No. 10 Oregon baseball opened what may be its hardest conference series of the season with a resounding 7-2 victory, again firing on all cylinders.
After 5.0 solid innings of work from Oregon starter Grayson Grinsell, Jason Reitz locked down the Trojans’ bats, keeping them scoreless for the final four frames. After Oregon’s latest win (the ninth-straight for the Ducks), the bullpen has recorded 21-straight innings of scoreless work.
That’s the dominance the Ducks (12-2, 1-0 Big Ten) displayed over the Trojans (9-4, 0-1 Big Ten) on Friday night.
It started right away.
The Ducks had a lead only two pitches into their conference season. Mason Neville roped his eighth homer of the season as a leadoff shot to put Oregon ahead and give Grinsell an early lead to protect.
Neville tallied his second RBI of the night just an inning later as he brought in Jeffery Heard on a sacrifice fly. Two throwing errors by USC starter Caden Hunter (4.1 innings, eight hits, six runs, seven strikeouts) prompted a three-run inning from the Oregon offense. Two of the three runs came unearned, but Ryan Cooney’s sacrifice bunt, Heard’s RBI single and Neville’s sacrifice expanded the early advantage.
Grinsell needed a good outing after getting roughed up in his previous two outings, and he gave the Ducks exactly what they needed. Across his five full innings, he used 93 pitches to record eight strikeouts while only issuing a pair of runs on four hits. He earned his second win of the season and his ERA now sits at 5.26.
A Coen Niclai (2-2) RBI double scored Jacob Walsh in the third to break the game open early. USC got on the board in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double from Bryce Grudzielanek, but the Trojans were already in a deep hole, and the Ducks had a response.
Another Oregon run crossed in the fourth as a Neville (2-3, two RBI) single prompted the Trojans’ third error of the night, bringing in Carter Garate (1-3, run) and providing quick retaliation.
USC got a second (and final) run off the bat of Dean Carpentier from his fourth-inning sacrifice fly, but that run, too, prompted a response from Oregon.
It became another big night for Cooney as he plated Burke-Lee Mabeus with a single in the fifth. Cooney was 1-3 with a pair of RBIs on the night, bringing his average to an impressive .312. The Ducks have now scored seven or more runs in each of their last eight games (all wins).
Oregon stopped scoring after the fifth (USC’s bullpen combined for five arms, one run, two hits, four walks and two strikeouts), but it didn’t matter, Reitz did the rest.
Through the Ducks’ first 13 games, Reitz had only been utilized as a starter. With conference play only requiring three starting arms, Retiz became a stellar bullpen option, and he proved it on Friday.
Reitz threw 4.0 innings of shutout ball, allowing only four runners on three hits and a walk. He fanned five to slam the door on any possible Trojan comeback.
The last time the Ducks and Trojans met, USC beat Oregon 4-2 in Scottsdale, Arizona, bouncing Oregon from the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament. However, it would appear that new conferences bring new trends. The Ducks go for the series win tomorrow.
The Trojans are playing their home games at Great Park in Irvine, California, as their home stadium continues to be constructed. Oregon and USC will play two more games this weekend, the next slated for 2:05 on Saturday.
