The Ducks keep walking batters, but the offense just keeps rolling.

Despite being without Drew Cowley for the third straight game for unknown reasons, the rest of the Oregon hitters led the Ducks to an 11-4 win in their Pac-12 series opener against Utah Friday.

The game was emblematic of their season. They walked five batters early on but overcame their shaky pitching with 14 hits, including three homers. The bullpen settled in late to lock the door on the Ducks’ third victory in four games of conference play.

RJ Gordon got the start on the mound with Adam Maier still out indefinitely. Gordon pitched a perfect first inning, ending the inning on a swinging strikeout. 

The second inning didn’t go so well as he gave up a leadoff homer for the first run of the game. With two outs and a runner on first, Colby Shade dove for a ball that he couldn’t quite reach, allowing another run to come home on a double. A third run scored on a single.

The Ducks’ potent offense quickly made it a one-run game. Josh Kasevich singled, Anthony Hall doubled and Sam Novtiske got them on the board with a groundout. A sacrifice fly from Jack Scanlon made it 3-2 Utah.

Gordon gave up a walk and a hit in the third, but he used a clutch strikeout to work around the pair of baserunners. He collected four strikeouts through the first three innings.

Gordon’s resilience paid off as Brennan Milone smashed a two-run homer in the bottom of the third. His fourth long ball of the year gave Oregon its first lead of the game, 4-3.

The Ducks’ control issues pestered them again in the fourth inning as Gordon walked three consecutive batters. That brought an end to Gordon’s evening after 3 1/3 innings, which was Oregon’s longest start since Isaac Ayon’s seven-inning complete game on March 5.

Dylan Sabia entered and recorded two huge outs with the bases loaded, protecting the Ducks’ 4-3 lead.

Oregon tacked on with a two-out RBI single from Milone. It was his third RBI of the night as the Ducks extended their lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth.

Sabia walked the first batter in the fifth, and the runner came around to score on a two-out single. Once again, a walk hurt an Oregon pitcher.

The Ducks responded with a two-run homer by Hall that extended the lead to 7-4. It was Hall’s first homer of the year. He continues to break out after a slow start.

Gavin Grant joined the party with Oregon’s third two-run homer of the night. Grant has hit four home runs since he said “I’m not a guy who’s gonna hit 20 home runs.”

Jacob Walsh added another with a two-out RBI single. The Ducks led 10-4 after five innings of play.

They loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth. Three pop-ups prevented a big inning, but Shade drew a two-out walk to drive in the 11th run of the night for Oregon.

With the Ducks leading 11-4, both teams began to swing early and accelerate the pace of the game. It was smooth sailing after the sixth inning.

Logan Mercado retired all four batters he faced in relief for Oregon. Mercado, who pitched in just two games last year as a freshman, is progressively earning himself more innings.

Jacob Hughes pitched two perfect innings and Scott Ellis threw a spotless ninth to cap off the win. Oregon is now 3-1 in Pac-12 play.

The Ducks (11-6) and Utes (11-5-1) will continue with Game 2 of the three-game series Saturday at 3 p.m.