It’s the day Oregon has been waiting for.
Offense has been a tough commodity to come by for the Ducks, despite a talented stack of names in the lineup each day. Early in the season, they’ve scratched out some wins and fell flat in some losses. Even in their wins, they haven’t felt like the offense has fully been there.
On Saturday, it was fully there.
Oregon exploded for a 13-0 win over San Diego, winning its third straight to clinch the four-game series. Colby Shade led the way with six RBIs, while Tanner Smith and Sabin Ceballos also hit homers. Jackson Pace made things stress-free on the mound, capping a dominant, well-rounded performance from the Ducks.
“It was a complete game,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “It’s hard to have a lot of complaints on what you saw today. It was a tremendous effort.”
Wasikowski and multiple players professed that despite the chilly weather, despite the rain, there was a different energy at PK Park from the time everyone arrived at the stadium. Pace said he felt like “something good was gonna happen today.”
“Everybody was like, ‘The weather is gonna be what it is. It’s gonna be cold. It’s gonna be wet for BP,’” Smith said. “‘Let’s just try to have as much fun and be as crazy as we can.’”
Pace was locked in from the beginning. He wasn’t overpowering, throwing no harder than the high 80s, but he worked quickly and was aided by Oregon’s precise positioning. The game moved at a fast pace on both sides of the ball, as neither team scored through the first three innings.
Particularly, in the fourth inning, the Toreros hit three hard line drives into the mitts of Duck outfielders. The Oregon bench erupted in praise of assistant coach Marcus Hinkle’s defensive alignments.
“We micromanage that stuff like crazy,” Wasikowski said. “Coach Hink’s an awesome coach. The guy’s unbelievable, and the time that he puts into spray charting and defensive positioning and all that kind of stuff is immense. And so today was a day where we were rewarded for his great effort.”
For the third straight game, Drew Cowley gave Oregon the lead with a clutch hit. He broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a bloop single that scored Ceballos, who had laced a strong double to the left-center field gap. With two outs, Bennett Thompson came in clutch with his first hit of the year, poking a grounder through the left side to make it 2-0.
The Ducks broke it open in the fifth. Smith got things started with a single, Rikuu Nishida laid down a bunt and Ceballos walked to load the bases. Cowley’s magic ran out, as he popped up, but Jacob Walsh lined a single off the third baseman’s glove. Walsh has started to see the ball better over the last couple days.
“He’s gonna play in the major leagues someday if he continues to improve and progress like we think he will,” Wasikowski said of Walsh. “He’s an awesome kid.”
San Diego reliever Ivran Romero took over for Garrett Rennie, and Shade greeted him rudely by ripping one into the left field corner. It cleared the bases, giving Oregon a 6-0 lead.
Pace nearly threw a perfect sixth inning, but with two outs, a ball took an unlucky bounce off the third base bag. Pace briefly fell out of his rhythm, and he issued a walk. On the next batter, Smith made a great catch, but it was nullified as a balk was called on Pace. On the very next pitch, another ball was hit to left field, and Smith dived and made an even better catch.
“Just mayhem,” Smith said. “Credit to the preparation and being out in the outfield with Waz every day.”
Pace was quick to admit to his mistake on the play, but credited Smith for helping him keep his composure.
“I definitely rolled through it,” he said. “I don’t even know why I did it… That was 100% the right call. And thankfully Tanner Smith had my back on that and made an amazing play.”
Smith did it all on Saturday. Immediately after his fielding showcase, he led off the bottom of the sixth with his first home run of the year. That set off another offensive outburst for Oregon. Walsh recorded his second RBI single of the day, and Shade complemented his earlier three-run double with a three-run homer to make it 11-0.
“I was talking to Tanner; I think it’s definitely the furthest one I’ve ever hit,” Shade said. “I don’t think I’m really a home run guy, but maybe that’ll change after that.”
Ceballos added another homer for good measure, hitting a two-run shot in the seventh to make it 13-0. It was the fifth time Ceballos reached base in as many attempts.
After Pace went the first six innings, fellow freshmen Grayson Grinsell, Dylan McShane and Logan Olson finished it out, capping the dominant victory.
“Those are some of my best friends,” Pace said. “I love seeing them go out there and do their thing and just tear guys up. It’s great.”
Oregon will look to keep the offensive momentum alive on Sunday as it goes for a four-game sweep of San Diego. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
“We had a good day, and now it’s time to settle ourselves and get ourselves back grounded to where we can come back tomorrow and try to do something special,” Wasikowski said.
