Huskies Let One Get Away In 8-6 Loss To Ducks

SEATTLE - Huskies took a 5-3 lead into the eighth behind solid pitching from starter Calvin Kirchoff and Stu Flesland III, but Oregon's high powered offense found their footing and put five on the board against Husky ace reliever Stefan Raeth.

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Starter Calvin Kirchoff had a solid first two innings holding the Ducks scoreless by retiring five of the first six. The third however, started with a walk which often leads to trouble and this was no exception. That batter would soon find himself on third following another walk and a fly out to center. That set the stage for a hit to the left side that shortstop Cam Clayton made a heck of an effort just to get to. He was unable to make the throw over for the out however, and Oregon hit the scoreboard first. 

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Cole Miller led off the inning with a ball to the third baseman. His throw over pulled the first baseman slightly off the base however, and the Huskies had a runner on. Josh Urps came up next and laid down a sacrifice bunt sending Miller to second. Next up, McKay Barney hit an infield single to second and the Dawgs had runners on the corners. Will Simpson followed with a shot to the left field fence. The fielder had trouble getting a handle on it and both Barney and Miller scored to put the Huskies up 2-1.

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Kirchoff was solid in the top half of the inning retiring the Ducks with a lone single. In the bottom half, Colby Wallace got things started with a one-out double to left field. Two batters later with two outs, Miller, Urps, and Barney walked in order earning Barney an RBI as Wallace came home. Coming up clutch with two outs, Simpson singled scoring both Urps and Miller to give the Dawgs a 5-1 lead.

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The Ducks opened the inning with a leadoff single. A sac bunt followed moving the runner over, but it proved unnecessary as Kirchoff offered up a home run to left to the next batter. A flyout followed, but a two-out walk and a single up the middle put runners on the corners and signaled a call to the bullpen. Stu Flesland III replaced Kirchoff on the mound and escaped the inning with a ball he fielded himself. The Dawgs took a 5-3 lead into the bottom half of the inning.

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The Huskies were unable to produce any runs in the fifth, but the inning is worth noting due to a moment of drama that unfolded. Johnny Tincher was hit by the first pitch of the inning up around the shoulder and the Oregon pitcher was immediately ejected. There hadn't been any visible animosity between the two teams so it's unclear why the hasty ejection was made. 

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Cole Miller got things started in the sixth with a one-out single to center field. Josh Urps singled through the right side which set up the Huskies with runners on first and third with only one out. Miller would soon score on a throwing error by the catcher to make it a 6-3 ballgame in favor of the Huskies.

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RHP Stefan Raeth started the inning having replaced Flesland with one out in the seventh. A leadoff triple down the right field line was assumed to be an anomaly for the extremely reliable hurler, but two more singles followed and the Ducks were just getting started. With runners on first and second, the next batter laid down a sacrifice bunt to the right side that turned into more than a hit. From a deep position, second baseman Josh Urps was late getting to first base with Simpson breaking on the bunt. Raeth fielded the ball and led Urps a bit too much, sending the ball into foul territory down the right field line. Another run scored and the Ducks now had runners on second and third. A pop up to second finally handed the Dawgs their first out of the inning. Oregon got to Raeth for another RBI single that left runners on the corners until a stolen base had them both in scoring position. With the game now tied, the Dawgs were desperate to find that elusive final out. It didn't reside with the next batter though, as he delivered the sixth hit of the inning scoring two more. Raeth finally returned to form sitting the next batter down looking at an 0-2 pitch. He would then get out of the inning as he was able to field the first pitch to the next batter himself. As they moved to the bottom half of the inning, the Huskies were now looking at the wrong side of an 8-6 score. A comeback was not in the cards however, and the Huskies will now look to salvage a win in the three-game series tomorrow at 2:05 PM.

Starter Calvin Kirchoff went 4.2 innings giving up 3 earned runs on 6 hits with 3 walks and no strikeouts. In relief, Stu Flesland III gave up just one hit with no runs, walks, or strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work. Stefan Raeth took the loss giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts.