Oregon opened its final regular season series of the season on a strong note Thursday evening. The Ducks beat the No. 25 Arizona Wildcats 10-4 behind two home runs from Tanner Smith and one from Anthony Hall.

“It’s big,” Smith said. “Friday night wins are always big. They give you a little momentum going into the next two days. Yeah, it’s a really big series for us, so I know we’re gonna come out and try to play our best baseball.”

The pitching combination of Christian Ciuffetelli and RJ Gordon was successful for the second straight week as the Ducks took home the opening night victory.

“It’s working well the last two times,” Gordon said. “Really whatever the coaches tell me to do, I’m gonna do it. I’m all for winning, so if we’re gonna win that way, then I’m all for it.”

The Wildcats struck first, collecting two hits and a walk against Ciuffetelli before he could record an out. With Arizona leading 1-0, catcher Bennett Thompson threw out a runner to help Ciuffetelli prevent further damage.

Ciuffetelli bounced back with a dominant second inning, striking out two in a perfect frame.

“Ciuff’s doing a tremendous job,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “It’s the look that we want to start a game with is really the mission behind what we’re doing with Ciuff. And he’s one of if not the most competitive people in the program.”

The Ducks flipped the script with a five-run bottom of the second. Hall hit a two-run shot for his team-leading 13th home run, putting Oregon on top 2-1. Smith padded the lead with a three-run bomb, his 10th of the season.

Ciuffetelli’s control was inconsistent, as he issued his second walk of the game to lead off the third inning. Daniel Susac, a likely first-round MLB draft pick, hit a one-out single, but the runner ahead of him was cut down trying to advance to third. After surrendering another single, Ciuffetelli exited with two outs.

Like last Friday, Gordon came in to replace Ciuffetelli. In last week’s matchup against Arizona State, Gordon wound up going 6 1/3 innings in relief, coming an out short of completing the game. 

Hall made a leaping catch to help Gordon record the final out of the frame.

Drew Cowley led off the bottom of the third with his second hit of the game. He and Josh Kasevich then executed a hit-and-run, putting runners on the corners. Hall recorded his third RBI with a fielder’s choice, and Thompson hit a popup that fell in for an RBI double to make it 7-1.

The Wildcats put runners on the corners with no outs against Gordon in the fourth, but he escaped the jam with a pair of strikeouts.

Smith led off the fourth with his second homer of the game, smashing one to the same spot in right field. The Ducks have demolished their single-season home run record this year, but Smith is the first member of the team to hit two in one game.

Gordon walked a pair of runners in the fifth. He once again managed to avoid any damage, racking up his third strikeout to end the inning.

The Wildcats finally struck against Gordon in the sixth inning, as Colby Shade dove for a line drive and came up just short. The ball fell for a run-scoring triple, but Gordon recorded another strikeout and a fly out to hold Oregon’s 8-2 lead.

He bounced back with a perfect seventh, reaching 94 mph on his fastball.

“I just felt like throwing it hard that pitch,” Gordon said nonchalantly.

After giving up a leadoff double in the eighth, Gordon was taken out. It was the second straight week with a strong relief outing for him. In those two outings, he gave up only three runs (two earned) in 10 1/3 innings.

“I can’t understand the chemistry of the thing,” Wasikowski said of Gordon’s bullpen success after struggling in the rotation. “When he’s out there and he’s competing the way he is, the ball comes out of his hand really good… At least in the short term, it’s been very effective, which is nice.”

Andrew Mosiello came in and gave up a single, adding a run to Gordon’s line. He then surrendered another pair of singles and issued a bases-loaded walk, bringing the potential tying run to the plate.

Closer Kolby Somers replaced Mosiello and recorded back-to-back strikeouts, working Oregon out of a massive jam. Somers went on to shut the door in the ninth.

“My mentality is just to pound strikes and fill up the zone with my best stuff, and I thought I did that today,” Somers said.

Oregon, which is now tied with Arizona for the No. 4 seed in the Pac-12 standings, will continue with Game 2 of the three-game series Friday at 4 p.m. PK Park will be celebrating Bark in the Park.

“I think these last four or five games, we’ve really seen a lot more smiles in the dugout, a lot more smiles in the locker room and everyone just embracing the opportunity in the last couple of games we have with each other,” Smith said.