Grayson Grinsell dominating on Friday nights is starting to become routine for the No. 5 Ducks. He threw seven shutout innings as No. 5 Oregon (36-13, 18-8 Big Ten) served Washington (27-22, 15-9 Big Ten) a goose (or duck) egg on the scoreboard.
Oregon was determined to win after a pregame ceremony to officially name the Ducks’ home “Bob Kilkenny Field at PK Park”. With Pat Kilkenny and family in attendance, Oregon didn’t disappoint.
The Ducks got right after Washington starter Max Banks. Mason Neville drew a leadoff walk to tie the Oregon single-season record with his 50th walk of the year. Parker Stinson bunted him to second before Jacob Walsh drove him home with a single into right.
Walsh came around to score on an RBI single from Anson Aroz as Oregon opened a 2-0 lead just 13 pitches into Banks’ outing. It didn’t get much better for the UW righty in the first as he brought in the Ducks’ third and fourth runs of the frame on his fourth and fifth free passes of the inning. Oregon put up a four-run first inning while only recording a pair of hits as Banks spent 32 of his 103 overall pitches.
“We jumped out there and got on a guy that gave us some opportunities,” Aroz said after his three-hit night. “We want to give Grayson all the run support we can and beat good pitchers because we’re going to run into them down the road.”
The first-run outburst gave Grinsell more than enough cushion to get his outing started in the right way. He only allowed one Husky to reach base during his first time through the Washington lineup.
He ran into trouble in the fourth as he loaded the bases with a pair of free passes and a Jackson Hotchkiss single, but he got Blake Wilson to chase a high fastball to end the threat on his 56th pitch of the night. Grinsell ended four of his seven innings with a strikeout.
“He had that one inning where the bases got loaded and he had to make some really good pitches,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “(The Huskies) are a feisty group. Washington played their way into a really good spot in the Big Ten Conference.”
At the halfway point of the contest, Oregon only had three hits, but two of them came with a runner in scoring position. The Ducks’ four-run first frame held as the game’s only tallies until the seventh.
Banks settled in very nicely after his awful first inning. He didn’t issue another free pass or run across his six-inning outing. Oregon got two of its four hits off of Banks in that fateful first inning, one that ultimately spelled defeat for the Huskies. Banks was served his first loss of conference play.
“He didn’t give up,” Aroz said. “He didn’t have any quit in him today. Tip your cap to that. We like playing against guys that like to compete.”
Grinsell continued his dominant junior season with seven more innings of shutout ball. He held his seventh-straight opponent to under three runs. He didn’t have his best stuff on Friday and got himself into some deep counts, but he still tallied eight strikeouts and earned his eighth win of the season. He brought his season ERA to 2.53 and his ERA in Big Ten play to 1.53.
“Everyone wants to be the Friday guy,” Grinsell said. “Your job as the Friday guy is to set the tone for the rest of the pitching staff and the rest of the weekend. I just try to go out there and give my all on every pitch and that’s what I feel like I’ve been doing.”
He threw a season-high 121 pitches and only allowed five baserunners (three hits). Grinsell could very well add another Big Ten Pitcher of the Week accolade to his impressive 2025 season resume.
“Grayson wanted to finish the game and we had to pry the ball out of his hand, even after the seventh inning,” Wasikowski said. “We were like, ‘no, you’re done, man. Go sit down and cool down.’ But he pitched very well and he’s a true competitor.”
Gunnar Nichols took over on the mound for the Huskies in the seventh, but he was quickly greeted by Jeffery Heard, who sent his third homer of the season out to right field to add to the lead.
“It felt really good,” Heard said. “It’s no secret that it’s been a minute since I’ve hit one, so it felt nice for sure.”
That would be the extent of the offensive production for the Ducks, who recorded seven hits and six strikeouts in the win, but it would be more than enough. Cole Stokes pitched the eighth inning for Oregon and picked up a quartet of strikeouts in the frame. Seth Mattox threw a scoreless ninth to seal the Ducks’ 36th win of the season.
Oregon earned its seventh shutout win of the season and first since Mar 29. The Ducks will go for the series win on Saturday. First pitch is set for 2:05 p.m. Collin Clarke is expected to start for the Ducks.
