Diamond Dawgs Storm Back, Beat Ducks 7-6

SEATTLE – Washington scored seven unanswered runs to erase an early deficit Friday night against No. 23 Oregon, opening the series with a 7-6 victory at Husky Ballpark.
 
The Husky bullpen teamed up for five-scoreless innings, with Gianluca Shinn earning his second win of the season, retiring all four batters he faced. Grant Cunningham finished off the final five outs to earn his second save.
 
After starting out strong with four strikeouts through two innings, Husky starter Max Fraser ran into some trouble in the third and fourth as three combined home runs led to six for the Ducks to take the early lead.
 
Washington answered right back with four runs in its half of the fourth, stopping the bleeding and turning the tide of momentum.
 
After an AJ Guerrero single up the middle to lead off, Jeter Ybarra turned on an inside pitch, pulling a two-run blast well over the right field wall to get the Huskies on the board. Back-to-back walks put action back on the base paths and Colin Blanchard and Sam DeCarlo made the Ducks pay with RBI singles, narrowing the deficit to 6-4.
 
Oregon threatened to extend the lead in the sixth with runners at second and third with two outs but Shinn came on to get the Dawgs out of the jam, inducing a pop up.
 
A few minutes later, the game was tied as Carson Ohland drew a one-out walk and Cooper Whitton crushed a no-doubt blast to right-center, evening the score at six runs apiece.
 
Aiva Arquette, Braeden Terry and Guerrero teamed up to complete the comeback in the seventh, stringing together three straight singles to put the Huskies ahead for good.
 
Two walks and a sacrifice bunt put the tying run 90 feet away for Oregon in the eighth but Cunningham got the Dawgs out of dodge, collecting two outs to snuff out the threat. The Husky closer went on to set down UO in order in the ninth to lock down the series opening victory.
 
Washington and Oregon will square off in a rematch Saturday at 5:05 p.m. PT. The game will air nationally on both Pac-12 Washington and Pac-12 Oregon.
 
DAWG BITES
• The Huskies have won four-straight regular season matchups over the Ducks
• Seven of Washington's 10 hits came from the top-four batters of its lineup
• Braeden Terry extended his hitting streak to 12 games
• AJ Guerrero continued his torrid pace, posting three or more hits for the fourth time in the last six games
• During those six games, Guerrero has racked up 16 base knocks
• Jeter Ybarra crushed his fifth home run of the season, while Cooper Whitton blasted his fourth
• Ybarra produced just one big fly over in 36 starts in 2023, while Whitton didn't leave the yard once during his rookie campaign
• Gianluca Shinn has allowed just two runs over his last four appearances, totaling 6.1 innings

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