The Ducks split their doubleheader on the final day of the Tony Gwynn Classic. They moved to 4-3 to start the 2017 season.
Game 1 — Oregon 1, Seton Hall 0
A bases-loaded walk of Kyle Kasser in the seventh inning brought home the only run of the game for the Ducks. In the end, that was all the offense the Ducks needed.
Sophomore Matt Mercer and two freshmen relievers combined for the shutout in the Ducks’ 1-0 win over Seton Hall.
In a game where the Ducks’ bats were silent – only tallying three hits – every bit of Mercer’s dominance was needed.
The Lacey, Washington, native went through the first six innings facing the minimum. He ran into a bit of trouble in the seventh after allowing two one-out singles.
Mercer, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding pitcher, shut the door on Seton Hall with his seventh and final strikeout of his start to escape the jam. Mercer finished with seven innings, no runs, three hits, seven strikeouts and no walks allowed.
Ryne Nelson pitched a perfect eight inning, before Kenyon Young recorded his second save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Game 2 – San Diego 7, Oregon 2
The offense that Oregon couldn’t find in the morning showed up right out of the gate in game two of the day’s doubleheader against the University of San Diego.
The Ducks roped together four hits in the first inning, scoring twice off of A.J. Balta’s RBI single to gain an early 2-0 lead. They chased San Diego’s Jonathan Teaney with just two outs in the opening frame.
However, that would be all the offense the Ducks got, and it wouldn’t be enough against the Toreros.
Cole Stringer – making his first start after his strong performance at Fresno State – battled his way through four hard-fought innings, allowing two runs, both of which came in the bottom half of the second inning.
San Diego, which won the tournament overall, took the lead with two runs from a Riley Adams home run in the seventh, and get some insurance with three runs in the eighth.
Left-handers Chris Murphy and Troy Conyers combined for 8.1 innings of shutout ball to silence the Ducks after their hot start in the first inning.
Up next: The Ducks return to Eugene for their first homestand of the season against Mississippi State.
Ducks split doubleheader to wrap up Tony Gwynn Classic
Cole Kundich
February 25, 2017
Adam Eberhardt
The Oregon baseball team claps after Oregon Baseball Head Coach George Horton received his commemorative jersey for reaching 1000 wins as a coach. The Oregon Ducks play the Portland Pilots at PK Park in Eugene, Ore. on May 17, 2016. (Adam Eberhardt/Emerald)
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