After dazzling last Friday against Ohio State, Oregon starting pitcher Tommy Thorpe pitched well again against USC, but not well enough to get the win. Oregon fell in its first Pac-12 conference game Friday night 3-2 against the visiting Trojans.
Thorpe, who tossed seven scoreless innings and struck out 10 in a win against the Buckeyes last weekend, went into the seventh inning for the second start in a row, allowing five hits and three runs on the night.
“I was just trying to go out there and give our team the best chance to win,” Thorpe said following the loss. “Tonight wasn’t the best chance.”
Oregon head coach George Horton added, “I thought he was much sharper with location last outing than this one. But that’s Tommy, he’ll battle for you and get you deep into (games).”
While Thorpe pitched well, his counterpart pitched even better. Trojans starting pitcher Wyatt Strahan entered the game with a 0-2 record and 4.74 ERA. Despite the dismal statistics, Strahan got off to a dominating start against the Ducks’ lineup. The USC starter struck out five of the first six Oregon batters.
“His numbers coming into today were not very good,” Horton said regarding Strahan. “Our scouting report: sometimes that kid is one dimensional. But even one dimensional at 95-96 with shadows is not an easy venture. I thought he had spectacular stuff.”
In the top of the third, the Trojans broke onto the scoreboard first.
With one out, catcher Garrett Stubbs singled to get USC on the base paths. Following Stubbs, leadoff hitter Timmy Robinson blasted a shot into the right field gap that bounced off the base of the wall. Right fielder Tyler Baumgartner misplayed the bounce, which allowed Stubbs to score on the play and Robinson to get all the way to third with a triple.
The Trojans, however, weren’t finished in the frame. Third baseman Kevin Swick pushed a bunt down the right side that forced Thorpe to make the play at first, allowing Robinson to score USC’s second run of the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Oregon answered with a little bit of luck. With Designated hitter Kyle Garlick at the plate, Mitchell Tolman, who walked to get on base earlier in the inning, stole second. Stubbs rifled a throw to second, however it rolled past the glove of second baseman Dante Flores and into short center field. Tolman sprung up from second and sprinted to third just in time to beat Robinson’s throw. On the next pitch, Garlick hit a ground ball out to third, which allowed Tolman to score.
The Trojans added an insurance run in the top of the eight. After allowing Stubbs to reach second, Thorpe was pulled in favor of reliever Garrett Cleavinger. With one out and a runner on third, Swick hit a high fly ball to short right field. Baumgartner sprinted in, but misjudged the trajectory of the ball and it landed to the right of him. Stubbs scored easily on the play to push the Trojans’ lead to two.
“He had a long way to go,” Horton said. “He was backed up.”
Following a ground out from Aaron Payne and a line-out from Austin Grebeck to start off the bottom of the eighth, the Ducks looked to be in dire need of a spark. Oregon compiled three consecutive hits, including a line drive double down the left field line by Tolman, to get a run back from the Trojans.
Reliever Sean Adler came in for Strahan to strikeout left fielder A.J. Balta and successfully end the Oregon attack.
Trailing by one in the bottom of the ninth, USC closer Kyle Davis came in and made easy work of the Ducks. Davis walked pinch hitter Nick Catalano and allowed a single to Aaron Payne, but that’s all Oregon could muster as Davis shut the door on any possible comeback.
“I like the way my team responded,” Horton said. “We didn’t get it done, we didn’t win and we didn’t come back and tie it. It never tastes good to lose but I do like the way they got up off the deck and did something.”
Oregon will hit the field against USC for the second game of a three game series tomorrow. Though it’s just one game, the Ducks want to jump out early tomorrow and secure a rubber match against the Trojans on Sunday.
“It’s definitely frustrating coming out here first game (and losing),” Tolman said. “But it’s a long road. It’s a 30-game World Series. We’re going to come back tomorrow and play hard and try and get a ‘W.’”
Follow Joseph Hoyt on Twitter @jhoyt42