The Oregon Ducks defeated the defending Pac-12 Champions, the Utah Utes, 11-1 in Salt Lake City on Friday night.
Starting pitcher David Peterson delivered his fifth straight quality start to complete a perfect 5-0 record in the month of March. He allowed one run on seven hits and struck out 11 batters over eight innings to silence Utah’s bats. Over his last five starts, Peterson has record 57 strikeouts and two walks in 36.1 innings of work.
Despite the lopsided final score, it was the Utes who struck first against Peterson. They scored a run in the bottom of the third on an RBI single to take an early 1-0 lead. The score remained that way until the Ducks utilized a 10-run sixth inning to score the most runs during an inning since 2009.
Morgan McCullough started the sixth inning with a triple. Jake Bennett then followed with a single to tie the game. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Spencer Steer hit a single that scored two runs to give the Ducks a 3-1 lead. A walk then loaded the bases for the second time in the inning, before Daniel Patzlaff was hit by a pitch to score another run.
Later in the inning, Braden Stutzman connected on an RBI single that scored two runs to give the Ducks an 8-1 lead. Bennett added an RBI single that scored two runners because of a throwing error to push the lead to 10-1. The Ducks added the final run of the game on a Jake Bennett ground out that scored Slade Heggen.
The series was scheduled to begin on Thursday night, but a rain delay forced the series to start Friday. As a result, the teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday.
The Ducks play game two of the three-game series against the Utes on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Follow Zak Laster on Twitter @zlast3445