The Oregon Ducks (33-22, 13-13) pride themselves on late game heroics. They delivered them for the second consecutive game to take down the Utah Utes (16-31-1, 7-18-1), 8-5 Saturday afternoon.
Six runs in two swings of the bat turned a 4-2 deficit into an 8-4 Oregon lead in the top of the eighth. Center-fielder Austin Grebeck blasted a bases-clearing triple to put Oregon ahead 5-4. Mitchell Tolman and Scott Heineman walked, then pinch-hitter Matt Eureste crushed a double down the right field line to add another three RBIs.
Oregon closed a 3-2 deficit against Utah with a six-run ninth inning in game one on Friday.
Utah threatened with a run off set-up man Stephen Nogosek in the eighth, but Oregon all-time appearances leader Garrett Cleavinger tossed a perfect ninth inning to earn the save. Nogosek is credited with his team-high seventh win of the season.
Brandon Cuddy scored the Ducks’ first run off Daniel Patzlaff’s RBI single, after walking, stealing second and advancing to third on the catcher’s overthrow.
Utes first baseman Biss Larsen crushed an RBI triple off Oregon starting pitcher David Peterson to knot the score at one apiece in the second. The 6’6″, 235 lb. freshman left-hander Peterson (4-6 in 13 starts) allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits in 6.2 solid innings, but picked up a no-decision.
If the Ducks complete a three-game road sweep at tomorrow at 11:00 am, they’ll surely see a boost in rating percentage index (RPI), a factor considered in NCAA tournament seeding.
Beyond Sunday, four games remain in Oregon’s schedule: it’s fifth contest with Oregon State Tuesday in Corvallis, and a weekend series at home versus No. 4 UCLA.
Follow Kenny Jacoby on Twitter @KennyJacoby