The Oregon baseball team’s early-season struggles continued this weekend as the team dropped two of three in California against Long Beach State. The Ducks won the first matchup in a 5-0 shutout, but suffered a late-inning collapse on Saturday in a 7-6 loss and fell in the rubber match 4-1 on Sunday.
Friday
Judging by Oregon’s performance in the series opener, things were finally beginning to lighten up. Junior starter Tyler Anderson reached a new career high with 14 strikeouts in eight innings of shutout ball, and the offense did its part to provide him with his first victory of the season.
A sacrifice fly from sophomore Ryan Hambright put Oregon on the board in the fifth inning, but it wouldn’t be until the eighth that the Ducks broke the game open. Oregon scored four runs on zero hits after numerous errors by Long Beach State, and it proved to be more than enough for Anderson.
Senior Kellen Moen finished the job in the ninth inning, moving Oregon back above .500 at 5-4 after losing to Portland last Tuesday.
Saturday
A shaky bullpen came back to haunt Oregon on Saturday night in a 12-inning, 7-6 loss. Junior starter Madison Boer made it through eight innings, giving up just one run and striking out four. He left with a 6-1 lead, and victory seemed all but assured.
Junior closer Scott McGough came in to finish the job, but was forced to leave after retiring just one batter and letting in five runs to tie the game.
The game lasted until the bottom of the 12th inning, when Long Beach State’s Jeff Yamaguchi hit a walk-off single. The loss dropped Oregon to 5-5 heading into Sunday’s series finale.
Sunday
Another solid pitching performance went by the wayside for Oregon on Sunday in a 4-1 loss to end the series. Sophomore starter Christian Jones lasted seven innings, giving up four runs while striking out nine and walking four. The Ducks, however, managed just three hits against Long Beach State starter Shawn Stuart, scoring once in the first inning and failing to push across another run throughout the final eight.
In all, the Ducks had just three hits while their record fell to 5-6 overall. The team will have a chance to right the ship on Tuesday against Oregon State in Corvallis.
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