The Oregon baseball team got a much needed momentum boost on Tuesday, thrashing the Portland Pilots 18-2 at home.
Freshman Jacob Hughes got his first career start for the Ducks and pitched three scoreless innings. The bullpen and defense worked in nearly perfect conjunction, while the bats reverted back to their St. John’s form. It resulted in a luxurious victory, giving Oregon a win heading into what should be a tough series against Stanford.
Hughes, who entered the game with one run allowed in four innings this year, was rock solid from the beginning. He worked around two unlucky infield singles to work a scoreless first inning.
Oregon drew first blood and never looked back. Tanner Smith walked, Drew Cowley singled and Brennan Milone hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the first run. Doubles from Jacob Walsh and Josh Kasevich added another pair. Colby Shade went deep with two outs, hitting one under the new “All Americans” banner in left field to put the Ducks up 5-0 in the first.
After the long delay, Hughes came right back out and fired a perfect second inning with his first strikeout of the game.
“I think I commanded the fastball really well,” Hughes said. “It was really nice for them to put up a five-spot in the first inning to really relax me for the rest of the game.”
The Ducks added another in the bottom of the second on a solo homer by Smith, who has exploded after a slow start to the season. In his last two games, he has two homers, two doubles, two singles and two walks.
“Hitting comes and goes,” Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski said. “At the beginning of the year, it wasn’t there with him. He’s starting to find a good rhythm right now, which is really good. Starting in Pac-12 play, we’re gonna need Tanner.”
Wasikowski’s plan was to have Hughes go two innings, but the freshman was so impressive that he allowed him to go a third. Hughes allowed another unlucky hit in the third but pitched an otherwise scoreless frame, bringing an end to a great day for him.
“He looked like he had poise,” Wasikowski said. “He looked like he had a real presence to him out there.”
Oregon refused to let up on offense. Defensive-minded catcher Jack Scanlon put together an incredible at-bat in the third, working the count full. Much to the excitement of his teammates in the dugout, he drove one to right field for a three-run homer, blowing it open to 9-0. It was just his second hit of the year.
“Really excited for Jack,” Wasikowski said. “He needed that, and it was fun being in the dugout again tonight with the guys. They had a lot of fun with each other.”
It was smooth sailing from there. Dylan Sabia threw two scoreless innings, helped by a diving catch from Cowley.
Logan Mercado pitched a scoreless sixth. It was his second appearance of the season, matching last year’s total. The Oregon defense continued to shine, with Kasevich and Cowley turning a highlight reel double play.
Walsh, who appears to be turning into a doubles machine, smacked a three-run two-bagger in the bottom of the sixth to make it 12-0. Scanlon couldn’t replicate his third-inning magic, striking out with the bases loaded to hold the lead at 12.
The Pilots got on the board with a walk and a two-run homer off Mercado in the seventh.
“The only pitcher that walked anybody gave up a run, which kind of is a little salt in the wound, and it’s a great lesson,” Wasikowski said.
Cowley added another with an RBI double in the bottom of the inning, boosting his average back up to .500. The versatile Tyler Ganus got an at-bat, using his own song as his walk-up music and promptly recording his first hit of the year.
Freshman catcher Bennett Thompson walked in his first collegiate plate appearance, loading the bases in the eighth.
After the Ducks added two runs, Ganus stepped up to the plate for his second at-bat of the game. The utility player, who’s a musician and actor outside of baseball, smashed his first collegiate home run — a three-run shot that made it 18-2.
“So awesome,” Smith said of that moment. “You can’t even put into words how exciting it is to see the hard work and all the minutes these guys put in, and to see that come out and show and get the results for them, you can’t beat that feeling.”
Scott Ellis and RJ Gordon locked down the last two scoreless innings to cap off the win. The 18-2 victory snapped a two-game losing streak for Oregon.
The Ducks (8-5) will now travel to Stanford for a three-game series against the Cardinal (8-3) starting Friday.
