A season-high 2,902 fans attended PK Park Monday in hopes of seeing Oregon continue its red-hot streak against rival Oregon State.
Instead, they saw a bizarre slug fest that ended with the Ducks coming up just short in a tenacious comeback attempt. Oregon fell 11-10 in a single-game nonconference matchup with the Beavers, but nearly stole a win after seemingly having the door slammed in its face.
Oregon trailed 11-8 in the ninth inning and was down to its last out. With two runners on, A.J. Balta hit a weak pop-up to shallow left field that should have ended the game and secured a Beaver win. But the ball fell to the turf as Oregon State’s Christian Donahue and Trever Morrison did not communicate on the play. Two Oregon runs scored, and Balta advanced into scoring position to give the Ducks new life.
Two batters later, Steven Packard popped out to first to end the game and put a dramatic end to a marathon ballgame that lasted over four hours.
“Ultimately I was proud of my guys,” Oregon head coach George Horton said. “In a rivalry game like this… When they drop an eight-spot on you in front of a full house, it can be devastating. My guys didn’t let that affect them and they put themselves in a position to win.”
The No. 22 Beavers (24-9, 6-6 Pac-12) used a six-run third inning to go up early on the Ducks (17-13, 7-5 Pac-12) and propel themselves an 8-0 lead at one point. The Ducks answered with a six-run inning of their own in the bottom of the sixth to tie it 8-8, but the Beavers pulled away with a three-run ninth inning highlighted by Caleb Hamilton’s RBI double.
Monday was “Johnny All-Staff” as Horton likes to call it, meaning Oregon would not pitch any of its primary starters and would instead leave the game in the hands of the rest of the pitching staff.
Oregon’s Kyle Robeniol got the start on a mound and was shelled by a Beaver offense that is among the best in the conference. Robeniol surrendered five earned runs and six hits in two innings of work. Cole Stringer replaced him midway through the second.
Stringer was able to quiet the Beavers’ bats and tossed his best outing of the season. The freshman lefty threw two shutout innings and surrendered just one hit to hold the Oregon State offense in check, as the Ducks offense clawed their way back into the game.
Horton said that Stringer’s efforts prompted him to add Stringer to the travel list for Oregon’s upcoming road trip.
“He wasn’t going to go before this game,” Horton said. “It’s unfortunate that he has to replace somebody, but that was one of the real bright spots.”
On the offensive end, Oregon shortstop Travis Moniot continued his torrid hitting streak, bringing Oregon back into contention with a three-run home run in the sixth. It was Moniot’s third homer in four games and couldn’t have come at a better time for Oregon. Moniot’s blast narrowed the deficit to 8-6, and Oregon was able to tack on two more runs and tie the game in what was a 40-minute inning.
Despite the loss, Oregon has now scored 49 runs in its last six games and is hitting the ball as well as it has all season.
“This entire year, other teams would put up numbers and we would feel a little bit down,” Moniot said. “We really had a time in the season where we decided we needed to turn things around quick if we wanted to make a run. We needed to start fighting and we’ve been doing that; we’re not going down.”
The loss drops Oregon’s record to 17-13 on the season, but does not change their conference record.
Oregon will now prepare to travel to UCLA (15-18, 6-9) for a three-game series this weekend.
Follow Jarrid on Twitter @jarrid_denney