fourth. The Ducks responded with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth, as Mason Neville singled and Bryce Boettcher blasted his ninth homer of the season to make it a one-run game.

Boettcher had earlier stolen a possible Utah home run in the first inning, with a catch against the fence in center field. So while the weather required some gritty play from the Ducks overall Saturday, there also were some fireworks.

"We're from Eugene — we take pride in winning games in the rain," Boettcher said. "You know, Ducks like to swim on the pond, as we say. So it feels great and (we'll be) coming out tomorrow guns blazing to get the sweep."

Walsh followed Boettcher's lead in the fifth, following a single by Smith with a two-run homer for a 5-4 lead. The homer was Walsh's 17th of the season, one shy of the school record set last spring by Sabin Ceballos.

An RBI single by Anson Aroz scored Walsh in the seventh, and Justin Cassella followed with a double to plate Aroz. That came after two scoreless innings from freshman Ryan Featherston, in relief of RJ Gordon (6-4). Bradley Mullan pitched a scoreless eighth before loading the bases in the ninth, a jam Mercado got out of while allowing just one inherited runner to score.

Game Two: The Ducks struck first again in the nightcap, putting together an extended two-out rally in the first. Walsh singled to get it going, Jeffery Heard walked and Maddox Molony loaded the bases with an infield single. A wild pitch brought Walsh in to score, and another brought Heard home for a 2-0 lead.

That would be all the support required for UO starter Grayson Grinsell (6-2). He threw six innings and allowed one run on seven hits and a walk, with six strikeouts. Brock Moore picked up his first save by throwing three hitless innings to close it out.

"Having a lead and then having Grayson do what he did, I thought he pitched exceptionally well," Wasikowski said. "And then Brock Moore coming in and doing what he's doing now lately is really — I mean, it's not easy to pitch in a driving rainstorm, for either side, and I was proud of our guys for doing that."

The Ducks would provided some insurance for Grinsell and Moore, with Heard doubling in two runs in the fifth for a 4-0 lead. Meggers then answered Utah's run in the top of the sixth with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, which got the lead back to four at 5-1.

After the game, Wasikowski invited PK Park groundkeeper Kenny Hoffman to lead the Ducks as they broke their postgame huddle, in acknowledgement of the job that staff did keeping the field playable through two games Saturday.

"The pitchers, we wouldn't be able to do what we do without those guys," Grinsell said. "They're doing the mound every day, they're making it perfect for us, however we want it. So, big shout out to Kenny and his guys."

Up Next: The Ducks and Utes are scheduled to play the series finale at PK Park on Sunday (12:05 p.m., Pac-12 Oregon).

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