With two outs in the top of the ninth, Oregon held an 8-0 lead over the Washington State Cougars and Ducks’ starter Cole Irvin was one out away from his third career shutout.
With one runner on, Oregon head coach George Horton took a mound visit to check on his star leftie, but Irvin’s message was clear: he was finishing the game.
On his 125th pitch, Irvin proceeded to strike out Washington State’s Cameron Frost on a curveball in the dirt for his 13th punchout of the game to seal the 8-0 win for the Ducks.
“I did tell him [Frost] was probably going to be his last hitter; he needed to get that guy out,” Horton said. “I didn’t want the fans to attack me … It’s a special thing to get a complete game shutout.”
A large chunk of fans at the game had already sat through the Oregon spring football game at neighboring Autzen Stadium beforehand, and many left before the beginning of the ninth inning. Those that stayed for the entire game were rewarded with the best outing by an Oregon pitcher this season and stood to cheer and clap as Irvin faced Frost.
“It gave me chills when I was on the mound to have that fan support,” Irvin said. “I trusted my stuff today. Tim [Susnara] and Slade [Heggen] did a great job behind the plate, giving me good targets to throw through.”
“It was the first standing clap for an out since last year, I think,” Irvin said. “It was nice to have that again … It gives you more energy; it gives you the strength to power through it.”
Oregon scattered four runs in the first four innings, including a solo home run by Travis Moniot in the bottom of the third.
With Irvin holding the Washington State lineup in check, the Ducks tacked on three more runs in the seventh inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Kyle Kasser and A.J. Balta.
Moniot and Carson Breshears each went 1-for-2 with two RBI while batting in the bottom two spots of Oregon’s lineup. Daniel Patzlaff went 3-for-4 with a double.
For Irvin, his strongest outing of the season couldn’t have come at a better time. Before limiting UCLA to three runs last weekend, Irvin had surrendered five runs in each of his last two starts. Irvin’s struggles, combined with recent command issues from fellow ace Matt Krook, have left Oregon trailing early in recent games.
Against Washington State, Irvin didn’t walk a batter and cruised to his first shutout since his freshman year.
“I was surprised with how tired I was this time,” Irvin said laughing. “I felt like after freshman year complete games I wasn’t tired at all. I’m definitely tired now and it’s probably because I’m old.”
Oregon and Washington State will play again at noon on Sunday in the rubber match. The Ducks will likely send David Peterson to the mound.
Follow Jarrid on Twitter @jarrid_denney