The Ducks’ magic had to run out at some point.
Oregon baseball was swept by UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium this weekend in three excruciatingly close games. All three losses were by one run. The Ducks’ powerful offense was mostly kept at bay, and while they got some solid performances from the bullpen, the Bruins ultimately outpitched them. It was the first Pac-12 series the Ducks have lost this year, and it happened in gut-wrenching fashion.
The story was similar in all three games. Oregon scored first in all three, with a two-run homer putting the Ducks up 2-0 in each of the first two. But their usually explosive offense was quieted by a strong UCLA pitching staff, failing to complete any late-inning comebacks.
“Last weekend was tough when you lose three one-run games to a good opponent, but they’re all good opponents it seems,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “It was a combination between UCLA having really good arms, and maybe us not having as much success as we’ve had so far in the year.”
The series started on a bright note, with RJ Gordon producing the best start of his career on Friday. He kept the Bruins scoreless through 5 2/3 innings before running into trouble as his pitch count reached triple digits. He couldn’t complete the sixth inning, eventually giving up three runs, but he set career highs in strikeouts, pitches thrown and innings pitched.
Isaac Ayon also had a strong start on Saturday before falling apart in the fifth. Just like in Gordon’s start, the three-run frame proved to be the difference. In both games, Josiah Cromwick struck out to end the game with the tying run on third. The Ducks certainly made them close, but they still went down as gut-punching losses.
The bullpen was effective once again at keeping Oregon in these games. Ducks relievers, including Dylan Sabia, Rio Britton, Christian Ciuffetelli and Logan Mercado, combined to throw 8 2/3 scoreless innings before Caleb Sloan gave up a run on Sunday. Closer Kolby Somers then gave up two runs in his only appearance of the series. Overall, the Oregon bullpen put up a 2.31 ERA on the weekend despite walking nine and hitting one in 11 2/3 innings.
Despite some positives, the Ducks still have a pitching problem, particularly when it comes to their starters. Gordon was a bright spot this weekend, but there’s still a dire lack of reliable arms that Oregon can count on for consistent quality starts.
The biggest issue, unfortunately for the Ducks, is out of their control with ace Adam Maier still out with an injury. Wasikowski said he’ll have more information on Maier within the next week. Their No. 2 starter Ayon has shown flashes of greatness, but he still has a 6.00 ERA on the year. After him, the Ducks have been going without a regular Sunday starter, instead desperately patching bullpen games together. While the relievers have been solid, this isn’t an ideal way to win games and it’s finally catching up to them.
“We knew that there was gonna be some learning curve issues with them,” Wasikowski said of his starters. “You’re taking a bunch of relievers and you’re just throwing them into a starting role. It’s not easy.”
The Ducks will look to regroup this weekend for four games against Ball State. Gordon and Ayon will once again start the first two games, while sophomore transfer Jace Stoffal will make his Oregon debut in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Sunday’s starter is to be determined.
“He’s a really good pitcher,” Wasikowski said of Stoffal. “He’s a guy that after the fall was in our top three in our rotation, and he got hurt during Christmas break or something like that. I don’t know the severity of it, but he’s been out for a while, and he’s gonna be back with us which is great.”
Offensively, Oregon still ranks 17th in the nation in runs scored despite the tough UCLA series. Drew Cowley, arguably the Ducks’ best hitter, has been out since March 11 and could be back by next week. Anthony Hall had the best offensive weekend against the Bruins, hitting two home runs, including one that went an estimated distance of 460 feet.
“I think UCLA, they mixed us with a lot of offspeed and stuff,” Hall said. “For me personally, I just kind of adjusted and sat offspeed. But a lot of their pitchers were throwing it low, so I saw the ball up… They threw me a lot of changeups too.”
Despite the sweep, the Ducks remained in most of the weekly polls. They fell out of D1Baseball’s list, but they were placed at No. 23 by Baseball America, No. 21 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 30 by NCBWA and No. 24 by Perfect Game.
The Ducks sit at fourth place in the Pac-12, just narrowly behind the Oregon State Beavers, who are ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation. The Ducks and Beavers have the same conference record of 7-5.
Oregon shortstop Josh Kasevich, who also collected a homer against UCLA, said the team views all games as having equal importance. The Ducks are keeping a level-headed approach as they look to bounce back.
“Kind of just flipping a switch,” Kasevich said of the team’s mentality. “If you have a bad at-bat, take a few moments to process it, and then let it go and move on to what’s next in the game.”
Evidently, this will be an important weekend for Oregon to get back on track. The Ducks (18-10) and Cardinals (17-9) begin their four-game series Friday at 4 p.m. in PK Park.
“Ball State’s a really good opponent,” Wasikowksi said. “They’re winning their league, and they’ve got really good arms… They’re gonna be good when they roll into town, and so the objective is to win. Nothing more than that.”
