Game after game, over the last two seasons for Oregon baseball, the same issue has plagued this team: walks.

The Ducks collected 11 hits and five runs on Wednesday, but it wasn’t enough to overcome their lack of command on the mound. They issued 10 free passes and fell 8-5 to Niagara in a non-conference midweek matchup, losing their third consecutive game in a season that has been defined by streaks.

“I don’t think that we particularly pitched super well, and we didn’t get the clutch hits when we needed it,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “The energy around the dugout was fine. But in terms of the execution of pitches and free bases, that was an issue.”

Niagara took a 1-0 lead just six pitches into the game. Nick Groves singled on the first pitch Turner Spoljaric threw, advanced two bases on wild pitches, then came home on a sacrifice fly. Spoljaric labored, giving up a single and a walk, but Colby Shade made a diving catch while losing his hat to end the frame.

The Purple Eagles led off with a double in the second inning, then loaded the bases on a bunt single and Spoljaric’s second walk. That ended Spoljaric’s day, as he recorded just three outs in a performance where he struggled to command his fastball.

Fellow Canadian freshman Matthew Grabmann replaced him. He promptly issued a bases-loaded walk, continuing Oregon’s trend of struggling with control. A sacrifice fly made it 3-0, and a couple force outs stopped the bleeding. It was still another shaky start to a game, following a brutal 16-0 loss on Sunday.

“They’re young. They’re going to have some bumps in the road,” Wasikowski said. “We’re gonna stay confident with them and make sure that they hopefully believe in themselves. That’s the most important thing.”

The Ducks’ offense got on the board in the bottom of the second. Josiah Cromwick laced his second single of the year, driving in Shade, who singled and stole two bases.

Sabin Ceballos and Jacob Walsh drew back-to-back walks in the third inning, chasing Niagara starter Nick Veselinovic from the game. Shade came through against right-hander Steven Hospital, driving a double to left-center to cut Oregon’s deficit to 3-2. But with two in scoring position, Owen Diodati struck out and Cromwick popped out, so the Ducks were unable to get any more runs across.

Still, the Ducks weren’t done yet. Gavin Grant smoked one inside the left field foul pole in the fourth, tying the game at three apiece.

The tie didn’t last long. Funky right-hander Dylan McShane gave up a two-run triple in the fifth, which came after yet another pair of free passes. On the triple, Shade dived and nearly caught it, but he didn’t lose his hat this time and it rolled all the way to the wall.

“I think it was a ball I should have had,” Shade said. “Just don’t think I took the right angle and had my glove in the right position.”

The Purple Eagles tacked on two more in a strange sixth inning. Grayson Grinsell gave up back-to-back singles, then issued a walk to load the bases and was pulled before he could even record an out. 

Matt Dallas came in and induced a comebacker. He got the out at home, then Cromwick threw it away trying to get the out at first. But the umpires called the runner out anyway on interference, even though he appeared to be in the base path. It was a break for Oregon, getting the double play despite Cromwick’s poor throw.

But even with that break, Oregon still gave up a pair of runs. Dallas surrendered a liner that took a bizarre bounce off his glove, past Rikuu Nishida for a two-run single. Niagara’s lead was extended to 7-3.

The Ducks battled in the seventh. Tanner Smith, Ceballos, Walsh and Shade all singled — the fourth hit of the day for Shade. That made it 7-5, with Cromwick walking to load the bases. But Grant softly grounded out to the pitcher to end the rally.

After Dallas threw a one-two-three seventh, Austin Anderson came in as the seventh Oregon pitcher. He picked up where the others left off, issuing two walks to load the bases. A run came home on Oregon’s fourth wild pitch, with Cromwick struggling to block balls in the dirt.

The damage ended there though, as Oregon got a force out at home, and with Josh Mollerus pitching, a clock violation was called on the Niagara batter for the third out.

Mollerus struck out the side in the ninth, but the Ducks’ offense had no answer in the bottom of the frame. They lost 8-5 in front of a light Wednesday evening crowd.

“We’ve gotta get better,” Shade said. “That’s really what it is. You’ve gotta play to win. We’re just not putting it all together right now. But we’ll get it fixed, and we’ve just gotta compete better.”

Oregon ends its homestand at 9-6, and will head to Pullman this weekend for its first road trip of the year against Washington State.