With the Friday game postponed due to weather, Oregon Ducks baseball picked up a pair of wins over the California Golden Bears in a doubleheader on Saturday at PK Park.
The Ducks jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first three innings in the first game before having to withstand a furious late rally by the Golden Bears, and Oregon escaped with an 8-5 win.
Matt Mercer pitched six innings, surrendering three runs (two earned) on seven hits and struck out eight batters to collect his third win of the season. Parker Kelly entered the game for the final three innings and picked up his first save of the season. He gave up two hits and two runs (one earned) and struck out three batters.
Ray Soderman finished the game 3-of-4 with a 2-RBI single that pushed the Oregon first-inning lead to three runs. The Ducks added two more runs in the second inning when Ryne Nelson scored on a throwing error by California left fielder Jonah Davis.
Down six runs, the Golden Bears comeback attempt started in the fifth inning when Sam Wezniak made it home on a throwing error to first base. After a wild pitch scored another run, the Golden Bears cut the Oregon lead in half with a single up the middle.
In the top of the eighth inning, California pulled within a run on a two-RBI single by Cameron Eden.
The Ducks answered quickly by loading the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jakob Goldfarb scored on a sacrifice fly by Taylor Travess. After Kyle Kasser reloaded the bases with his fourth hit of the game, Jonny DeLuca came through with an RBI-single to extend the Oregon lead back to three runs.
Oregon built a big lead in the second game of the doubleheader, but there was no counterpunch by the Golden Bears this time as the Ducks won 7-2 to complete an undefeated day.
Kenyon Yovan, who is Oregon’s usual closer, picked up his first win of the season in a rare starting opportunity for the sophomore. He held the Golden Bears to one run on five hits over five innings.
Jakob Goldfarb led the Ducks with a 4-for-5 performance highlighted by a two-RBI single in the seventh inning that extended the Oregon lead to five runs.
California held a one-run lead in the first inning but didn’t score again until the ninth inning and the game was out of reach.
The Ducks tied the game in the third inning on a sacrifice fly and took the lead on a single by Jason Drees, who made his seventh appearance in a game this season.
The two teams conclude the three-game series on Sunday at 12 p.m. at PK Park.
Follow Zak Laster on Twitter: @zlast3445