An emphasis that Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski has put on his squad is a necessity to be able to win games in a variety of ways. Unsurprisingly, the Ducks found that winning comes easy when they limit baserunners.
No. 5 Oregon (35-13, 16-8 Big Ten) didn’t issue a single free pass to Saint Mary’s (26-22, 10-8 WCC) hitters and limited the Gaels to five hits in its 8-1 win on Wednesday night to sweep the midweek series.
“We haven’t played midweeks consistently well throughout the year,” Wasikowski said. “For us to show now that we’re able to handle midweek games…I was happy to see us win two games in the midweek.”
It was a predictably unusual type of game for the Oregon pitching staff on Wednesday. Four different Ducks toed the rubber in the win. Julian Hernandez made his second start of the season and worked through the first inning with only eight pitches. He threw a trio of scoreless frames while collecting five strikeouts to lower his season ERA from 10.29 to 7.20 before relenting the pitching duties to Ryan Featherston in the fourth.
“It was a good win,” Hernandez said. “Strikeouts are strikeouts, but (i just try to) keep doing my best, keep throwing strikes and keep attacking batters.”
Saint Mary’s took the term “bullpen game” to another level as the Gaels rolled out eight different arms in eight innings on Wednesday. The strategy kept the Ducks from finding any sort of groove until the sixth as they were outhit through the first five frames. The Gaels had six different pitchers throw fewer than 23 pitches in their 22nd loss of the season.
The Ducks loaded the bases in the bottom of the third with a single from Carter Garate and a pair of walks before Jacob Walsh and Drew Smith picked up RBIs on a groundout and sac-fly, respectively. Oregon plated the contest’s first runs and took an early 2-0 advantage.
Featherston relented back-to-back doubles to start the top of the fourth and allow the Gaels to get on the board, but the RBI double from Ryan Pierce would be the extent of the damage any Oregon pitcher allowed in its 35th win of the year.
Oregon loaded the bases again in the fourth, but were unable to push anything across after a pair of unproductive outs with runners in scoring position. The Ducks left 11 men on base in the win.
Facing a different pitcher in each inning meant the Ducks never got a look at the same arm twice, posing a unique challenge in a midweek game.
“It’s not easy going against new guys every inning,” Oregon catcher Chase Meggers said. “But we’re taught to barrel up the ball and just do what we can, and it works.”
Oregon again loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth with a pair of singles from Ryan Cooney and Garate and a walk to Mason Neville (one of three he was issued on Wednesday). Two frames after leaving the bases loaded with a flyout to left, Meggers did his job in the sixth, plating two with a two-RBI infield single.
Walsh was intentionally walked (one of three on the night) to reload the bases for Smith, who walked to bring in another run. Maddox Molony added a two-RBI single to the Ducks’ six-run sixth frame as they jumped way out in front of the Gaels.
Featherston turned the pitching duties over to Jaxon Jordan with one out in the seventh inning. Featherston was responsible for 3.1 innings of two-hit, one-run ball with three strikeouts on 58 pitches. He retired a string of 10-straight from the fourth to seventh innings.
The most impressive stat of the night came from the Oregon pitching staff. The Ducks didn’t walk a single batter while collecting nine offensively. Jordan and Tanner Bradley combined for a 1-2-3 eighth. The Ducks limited the Gaels to five total hits, none of which came after the fourth inning.
“With no walks tonight, I thought that was a tremendously-pitched game,” Wasikowski said.
After the two-game sweep, Oregon now leads the all-time series between the Gaels 7-5. The Ducks remain at PK Park this weekend for their final home series of the season as the Washington Huskies roll into Eugene for a three-game series. First pitch on Friday is set for 5:05 p.m.
