Based on preseason predictions, the three-game set between Oregon baseball and California expected to be a tightly contested tilt with potential conference title implications included. Cal was picked to finish third in the Pac-12, and Oregon followed right behind at fourth. The two were both in the top 20 of many national preseason preseason polls as well.
But the opener, a 12-2 win for Cal, simply displayed the different directions both teams are heading in midway through the season. Oregon was, as head coach George Horton described it, “dominated,” “thumped” and “crushed.” Cal remained atop the Pac-12 with the win, while Oregon stumbled to its 10th loss in 15 games.
After one inning Saturday, though, Oregon proved that the series wouldn’t be some overwhelming mismatch. Matt Krook forced three groundouts to start, and Matt Grebeck opened the bottom of the first with a shot over the left field fence, setting the pace for a 4-3 Oregon win.
“I think our guys are warriors, they understand that the conference race is a long grind,” Horton said.  “They don’t like the way things are going either, and today was about opportunity.”
While it wasn’t a masterful outing, it didn’t provoke any of the aforementioned verbs that Horton used to describe Friday’s game either. It featured strong pitching from Krook, some muscle from Oregon’s bats and a win that sets up a rubber match Sunday with David Peterson on the mound.
It also included a tone setter from Grebeck that seemed extra important based on the result Friday.
“It was a good to get a run on the board, give Krook a lead and then let him go,” Grebeck said. 
And with Krook on the mound, Cal learned quickly that its 21-hit performance from the previous night would be hard to duplicate.The redshirt sophomore, pitching on two weeks rest due to last weekend’s games against Michigan State being cancelled, allowed just two hits and two runs (one earned) in 6.2 innings of work. Only one hit got into the outfield, as Cal benefitted from some luck in the third when a slow chopper bounced over Krook’s head.
“We learned that they’re an unbelievably aggressive team,” Krook, who finished with nine strike outs, said of Friday’s outing. “They really want to swing the bat, so took advantage of that today and got ahead and tried to finish them.”
Krook pitched the majority of his outing with the lead too, thanks to timely hitting from Oregon’s lineup. Every time Cal responded with a run of its own, Oregon took the lead back in the bottom half of the inning.
It occurred in the third, after Cal’s Aaron Knapp hit a base hit up the middle that scored Robbie Tenerowicz from third. Oregon took the lead back after A.J. Balta’s flyout near the warning track scored Grebeck, who tagged from third.
In the fifth, Knapp’s groundout to second scored Preston Grand Pre and evened the score at two. Then, Balta put what would serve as the winning RBI into Oregon’s bullpen past right field. His two-run home run was his fifth of the season and gave the Ducks a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Cal would come close to tying the game once more in the eighth inning. Brac Warren gave up a pair of singles that put runners on first and third with two outs, before closer Stephen Nogosek entered the game. The first batter he faced, Nick Halamandaris, hit an RBI single to right to cut the lead to one.
But, Nogosek didn’t seem fazed and forced Tenerowicz to hit a grounder to Travis Moniot in the infield, who then tossed the ball to Daniel Patzlaff at second for a force out to end the inning. Nogosek then retired the side in the ninth to preserve the win.
“It wasn’t necessarily the Duck formula to win, we lost the seventh, eighth and ninth, but I sure like handing the ball to Nogo with the lead, it’s a pretty good feeling,” Horton said.
The win sets up a rubber match that could clearly give Oregon the right boost if the result is in its favor. The Ducks haven’t won a three or four-game series since taking two of three from UC Santa Barbara on March 6. Peterson will start, but Horton said he’ll be on a pitch count due to some arm tightness.
First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise