Grayson Grinsell’s bump day was a smashing success.
The lefty toed the rubber for No. 21 Oregon (32-14, 14-9 Pac-12) as the Ducks downed the No. 25 Utes (29-15, 14-9 Pac-12) 5-1. For the second-straight outing, he tallied six innings while striking-out eight.
“It’s a good mentality,” Grinsell said after Saturday’s win, “Keep going, getting better every day. Building off of it, but not letting it get too big.”
The main difference between his last start and Saturday’s was that he actually had some run support behind him, even in the rain.
Just like in game one, Oregon scored first.
The Ducks loaded the bases with two singles and a walk to give Anson Aroz an opportunity with two outs. A rain delay gave him plenty of time to think about the upcoming task. When the tarp was lifted, he drew a four-pitch walk that featured two wild pitches — both of which plated Oregon runs.
“It’s definitely a big help knowing the offense is behind me,” Grinsell said. He added that the ability to shut down the Utes in the following innings was a large contributor to Saturday’s success.
The early run support gave the Ducks an early advantage in a 2-0 game that wouldn’t see any more scoring until the fifth. To the delight of PK Park, when the scoring resumed, it was again the Oregon dugout celebrating.
With the bases loaded, Jeffery Heard doubled to right to bring a pair of Ducks home. Oregon had the chance to do more damage, but a pair of bases-loaded strikeouts bailed Utah starter Merit Jones out of the frame.
Grinsell’s ERA wasn’t touched until the sixth. A double off the bat of Kai Roberts — who entered the day with the fourth-best average in the Pac-12 at .364 — plated Core Jackson and put the Utes on the board. Roberts’ 51st RBI of the season — good for fourth in the conference — gave Utah a much-needed spark.
But it was one that was quickly extinguished. Grinsell worked out of the jam with a strikeout and a pair of fly balls to limit the damage to the lone run. Despite the Utes’ consistently having runners on base, he did an incredible job in the damage-control department, limiting Utah to a .167 average (2-12) with runners on base during his outing.
Jones’ day ended with one out in the bottom of the sixth after allowing another run to score on a Chase Meggers RBI single. Meggers was left stranded as the inning ended, leaving Jones’ final line at 5.1 innings, five hits, five runs, six strikeouts and five walks. He earned the loss — his third of the season — as his ERA rose from 4.85 to 5.02.
Grinsell’s day was remarkably better as he went a full six innings in which he allowed just one run on seven hits while fanning eight and only walking one. He stoutly earned his sixth win of the season as his ERA dropped from 3.93 to 3.68.
Brock Moore took over for the seventh inning, and recorded a hitless frame. Fresh off an eight-strikeout performance in Tuesday night’s win over No. 6 Oregon State, Moore recorded three more Ks in the series-clinching win. He earned his first save of the season with his three-inning effort.
“[It’s] not easy to pitch in a driving rainstorm for either side,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “I was proud of our guys for doing that.”
He’d go the rest of the way as the Ducks were able to use just two pitchers in Saturday’s win. Oregon’s bullpen should be in prime shape for the series finale tomorrow, as the Ducks look for their first Pac-12 sweep of the season.
“It’s big,” Grinsell said of the one-day series win. “Everyone knows it’s tough to win a doubleheader. Getting it done in one day is definitely a good feeling but we gotta get the sweep tomorrow.”
First pitch is set for 12 p.m. from PK Park and Kevin Seitter (5-3, 4.85 ERA) is expected to start on the bump for Oregon.
