What was supposed to be Jace Stoffal Day turned out to be Leo Uelmen Day, and the results were about what one would expect.
With Stoffal scratched at the last minute for unannounced reasons, No. 17 Oregon turned to Uelmen, who began the year in the rotation but was demoted to the bullpen for poor performance. In his abrupt return to the starting mix, he quickly painted a reminder of why that move was made. He gave the Ducks an uncompetitive start, failing to complete three innings at Dedeaux Field in Oregon’s series opener against USC Friday night. The Ducks fell meekly, 7-2, as the presence of their ace was sorely missed.
Uelmen survived the first inning, despite the Trojans hitting two bullets against him. One was caught by left fielder Tanner Smith, and the other was snagged by a diving Colby Shade. Uelmen got away with a pair of hanging sliders right down the middle.
Sabin Ceballos returned to the lineup for Oregon, slotted in the DH spot. He singled in his first plate appearance back, but Smith struck out to strand runners on the corners in the first inning.
USC starter Blake Sodersten struck out three in a row, a streak that ended on Drew Smith’s double in the second. It was D. Smith’s 11th hit in his first 22 collegiate at-bats. But Sodersten struck out Gavin Grant for his fifth punchout as Oregon stranded another runner in scoring position.
Uelmen couldn’t hold the scoreless tie in the bottom of the second. The Trojans loaded the bases on a hit, a walk and a hit batter, then took a 2-0 lead on a single by Ryan Jackson. A sacrifice fly tacked on a third run. USC got another hit with two outs, but right fielder Rikuu Nishida gunned the runner down at home. Nishida’s great play kept a bad inning from being even worse.
Shade and Drew Cowley hit back-to-back singles in the top of the third, but Shade slipped and got thrown out at second, which killed any chance of a rally. Baserunning has been an issue for this team, and one that head coach Mark Wasikowski was adamant they clean up in his media session earlier this week.
Uelmen came back out for the bottom of the third and did not settle in. The Trojans loaded the bases once again, this time on another hit batter, a walk and a single. After Uelmen surrendered a two-run double that made it 5-0, he was pulled from the game.
Jacob Hughes came out of the bullpen and induced a sacrifice fly. Hughes then threw 10 consecutive balls, walking two batters to reload the bases. He got out of it with a strikeout, which closed the book on Uelmen’s evening. The freshman allowed six runs in 2 1/3 innings and surrendered 10 baserunners.
Hughes continued to struggle with command, but when his pitches were in the strike zone, they were nasty. He walked the first batter in the fourth, then ended the inning with back-to-back strikeouts. He walked two more batters in the fifth, but induced a couple weak flyouts to escape unscathed once again. In 2 2/3 innings of work, he walked five and didn’t allow any hits, while throwing just 17 of his 40 pitches for strikes.
Freshman Dylan McShane came in for the sixth. He hit the third Trojan batter of the night, and a couple hits extended USC’s lead to 7-0.
Oregon’s offense had little response against Sodersten. The right-hander kept the Ducks off the board for the first six innings, striking out a career-high 10. T. Smith struck out three times for just the second time all season.
Nishida, of all people, broke the shutout with a solo bomb in the seventh. It was his fifth home run of the season, and Oregon’s 76th of the year — setting the single-season team record. The moment wasn’t as joyous as it could have been for the Ducks, considering they still trailed by six.
Soderstren settled down to record his 11th strikeout and complete seven masterful innings. He threw 112 pitches in the effort.
Reliever Caden Connolly was not nearly as effective. Cowley hit another solo shot — his fifth homer in his last five games and sixth in his last seven.
Ceballos recorded his second hit of the night, which knocked Connolly out of the game before he could get an out. Josh Blum came in and walked T. Smith, but then struck out the side to prevent Oregon from making a serious comeback bid.
McShane wound up having one of his better outings of the season. He threw a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts, and recorded nine outs total.
The Ducks’ offense went down in order in the ninth to complete the lackluster loss.
No. 17 Oregon (30-15, 13-9 Pac-12) will look to bounce back against USC (26-19-1, 12-10 Pac-12) Saturday at 6:30 p.m. with Logan Mercado likely on the bump.
