A trio of Ducks had career days in a game No. 17 Oregon needed to build momentum amidst a five-game week. After dropping the first of a two-game midweek series with Sacramento State, Oregon (23-9, 8-4 Pac-12) took advantage of breakout nights from Jacob Walsh, Bennett Thompson and Ian Umlandt to snatch an 11-4 win over the Hornets (15-20, 6-9 WAC).

Walsh, who blasted a pair of bombs on his fourth multi-homer game of his career, was the centerpiece of two opening frames that saw Oregon jump ahead and never look back.

Thompson, who was in need of a breakout performance, got just that as he delivered time and time again off Sacramento State’s pitching staff.

But Umlandt should get Wednesday’s top star. 

He got the start in what was expected to be a bullpen game. But he turned Wednesday night into a dominant outing, as he muffled the Hornets with all four of his pitches.

“Being able to mix four pitches for strikes was huge today,” the lefty said. “Obviously, not always overpowering stuff, but the ability to mix a slider, a cutter, a changeup and a heater anywhere around the zone to both righties and lefties was a big key to success.”

Looking to flip the script after Tuesday’s less-than-ideal outcome, Oregon’s offense got off to an explosive start. 

Yesterday, Sacramento State scored seven in the first inning. On Wednesday, the Ducks set the tone with five hits in the first frame. A Bryce Boettcher double was followed by a Bennett Thompson RBI single to open the scoring. One batter later, Jacob Walsh sent his 11th homer of the season out to right center. Dominic Hellman would later send his first blast of the year out to left field as the Ducks opened up a 4-0 lead in the first. 

It would be the only inning that Sacramento State starter Jaxon Byrd would throw. He was replaced by Andrew Overland after just one frame of four-run ball. Overland had a similar start to his outing as the Ducks tagged him for three in the second, but he recorded five strikeouts across his two innings of work.  

The Hornets wasted little time responding. After Umlandt hit and walked the first two batters of the second inning, a pair of hits and an RBI groundout plated three. Ryan Christiansen — who homered twice on Tuesday — had an RBI single that drove in the third run of the frame.

The bottom of the second closely resembled the first. Both Boettcher and Thompson reached and Walsh drove them home with his second bomb of the day. His 12th shot of the year — this one to left-center — erased the momentum the Hornets had captured earlier in the frame and gave Umlandt back the run support he desired. 

Umlandt had a career night in his first collegiate start. He tallied a career-high 7.0 innings with a career-high nine strikeouts as he gave the Ducks the start they needed from him. Between having to use five pitchers on Tuesday and a trio of games against USC looming this weekend, Oregon needed Umlandt to eat some innings while containing the Hornets’ bats. 

He did just that. 

Despite allowing four of the first six leadoff hitters he faced to reach, Umlandt demonstrated solid damage control, limiting Sacramento State to four runs on five hits across his 90 total pitches (60 strikes).

“Just being able to trust that your defense is there to work for you is a really big thing,” Umlandt said.

Umlandt entered the night with 11 career strikeouts and only two on the season. He matched his 2023 strikeout total on Wednesday while only walking one as he picked up his second win of the season. His season ERA sits at 3.95 after his quality outing against the Hornets.

Thompson recorded his fourth hit of the evening in the sixth with a two-run towering blast to left-center that hit the banner next to the scoreboard. His second homer of the season highlighted his 4-5 evening in which he tallied three RBIs and three runs. On Wednesday alone, his batting average rose from .260 to .284.

“I was just trying to simplify my approach [over] the last couple days”, Thompson said. “I’ve been working hard, trying to go back to some of the keys that make me successful as a hitter and luckily today I was able to get a couple squibbers to fall.”

Matthew Grabmann took over for Umlandt in the eighth. He worked a scoreless and hitless frame. Turner Spoljaric pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the series split.

Oregon added another pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth. An RBI double from Maddox Molony — who was 3-4 on the night — put the Ducks in double digits. He scored on a sac-fly from Boettcher as Oregon took an 11-4 lead into the ninth. 

With the win, Oregon improved to 2-2 on the season against teams from the Western Athletic Conference (1-1 against Portland and 1-1 against Sacramento State). The Hornets fell to 1-2 against Pac-12 opponents after splitting their series with the Ducks and losing to California on Feb. 27. 

The Ducks will remain at PK Park this weekend for a series against the USC Trojans (16-16, 9-5 Pac-12). Oregon took two of three from the Trojans last season and holds a 22-17 all-time record against USC. First pitch for Friday is slated for 5:05 p.m.