Michigan had seven two-out RBIs and took advantage of a dozen Oregon-issued free passes to hit its way to a 12-11 win. The Ducks scored each of the game’s last four runs, but the late-inning heroics fell just short as Michigan avoided the brooms.
No. 15 Oregon baseball (22-9, 10-5 Big Ten) took the series over Michigan (17-14, 8-7 Big Ten), but dropped Sunday’s contest as its pitching wasn’t up to par.
“We didn’t pitch it worth a darn,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said.
Michigan’s first two runners of the game reached on a hit and a walk, but Will Sanford worked a 23-pitch scoreless frame that featured a pair of strikeouts.
Oregon, meanwhile, took only one hitter to get on the board. Mason Neville cranked his 14th homer of the season out to right-center field to put Oregon ahead just six pitches into the bottom of the first.
A Colby Turner RBI triple in the top of the third knotted the game up after Sanford struck a batter in the helmet with a curveball to put a man on base. A batter later, Cole Caruso singled him home to give the Wolverines their first lead of the afternoon.
Fortunately for Oregon, Anson Aroz ended the inning by robbing Jeter Ybarra of a homer with one of the greatest plays PK Park has ever seen. He climbed the fence on a dead sprint, reached over the wall and brought back what would’ve been a two-run blast.
“He does that every day in practice, too. I mean, it’s crazy how good the kid is,” Wasikowski said. “He’s remarkable, and he’s an even better kid.”
Oregon looked to get right back to work offensively after Aroz’s heroics, but the Ducks squandered a bases-loaded, nobody-out opportunity with a popout, a strikeout and a groundout. A run did cross on a wild pitch to tie the game, but it was by no doing of the Oregon offense and two runners were left stranded.
Sanford’s struggles continued in the fourth. After hitting the leadoff man, he gave up another RBI triple, this time to Matt Spear, who came in to score on a Brayden Jefferis infield single as Michigan retook the lead. Sanford didn’t work a single clean frame in his four-inning outing.
He finished with five strikeouts and a walk while allowing four runs on six hits in 73 pitches. Ian Umlandt took over in the fifth, but quickly relented a two-run Ybarra homer as the Wolverines extended their lead to 6-2.
Michigan starter Kurt Barr kept Oregon somewhat in check for his first four innings. After the Ducks won back-to-back games on a run rule to open the series, Barr limited them to just two runs on four hits through four frames. His six-strikeout effort had the Ducks on their heels until the fifth inning.
Things looked good for Michigan as it took a four-run lead into the fifth. Little did the Wolverines know, disaster was awaiting them in the bottom of the inning.
A Jacob Walsh bomb brought the Ducks back within two runs in the bottom of the fifth. His eighth homer of the season hit the back of the roof in right field and severely dampened Barr’s outing. When the next two Oregon hitters reached, Barr was yanked and the Wolverines’ lead was in jeopardy once again.
Will Rogers relieved Barr, but Maddox Molony knotted the game with a two-RBI bloop single into left. A double steal brought Molony home and capped off a five-run fifth as Oregon took a 7-6 lead.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, they immediately gave their hard-fought lead away. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases for Michigan in the sixth and Turner brought everyone in with a grand slam. Turner was 2-5 with five RBIS as the Wolverines avoided the brooms.
Not one Oregon pitcher recorded a clean inning of work on Sunday. The Ducks’ staff combined to allow 24 runners during Michigan’s busy afternoon on the bases.
Oregon loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but left three men aboard as the Ducks failed to cash in. Oregon stranded 11 runners in the loss.
Wasikowski said that he felt there were many opportunities that got away from his team offensively, noting that moments like that were key to the Ducks’ successes in the first two games of the series.
Wasikowski was ejected in the bottom of the seventh inning after arguing a controversial call on a pop fly in foul territory.
“The umpires ruled that Garate somehow interfered with the play and called him out,” Wasikowski said. “I obviously didn’t agree.”
Cole Stokes loaded the bases with free passes in the eighth before being pulled after just 11 pitches (one strike). Michigan added another tally in the eighth to effectively put the game out of reach.
A three-run jack from Drew Smith in the eighth brought the Ducks back within two and Neville’s second of the day made it a one-run game in the ninth, but the hole was too deep for Oregon to climb out of and the rally fell just short.
“They’re happy that they won a series,” Wasikowski said of his team. “When you win a series, it’s good. The objective was to win today for a sweep and I think they feel like they left a lot on the table today.”
Oregon takes to the road after the series win over the Wolverines. The Ducks will open up a three-game series with Maryland on Friday at 3:00 p.m.
