All-American relief pitcher Greg Wells was under pressure on his last pitch. With the score tied 5-5, two outs, the bases loaded and a full count in the bottom of the ninth inning, Wells had to throw a strike.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, Wells’ decisive pitch was outside and the University of Wisconsin won with a walk-off base on balls.
“It’s frustrating,” Wells said. “It’s kinda weird because I don’t walk people. To have the game end on that …”
The third-ranked Oregon club baseball team lost 6-5 to the Badgers in the opening game in the National Club Baseball
Association World Series in Niles, Ohio, and hampered their chances of winning the double-elimination tournament.
“It’s really hard to lose a game like this and come out and be ready to go the next day,” Oregon coach Bradley Ficek said. “It’s really emotionally draining.”
The Ducks started well, continuing their hot-hitting from the last game of the regional tournament into the World Series, as they scored three runs in the first inning.
All-American third baseman Travis Chock and second baseman Marcus Denney led the inning off with two singles before right field Matt Oss drove them in with a triple.
Designated hitter Bryan Hansen then drove Oss in with a sacrifice fly.
After Oss’ triple, Oregon failed to deliver run-scoring hits as Wisconsin starting pitcher Olin Erickson settled into a rhythm after a shaky first inning, Ficek said.
“He had too much adrenaline to start the game,” Ficek said. “He found his zen and he just went to work. We couldn’t get a two-out hit; we left too many runners in scoring position.”
Oregon first team All-American Peter Phillips pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing five runs, eight hits and two walks while striking out three. Phillips said he got behind in the count too often and was forced to rely on his fastball, causing the Wisconsin hitters to sit on the pitch.
“He was missing up all day,” Ficek said. “The big hits that they had were balls that he left up in the zone.”
Phillips first ran into trouble during the second inning, allowing a leadoff double before eventually loading the bases with one out. Phillips escaped the inning allowing only one run after he struck out the Badgers’ ninth spot hitter and got leadoff hitter Luke Eber to fly out to left.
“I went out with the mindset that I could beat them,” Phillips said. “I was missing pitches and they capitalized on it. My stuff wasn’t the best today.”
The Ducks responded with Chock and Denney leading off the following inning with consecutive singles for the second time. First baseman Travis Brown executed a sacrifice bunt down the first base line to move them over, and Chock scored on Oss’ groundout for his third RBI of the game.
Phillips issued two intentional walks to Wisconsin center fielder Ramphis Marrero in the fifth and seventh innings to load the bases each timePhillips escaped the bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning, but he began the seventh by allowing a bunt single and a hit batsman. Wells relieved him after he walked Marrero.
Wells then surrendered a bases-clearing double by first baseman Thomas Lyons before recording the final out after the Badgers took a 5-4 lead.
“We just had to play the odds,” Ficek said. “The odds were to let somebody else beat us other than Marrero.”
Oregon was able to tie the score on a suicide squeeze by center fielder Jordan Denney in the eighth, but it was the team’s final run.
“We should have won by 10 runs that game, but we didn’t execute, and it hurt us,” Phillips said.
Chock has made the All-American team for two consecutive years. He went 4 for 5 and had seven assists in the game Wednesday, making a play on every ball that was hit to him.
“I get good jumps on balls,” Chock said. “I get extra steps because I have good range.”
Oregon will play today at 4 p.m. against Dayton, who lost to Colorado State 7-1. The loser will be eliminated from the tournament.
Wisconsin walks past Ducks 6-5
Daily Emerald
May 24, 2006
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