For the fourth straight week, Oregon baseball has lost the Friday and Saturday games of its weekend series. Michigan State (14-14) clinched the series win at PK Park today with an 8-4 victory over the Ducks (18-14), who’ve dropped six of their last seven.
“The guys showed fight and showed intent,” head coach George Horton said of his suffering players. “Unfortunately the scoreboard didn’t reward and the Spartans were too good for us again today. That’s what happens when you’re not playing well.”
Oregon manufactured a run in each of the first two innings, a rare feat for the offense this season. Matt Eureste led off the game with a bunt and Phil Craig-St. Louis drove him home on a two-out single to right. Shaun Chase began the second with a walk and cycled home on consecutive singles by Nick Catalano and Eureste.
Starting pitcher Conor Harber, who was bumped from the Friday spot in the rotation by Cole Irvin, enjoyed the run support, but could not hang on to the lead.
Harber appeared to be on cruise control, retiring eight of the first nine batters he faced. A two-out walk to leadoff hitter Cam Gibson, however, triggered his ensuing implosion.
First baseman Ryan Krill hit next and tanked a two-run homer on top of the roof of the Oregon bullpen to negate the Ducks’ lead. Harber walked the next two batters he faced and was promptly relieved by Cooper Stiles due to tightness in his shoulder. Krill’s long ball was the only hit Harber allowed in the quick outing.
Horton described Harber’s injury as similar to one he experienced in junior college, when he missed three weeks as a result. With Jack Karraker out for the season and Joe Reta day-to-day, Harber’s injury came at an inopportune time.
In the fifth, Gibson sparked a second rally for the Spartans when he beat out an infield dribbler and found himself on second after a throwing error by Stiles. Two batters later, third baseman Mark Weist launched a moon shot over the fence in center to put Michigan State up 4-2.
Oregon generated two more one-spots, but failed to put up a crooked number for the second straight game. Mark Karaviotis led off the fifth with a base knock and came around to score on Scott Heineman’s sacrifice fly. With two outs in the seventh, Heineman doubled to score Craig-St. Louis and cut the deficit to 8-4, but was thrown out at third to squash the rally.
Gibson added two more runs to Michigan State’s cause with an eighth-inning dinger to right field to extend its lead to 8-4 and put the nail in Oregon’s coffin.
“Unfortunately, from the mound we couldn’t hold them,” Horton said. “It wasn’t so much the three home runs, it was what happened before and after—the bugaboos.”
Oregon could nearly taste victory in its 2-1 extra innings loss on Friday, but tasted only bitterness following its dismantling on Saturday. Several Ducks remained seated in the dugout for an extended period of time after the game in sheer disbelief.
“I feel like it should be the most talented team that we’ve had on the field and we just haven’t performed yet,” Heineman said. “I think we’re getting turned around—I know we’re getting turned around—but it’s gotta get turned around now.”
Oregon looks to salvage another split in the last of its three-game series with Michigan State tomorrow at 12 p.m.
Follow Kenny Jacoby on Twitter @kennyjacoby