Another game, another strong offensive performance from the Ducks.
The Oregon baseball team beat USC 9-7 Friday night at PK Park with another well-rounded output from the lineup. It was the Ducks’ sixth win in their first seven Pac-12 games. Josh Kasevich and Brennan Milone each homered, while Jacob Walsh had three hits. All nine starters for the Ducks recorded at least one hit.
“Love the offense,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “I thought those guys were again relentless.”
Right-hander RJ Gordon got his second consecutive Friday start for Oregon. He started strong, throwing a six-pitch top of the first.
The Ducks put up a three-spot in the bottom of the first against USC pitcher Jaden Agassi, son of famous tennis player Andre Agassi. Tanner Smith reached on an error, and Walsh singled to keep the inning alive with two outs. Kasevich, who hasn’t hit for much power this season, then smashed a three-run homer to give Oregon the early lead.
The 3-0 score didn’t last long. USC hit a three-run shot of its own in the top of the second against Gordon, tying the game in an instant.
The Trojans continued to hit the ball hard against Gordon in the third, taking a 4-3 lead on two singles and a sacrifice fly. An impressive pickoff throw by Gordon helped him navigate around any further trouble.
The Ducks, with one of the nation’s best offenses, didn’t let up. Colby Shade led off the bottom of the third with a double, and Milone gave Oregon the lead back with a two-run homer that made it 5-4.
A groundout by Josiah Cromwick and a comebacker by Sam Novitske added two more. The Ducks took a 7-4 lead into the fourth.
Gordon settled back down, recording his first two strikeouts of the game in a perfect top of the fourth.
The Oregon hitters went right back to work in the bottom of the inning. Smith and Shade led off with singles, knocking out Agassi. Walsh’s third hit of the game and a Kasevich groundout brought in two more runs, extending the Ducks’ lead to 9-4.
After Gordon recorded three consecutive strikeouts, he walked his first batter of the game with one out in the fifth. Two subsequent singles brought in a USC run. But Gordon induced a comebacker double play to end the inning, pumping his fists as he exited the field.
Gordon came back out for the sixth and gave up a walk and a single. Logan Mercado replaced him and walked the first batter he faced. He then gave up back-to-back sacrifice flies, making it 9-7 while both runs were charged to Gordon.
“He wasn’t standing out there walking a bunch of guys,” Wasikowski said of Gordon. “He was filling up the zone with his pitches. He made a couple of mistakes that I’m sure he regrets… Those are learning opportunities for RJ, and we can see him building and developing by the week.”
Dylan Sabia recorded the final out of the sixth and pitched a perfect seventh for Oregon. Matt Dallas followed with a perfect eighth. The bullpen did a nice job shutting down a potential USC comeback.
“Back end of the bullpen I thought was fantastic,” Wasikowski said. “Starting with Dylan Sabia getting us out of a tough spot. Came out the next inning, did another nice job. Then passed the baton to Matt Dallas and thought he was electric.”
Kolby Somers walked the first batter in the ninth, but he settled down to cap the Ducks’ fifth consecutive win. It was Somers’ 15th career save.
“This year I’ve kind of put myself in harder situations than I’d hoped for,” Somers said. “But having a lot of experience, I know how to get out of situations that I make for myself. So just take a deep breath and trust your work, and focus on competing and executing your pitches.”
Oregon (15-6) and USC (13-7) will continue with the second game of the series Saturday at 2 p.m.
