Ducks advance behind big day with the bats

Louisville, Ky. — Oregon used a school-record 26 hits to score 18 runs and stay alive in the Louisville Regional on Saturday in an 18-6 win over Southeast Missouri State at Patterson Field.
 
Every Duck starter collected at least one hit with seven recording multiple hits led by Brennan Milone's career-high five and Josiah Cromwick's career-best four. Malone went 5-for-6 at the plate on the heels of Friday's three-hit game. He is 8-for-11 with two home runs, two doubles, four RBI and four runs scored in the first two games of the regional tournament.
 
How It Happened: Milone continued to swing a hot bat in the first inning for the Ducks. Coming off a 3-for-5 regional game one where he hit a home run and doubled twice, Milone lined a two-out pitch over the left-field wall giving Oregon an early 1-0 lead.
 
Oregon pushed the lead to eight runs with a huge seven-run second inning. After a leadoff out, Oregon had nine straight batters reach base. Anthony Hall started the rally with a double off the wall in left-center field. He moved to third on a Cromwick infield hit and then scored along with Cromwick on a Sam Novitske double.
 
Novitske made it 4-0 on a Gavin Grant RBI single. After a Tanner Smith walk, Colby Shade ripped a three-run homer over the left-field wall. After Shade cleared the bases with the homer, Milone started another rally with a single, his fifth hit of the regional tournament. Drew Cowley moved Milone to second with a single off the pitcher and a Josh Kasevich hit-by-pitch loaded the bases.
 
Hall snapped Oregon's string of reaching base at nine, but not without driving in the seventh run of the inning. The Ducks' right fielder flew out to center field scoring Milone for an 8-0 lead.
 
SEMO cut the lead to six with single runs in the second and the third, before Oregon put three more on the road thanks mostly to back-to-back-to-back doubles. Cowley started the double parade before scoring on a Kasevich double who then came around to score on a Hall double. After a Cromwick single, Novitske picked up his third RBI of the day scoring Hall on a sacrifice fly and an 11-2 lead.
 
The Redhawks answered with three in the bottom of the fourth to pull back within six, but Oregon put four more on the board in the top of the sixth to regain command. Cromwick doubled to lead off the inning and scored on Sam Novitske's fourth RBI of the day coming on a single up the middle.
 
Novitske swiped second, moved to third on a Grant sacrifice bunt and scored on a Smith RBI single. Colby Shade reached on an error on SEMO third baseman Peyton Leeper allowing Smith to move to second before he came around to score on a Milone RBI single, his fourth hit of the day.
 
Cowley picked up his third hit of the day, driving in Shade from second to cap the four-run inning and push Oregon's lead back to 10.
 
The Ducks tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the eighth. Milone picked up his career-best fifth hit of the day to spark the rally, moved to third on Cowley's fourth hit of the day and second double before both scored on Kasevich's first triple of the season. Hall singled to drive in Kasevich to give Oregon an 18-5 lead.
 
Box Score Notes: Oregon ran its team RBI total to 411, the first time in school history the Ducks have had more than 400 RBI in a season … The Ducks also ran their total to 1030 total bases this season, the first time Oregon has surpassed the 1,000 total base mark in a season … Oregon matched a season-high with seven doubles for the second straight day and ran its season total to 120 doubles which ties the school record … Smith set a new Oregon single-season record for hits on his single to center to lead off the game … He finished with his 26th multi-hit game of the season and the 65th of his career, one shy of tying Gabe Matthews (2017-21) for the school record … Milone's home run was his 12th of the season, moving him into a tie for sixth on the single-season home run list with Tom Dodd (1978) and Dave Roberts (1978) … Hall's second inning double gave him 15 two-baggers for the season, tying him with Milone and Brett Thomas (2013) for ninth on the Oregon single-season list … He added his 16th in fifth tying him with Tyler Baumgartner (2014) and Danny Pulfer (2011) at the time for seventh … Shade's home run was his fifth of the season and first since April 15 at Washington … Novitske registered his 10th multi-hit game of the season and the 42nd of his career … He also had his seventh multi-RBI game of the season and the 17th of the season … Cowley put together his 20th multiple-hit game of the season in just 37 starts … He also had his 16th double of the season moving him into a tie with Hall, Baumgartner and Pulfer for seventh … Cromwick finished with his seventh multi-hit game of the season and the ninth of his career … All nine Ducks scored at least one run with eight of them scoring multiple runs … Five Ducks drove in multiple runs led by Novitske's career-high tying four.
 
On Deck: Oregon will meet the loser of Saturday's late game between Michigan and Louisville at 9 a.m. (PT) on Sunday.