Oregon baseball fell 8-6 to the Cal Golden Bears on a bright Saturday afternoon at Stu Gordon Stadium. Oregon starter Logan Mercado failed to replicate the magic he showed against Stanford at PK Park last week. The Ducks made a valiant comeback attempt, as Anson Aroz had the best game of his young career in his first collegiate start, but they fell short in the back-and-forth battle.

At a time in the season when every Pac-12 game matters, it handed Oregon a loss and evened the series at a game apiece. The Ducks are in a tight race for the third spot in the conference, with UCLA, Oregon State and USC all having similar records. Even the teams ahead of them — Arizona State and Stanford — aren’t terribly far ahead. With a 10-7 Pac-12 record, Oregon is tentatively in fourth place ahead of what will be a crucial rubber game on Sunday.

The Bears scored three runs against Mercado in the second inning on a bases-loaded walk and a two-run double. With still no outs at the time, Mercado went on to strand two runners. First baseman Jacob Walsh made a great play for the second out, scooping one and turning an impressive fielder’s choice at home.

Catcher Bennett Thompson threw out a runner attempting to steal in the third, helping Mercado get through a scoreless frame as he collected his third and fourth strikeouts. While the Ducks found themselves in a three-run hole, it could have been much more disastrous, all things considered.

The offense struggled to rally through the first three innings against right-hander Paulshawn Pasqualotto. Rikuu Nishida collected Oregon’s first hit in the third after Aroz was hit by a pitch, but neither Colby Shade nor Drew Cowley could cash in.

The Ducks broke through with a couple runs in the fourth inning. After Thompson was hit by a pitch to put two runners on with two outs, Aroz hit a clutch single to right field on a 3-2 count. It was just his second career hit — each of which brought him an RBI.

Gavin Grant followed by lining a hard infield hit to third base, bringing the Ducks within a run. Nishida walked to load the bases, but Shade was caught looking to end the inning. Still, they managed to make it a game, trailing 3-2 after facing near disaster in the opening innings.

But Mercado couldn’t settle in. He walked the bases loaded in the fourth, then surrendered a three-run double to Caleb Lomavita. That ended his afternoon after 3 1/3 innings, with the Ducks down 6-2.

Leo Uelmen, Oregon’s usual Sunday starter, entered for his first relief appearance of the season. Uelmen was demoted to the bullpen after a string of shaky starts where he struggled with command. He got the final two outs of the inning, stranding the runner at second and leaving Mercado with six earned runs to his name. It was quite a step back for Mercado after his masterful complete game against Stanford last week.

Thompson doubled in the sixth, and then Aroz stepped up to the plate once again. After getting ahead of a hard-hit foul ball, he stayed level on one later in the at-bat, blasting one to left field for his first career homer as he cut the deficit in half.

The Ducks weren’t done chipping away, as Grant and Nishida hit back-to-back bunt singles. On a double steal attempt, catcher Lomavita threw the ball into left field, allowing both runners to score. It was an impressively aggressive move by Nishida especially, scoring all the way from first on an errant throw.

The Ducks loaded the bases on another hit and a pair of walks, but wasted the scoring chance as Tanner Smith and Walsh popped out. It was still a four-run inning, but they failed to capitalize on a prime opportunity to take the lead.

Left-hander Grayson Grinsell replaced Uelmen with runners on the corners and two outs in the sixth. On the first pitch Grinsell threw, Rodney Green Jr. hit a long warning-track flyout, coming up just a few feet short of giving Cal a 9-6 lead. Instead, Grinsell kept the game tied.

Cal right fielder Kade Kretzschmar led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, giving him at least three hits in six of his last seven games. Oregon elected to bring in Matt Dallas, who then gave up a two-run homer to Carson Crawford, putting the Bears back in front, 8-6.

Oregon fell meekly in the final two innings, unable to muster another response. It evened the series at one game apiece, and interestingly, gave the Ducks their first one-game streak of the season.

No. 23 Oregon (25-12, 10-7 Pac-12) will look to take the series over Cal (18-17, 6-14 Pac-12) Sunday at noon.