It seems Oregon’s offense just needed one game to warm up.
While Friday’s night opener was an underwhelming effort, one in which the Ducks barely scratched out a win, the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader was anything but. Oregon’s offense showed it all: massive home runs, perfectly placed bunts and some slap-hitting mastery from Rikuu Nishida. For the first time in the young 2023 season, Oregon showed itself to be a multifaceted and versatile offensive team.
The Ducks took down Xavier 9-2 in a seven-inning contest, securing their second straight win to start the season. Freshman Leo Uelmen made his debut on his mound and turned in a strong outing.
The fascinating, pesky Nishida had an adventurous first inning. He caught a line drive for the first out, but came up short on a grounder that was ruled an infield single. He ended the frame by scooting over to field a soft roller that nearly poked through the right side.
Oregon’s offense came right out with a three-spot against Xavier pitcher Brant Alazaus, a soft-tossing lefty who throws a lot of strikes. Nishida and Drew Cowley singled, and Nishida stole his first base as a Duck to set things up for Owen Diodati. Diodati struck out, but the right-handed Josiah Cromwick stepped to the plate and crushed one to left field for a three-run homer.
Sabin Ceballos joined the party in the second inning. He blasted one over the center field wall in his first Oregon at-bat, making a strong initial impression on his new team.
Cromwick tacked on, outdoing even his own earlier home run. He murdered a baseball to left field, one that had absolutely no doubt of leaving the park. He proved his ownage of Alazaus, making it a 6-0 Oregon lead in the third inning.
Uelmen settled in nicely. He wasn’t overpowering, but he induced a lot of soft contact and commanded his pitches well. He navigated through the first four innings without allowing a run. The only real jam he found himself in was after a two-out double in the third, but he got Xavier’s star shortstop, Jack Housinger, to pop one up.
After six runs from homers, the Ducks manufactured a few in the fourth. After Ceballos walked, Colby Shade laid down a perfect bunt single. Gavin Grant hit a sacrifice bunt, moving the runners over. On a 1-2 count, Nishida leaned into his classic crouch — going so low he nearly touched the ground — then slapped a two-run single. A wild pitch put him on third, and Tanner Smith made it 9-0 with an RBI single.
Uelmen finally cracked in the fifth. The Musketeers scratched out an unearned run on a two-base error by Grant and a run-scoring single to get on the board. The line kept moving with two more hard-hit singles, cutting Oregon’s lead to 9-2.
Still, Uelmen prevented things from getting any worse. He turned in five solid innings in his collegiate debut, giving up just the two unearned runs on six hits, while striking out two and walking none. It was exactly the type of performance the Ducks are going to need from their freshmen going forward.
Freshman lefty Grayson Grinsell finished things up for Oregon. He threw two perfect innings and struck out four. It was a much-needed stress-free victory after Friday night’s late-inning comeback.
Oregon (2-0) will play the second game of the doubleheader approximately 45 minutes after the completion of the first one.
