On the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention, the Oregon club baseball team turned to an unlikely source for inspiration.
After sustaining a pair of deflating losses in the first two games of the weekend’s three game series against Western Washington, Oregon had to win the finale on Sunday to have even a glimmer of hope to earn a berth in the regional playoffs.
It just so happened that Sunday’s matchup coincided with the birthday of University
student Andres Borromeo.
Borromeo, the older brother of pitcher Carlos, is ineligible to play on the club this year but has spent many hours training with the team and contributing in any way possible.
And even though Andres’ birthday fell on the biggest day of Oregon’s season, coach Chad Franke figured it would be a good time to give Andres the birthday present he had been hoping for — the opportunity to coach first base.
“Everybody was pretty cool with it,” Franke said. “They know how hard Andres has worked during the year and they know what his situation is, so everybody was cool with him coaching first.”
Although it would be a stretch to credit Andres with the dramatic, season-saving 3-2 victory the Ducks pulled out in extra innings on Sunday, the type of perseverance Andres has displayed this year was evident in the Ducks’ effort.
“I like the effort that everyone gave,” senior outfielder and pitcher Cam Gaulke said. “Everyone was pretty resilient after taking those two on the chin on Saturday.”
That started with a tremendous performance by starting pitcher Sean Susa, who pitched eight innings while only allowing two runs (neither was earned). Susa likely would have picked up a victory, but the Duck offense was stagnant, so the teams entered extra innings tied at two.
After Oregon reliever Chase Pennington held the Vikings scoreless in the top of 10th, the Ducks were able to eke out a run in the bottom of the frame.
Cooper Mandelblatt drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second a passed ball. He then stole third base before scoring the winning run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Mitchell Kristoff.
“We just said (the first two games were) over and done with we have to flush it and figure out what we want to do here,” Franke said. “We can win a couple of games and still go to our regional. Or we can hang our heads.”
And with the nature of Oregon’s two losses Saturday, it would have been understandable had the Ducks been guilty of the latter in Sunday’s game.
Starting pitcher Evan Coller pitched a complete game in the series opener on Saturday, going eight innings and only allowing three runs, but the Ducks still fell to the visiting Vikings 3-2. After letting a 2-1 lead slip away late, the Duck offense couldn’t break through and Coller let in the winning run in the top of the eighth.
While the 10-4 loss in the series’ second game didn’t feature as much heartbreak, it was disappointing nonetheless. Starting pitcher Logan Cooper struggled, allowing 10 runs (although only six were earned) in 2 and two-thirds innings, and the Duck offense was unable to put enough hits together to get back in the game.
Still, with the win on Sunday, the Ducks maintain a winning record in the Northern Pacific West Conference at 6-5. Oregon is out of the running for the conference’s No. 1 seed heading into regionals, but is in position to earn the second spot.
To do that, Oregon will need to defeat Eastern Washington in a makeup of an earlier game that was rained out, and have Western Washington win at least two out of their three games against current second-place squad Central Oregon Community College.
In the week leading up to those contests, the Ducks will have to resist the temptation to worry about what they can’t control.
“This is kind of a do-or-die game,” Gaulke said. “(We need to) just take care of what we can and try to get a win and hopefully the chips fall into place.”
[email protected]
Kristoff’s sac fly keeps Ducks in race
Daily Emerald
April 26, 2010
0
More to Discover