Oregon baseball topped the Fresno State Bulldogs 3-2 on Monday thanks largely in part to the efforts of three freshman pitchers. With the win, the Ducks drew a 2-2 split in their season-opening series.
James Acuna captured his first career win in an Oregon uniform and struck out five Bulldog batters in three innings of relief work. Acuna and fellow freshman Ryne Nelson and Kenyon Yovan combined to throw five scoreless innings for the Ducks after Fresno State scored two early runs off of Oregon starter Isaiah Carranza.
The Ducks took a 2-1 lead in the third inning on a two-RBI single by A.J. Balta before Fresno State tacked on a run in the bottom of the third to even it at 2-2. Jake Bennett roped an RBI single in the fifth inning to send home the go-ahead run and give Oregon a 3-2 lead.
Bennett went 2-for-2 and walked twice for the Ducks, while Scott Silva went 2-for-4 with two RBI for Fresno State. The Ducks got four innings out of Carranza, but he failed to strike out a batter and gave up five hits.
The Ducks will gave a slight break before they head to San Diego on Feb. 24 to take part in the Tony Gwynn Classic on the University of San Diego campus. They face UC Irvine at 1 p.m. to start the tournament.
Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney