Oregon’s short-lived run in the inaugural Pac-12 Baseball Tournament is over.

For the second straight day, the Ducks battled early in the morning against a team from Arizona, and for the second straight day, they lost. They fell 4-2 to Arizona State at Scottsdale Stadium, unable to capitalize on prime scoring opportunities. 

The Ducks didn’t win a single game in the tournament. They’re the first team in Pac-12 Baseball Tournament history to be eliminated.

“We weren’t a potent hitting team today at all,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “So we gotta circle the wagons and figure out what the heck that was all about, and go from there.”

Isaac Ayon started on the mound fresh off his career-best performance last Friday. He gave up a pair of singles in the first inning, but he had his slider working as he struck out two batters to throw a scoreless frame.

The Ducks sat Brennan Milone out of the lineup, favoring Sam Novitske and his strong defensive presence at third. They moved Anthony Hall up to the three-hole for the first time all year.

Arizona State starter Tyler Meyer had spotty control, walking Colby Shade and Hall in the first inning. The Ducks couldn’t cash in, leaving a runner on third in each of the first two innings.

Shade was hit by a pitch and Hall walked again in the third, but for the second time in three innings, the Ducks left two runners on. Meyer was consistently falling behind in the count, yet the Oregon hitters couldn’t take advantage.

The Ducks were the first to crack amidst the abundance of baserunners. Ayon immediately got into trouble in the third inning on a single and a hit batter, and with two outs, he gave up a run-scoring single that blooped over Josh Kasevich’s head.

Oregon put two runners on yet again in the fourth inning, as Sam Novitske drew the Ducks’ fourth walk and Bennett Thompson continued his hot-hitting ways with a single. This time, they finally broke through. Gavin Grant slapped an RBI single, tying the game at one apiece.

Tanner Smith followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead.

With two outs in the top of the fifth, Novitske appeared to swing on an 0-2 breaking ball, but the first base umpire gave him a generous call. Novitske wound up working the Ducks’ fifth walk of the day, knocking Meyer out of the game. Meyer finished with an ugly ratio of 39 strikes and 45 balls.

After the brief outburst of runs, the teams went back to leaving runners on. Smith and Shade recorded hits in the sixth, but Shade was cut down trying to stretch a single into a double, and Hall struck out.

Ayon, who had begun to settle in, hung a changeup that Kai Murphy crushed for a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. He hit the next batter, bringing an end to his outing with the Ducks suddenly trailing 3-2.

Cowley drew a leadoff walk in the seventh but was immediately erased on a double play.

Novitske did the same thing in the eighth, leading off the inning with his third walk of the day. The Sun Devils changed pitchers, going from a guy with a nine-plus ERA to one with a 7.50 ERA.

The Ducks still couldn’t cash in, leaving Novitske on second base. He was the 11th runner Oregon left on base as the team went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

“That doesn’t win, regardless of when you get nine free bases via walk and hit by pitch,” Wasikowski said. “When you’re 1-for-13 with guys in scoring position, you’re gonna lose.”

Caleb Sloan entered in the eighth and gave up singles to the first two batters he faced. After a fielder’s choice out that had to be put under review, the Ducks brought in their closer Kolby Somers with runners on the corners.

Somers induced a sacrifice fly, extending Oregon’s deficit to 4-2.

Shade, Hall and Cowley all went down in the ninth. It was the first one-two-three inning all game for either team.

“It starts with the coaches,” Wasikowski said. “Why weren’t we able to prepare our guys to be able to hit better than we did in a place that’s an offensive place and you should be able to hit?”

The Ducks’ season isn’t over yet, with at least an NCAA regional still ahead of them. Their hosting chances are likely out the window with the early Pac-12 Tournament exit.

“I didn’t think we hit worth a darn today, and we came up short,” Wasikowski said. “A wake-up call? Sure. I just don’t think we hit very well today, and we gotta figure out the reasons why that happened.”

The regional selections will be announced Monday.