The Ducks are perfect in conference play no more.
A poor third frame haunted No. 9 Oregon (17-4, 5-1 Big Ten) as untimely errors and walks led to a 9-1 Gophers win as Minnesota (8-10, 2-4 Big Ten) avoided the series sweep.
A game originally slated for 12:05 p.m. didn’t get underway until 5:20 p.m. thanks to a lengthy rainstorm and an abundance of delays. When it finally got going, Jack Spanier roped the first pitch of the contest into right to give the Gophers an early scoring chance.
The opportunity got better after Oregon starter Will Sanford walked back-to-back hitters to load the bases with one out, prompting an early mound meeting. The conference worked, however, as Parker Knoll grounded into a double play to allow Sanford to miraculously escape his jam.
The Ducks also loaded the bases in the first with a pair of singles (Dominic Hellman and Jacob Walsh) and a walk, but Anson Aroz’s flyout to right ended the threat as the two squads combined to leave five runners on base in the first.
“They got out of a couple of jams,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “We had a bases-loaded situation that they were able to wiggle out of. I thought that was a big momentum play.”
Charlie Sutherland and Jake Larson recorded back-to-back hits in the top of the second to give Minnesota the first lead of the game. Sanford stranded Larson at third with a pair of strikeouts, but allowed four five men to reach in just his first two innings.
Two more Sanford-issued walks and a Jake Elbeery single loaded the bases again for the Gophers in the third. This time, there was no escape act from Sanford, who relented another walk to gift Minnesota a free run. The walk — Sanford’s fifth of the day — ended his day early. He finished with 2.1 innings, allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits and fanned four across his 77 pitches (39 strikes).
“It didn’t look like he was handling the conditions today,” Wasikowski said. “I thought the first few days of the series, we had some tough conditions that our pitchers handled and I don’t think Will handled them today.”
Seth Mattox took over, but allowed another pair of runs to cross on Ryan Cooney’s second error of the series before walking another hitter. He was quickly pulled after throwing just 10 pitches for Ian Umlandt. Maddox Molony made an error of his own at short on a play that allowed two runs to score and extended the frame long enough for six total runs to cross in the third.
The No. 9 Ducks faced a massive hole as they looked to remain unbeaten in conference play. It would be one they couldn’t work out of.
Minnesota’s pitching staff had the Ducks guessing all night. Starter Noah Rooney went four innings and fanned five while relenting only three hits. He struck-out the side in his final frame before turning the pitching duties over to Tyler Hemmesch, who punched out the first two batters he faced.
“They did a good job throwing strikes, mixing pitches, keeping us off balance” Wasikowski said.
Oregon struck-out eight times in its first conference loss of the season and only had one hit past the second inning. Hellman had two of the Ducks’ four hits.
The Ducks’ pitching staff calmed down after the second inning. Umlandt finished with three Ks and no runs across his 2.2 innings and Jaxon Jordan struck-out the side in the sixth as a part of his two-inning, five-strikeout appearance.
“Those guys threw really well,” Wasikowski said. “Those two pitchers gave us a chance… I thought they were outstanding, both of them.”
Jameson Martin crushed a solo shot in the top of the seventh for an unneeded, but loud insurance run. Oregon finally got on the board as Minnesota made a fielding error in the seventh. Minnesota responded with a run in the top of the eighth.
The long delay pushed up against Minnesota’s flight time, so the game was called after the eighth inning. Oregon lost its first conference game in a shortened contest, but will still take a 5-1 Big Ten record into next weekend’s series with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
