The Ducks trailed 7-0 in the sixth inning of Friday night’s game against Washington State. They won 8-7.

It was perhaps Oregon baseball’s most impressive display of relentlessness yet, going into the ninth inning with a five-run deficit. They failed to capitalize on hard-hit balls for most of the game, but they finally started chipping away in the sixth. They scored five runs in an adrenaline-fueled, contentious ninth, and Brennan Milone put the icing on the cake with a walk-off single in the 10th.

“We had to keep going and keep staying with the process,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “The kids did a great job staying with the process. We had a lot of adversity tonight, and we were able to overcome it and come out with a Friday night win. That’s huge.”

The Cougars struck first with a three-run second inning. A double and a single got them on the board, and a two-run homer made it 3-0. 

Another homer in the third inning extended Washington State’s lead to 4-0.

Drew Cowley singled in his first at-bat of the game for his first hit since March 8, but the next six Ducks were retired. The Ducks came out of the gate lifeless against Cougars left-hander Cole McMillan, who entered the evening with unspectacular stats.

Gavin Grant hustled to turn a single into a double in the bottom of the third, briefly energizing the Oregon dugout. With two outs, Cowley worked a full count but grounded out sharply to end the inning.

The Cougars added two more in the fourth with a walk and three singles. That ended Gordon’s outing after 3 2/3 innings. The rough performance brought his season ERA to 6.59.

Oregon got something going in the bottom of the fourth, as Jacob Walsh singled and Josh Kasevich walked. But the Ducks couldn’t cash in. Colby Shade lined one sharply to the second baseman, ending the inning with a tough-luck out.

In the fifth, right-hander Christian Ciuffetelli gave up the Cougars’ third home run of the game. Grant made a throwing error as Oregon continued to play an uncharacteristically ugly brand of baseball. Washington State made a baserunning blunder to get the Ducks out of the inning still down 7-0.

Grant singled in the bottom of the fifth, but he was caught stealing. The offense struggled to get any kind of rally going.

Stone Churby gave up a walk and a single to the first two batters he faced in the sixth, but he retired the next three.

The Ducks finally ignited a rally in the bottom of the sixth thanks to some hustle. Cowley beat out a grounder to short and advanced to second on an error. After Walsh was hit in the head, Kasevich beat out a grounder to first, prompting the Oregon dugout to erupt in celebration.

Anthony Hall got the Ducks on the board with a sacrifice fly, but that was all they got in the inning.

Tanner Smith and Cowley recorded back-to-back two-out hits in the seventh, knocking McMillan out of the game after 111 pitches. It was Cowley’s third hit of the night. Milone greeted relief pitcher Caden Kaelber with an RBI single to make it 7-2.

Walsh followed with Oregon’s fourth consecutive hit, beating out another grounder that the Cougars couldn’t quite handle. Cowley rounded third and tried to score, but he was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

Andrew Mosiello pitched two scoreless innings to calm the Washington State storm and give the Ducks a chance.

Freshman right-hander Tommy Brandenburg entered in the ninth inning for his first appearance since March 27, and just his second since his March 13 start against Stanford. He won a 10-pitch battle to begin his outing with a strikeout.

Tyler Ganus pinch hit for Josiah Cromwick in the bottom of the ninth and was hit by the first pitch he saw. He sprinted to first base while pumping his fists as the Oregon dugout cheered passionately. He then appeared to advance to second on a dropped catch by the second baseman, but the umpires overturned the call. They were met with heavy boos from the PK Park crowd.

The Ducks didn’t let up. Smith doubled, Cowley walked and Milone hit a two-run single to cut the deficit to three. Walsh was then called out for standing outside the batter’s box too long, prompting the usually composed Walsh to scream furiously at the umpire. Wasikowski sprinted in to diffuse the situation, and he spoke intensely with the umpire for a while before play returned.

“Although it pissed everybody on our side off, that’s just a rule that needs to be addressed and refined moving forward,” Wasikowski said.

With the crowd amped up and yelling passionately, Kasevich grinded an at-bat which resulted in an RBI single to make it 7-5. Hall then barely squeezed one into right-center field for another hit to make it a one-run game.

With Shade batting, a wild pitch scooted by the catcher and tied the game at seven apiece. The Ducks proved their relentless ways once again, coming back from a 7-0 deficit.

Left-hander Kolby Somers fired a perfect top of the 10th with two strikeouts.

Oregon then went back to work in the bottom of the 10th. Grant and Smith hit back-to-back singles, and Cowley beat out another infield hit to load the bases. Milone played hero, slicing a walk-off single to right-center field. He sprinted into right field as his mob of teammates chased after him.

“I’ve been a part of some of those, and honestly they’re kinda scary sometimes,” Milone said. “Today, it’s freezing. I knew the Gatorade was coming for me. The people jumping all around and getting tackled and stuff, that’s why I ran as far as I did.”

Oregon (26-11) and Washington State (14-22) will continue with Game 2 of the three-game series Saturday at 3 p.m.