Washington had a huge opportunity to knot the game in the eighth. One of the Huskies’ few true chances to do anything on the week was denied by a series of elite pitches from Jaxon Jordan.
He came in with the bases loaded and one out as the Ducks clung to a two-run lead. He got one batter to pop out and fanned another with a devastating sequence of pitching to slam the door.
That was as close as Washington got to dealing the Ducks any true damage on the weekend as the Ducks earned the three-game sweep with a 5-3 win on Sunday at PK Park.
No. 5 Oregon (38-13, 19-8 Big Ten) earned a Mother’s Day, Senior Day and Sunday win over Washington (27-25, 15-12 Big Ten) to potentially turn the lights out on any hopes of the Huskies making a postseason appearance.
“Sweeping anybody’s hard to do,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “We were able to pull it off. Very happy with the ballclub.”
It took the Ducks one pitch to get after Washington starter Justin Tims. Mason Neville took his first offering of the day to right-center for his nation-leading 26th homer of the season. Tims entered the game without a winning start since late March and Neville showed PK Park why as he opened the scoring as early as physically possible.
Oregon’s Jason Reitz wasn’t overly sharp to start his afternoon on the mound, either. He allowed a runner to reach scoring position in each of his first two innings and was already at 40 pitches after two frames, but he made some timely pitches to keep Washington off the board for the entirety of his six-inning outing.
Anson Aroz led off the bottom of the second in the same way Neville opened the first. His 15th blast of the season made its way into the Oregon training area and doubled the Ducks’ early lead. Two batters later, Chase Meggers also left the yard for his first homer of the year, a two-run shot that plated himself and Maddox Molony.
“It felt really good,” Meggers said. “I think the biggest thing was my mom’s here and it’s Mother’s Day. I wouldn’t be here without her, so it was special to hit that in front of her.”
Tims’ day ended before he could record an out in the second. He surrendered four runs on five hits in just 20 pitches in his shortest outing since February. Reitz, on the other hand, found his groove. His third, fourth and fifth innings of work (all scoreless) combined for 32 pitches. He found his rhythm, but those long first frames limited his day to six frames on 91 pitches.
“I don’t focus on the pitch count too much,” Reitz said. “Just going out there and throwing strikes, just pounding and attacking for the team and as long as I can do whatever to go deep, that’s what I’m going to do.”
He only allowed three hits (all to shortstop Sam DeCarlo) in his outing and picked up his fourth win of the season.
“I think he was landing his pitches a little bit better as he got going,” Wasikowski said. “Third, fourth, fifth inning, you know. He got his two-seamer working. He was able to elevate his fastball when he needed to and his secondary pitches landed for strikes.”
The Ducks loaded the bases with two outs and a single before an out was recorded in the fifth. Molony sent a sac fly into left to plate a run, but Washington’s Isaac Yeager (five innings, one run, two hits) limited the damage to the lone tally in his remarkable relief outing.
Ian Umlandt took over the pitching duties for Oregon in the seventh, but only recorded one out before relenting a two-run homer to Cooper Whitton that got the Huskies on the board. Ryan Featherston came in and recorded a pair of strikeouts to limit the damage.
A single and a pair of Cole Stokes hit-by-pitches loaded the bases for Washington in the eighth. A wild pitch brought a run across before Jordan came in and got two clutch outs for the Ducks, who took a two-run lead into the ninth.
“I know in the past, people have criticized the bullpen or whatever,” Jordan said. “But we don’t buy into any of that. We know we’re good.”
The offense, meanwhile, completely shut down after the Molony sacrifice fly. The UW bullpen retired the final 12 Oregon hitters, but the lead was enough for the Ducks to earn their second Big Ten sweep of the season. Jordan, Toby Twist and Seth Mattox combined to pitch an ugly, but scoreless, ninth. Meggers capped off the sweep by gunning a man at second on an attempted steal.
The Ducks are now winners of seven-straight games and 11 of their last 12. They’re playing their best ball down the stretch and look to stay hot against Iowa — the current leader in the Big Ten standings — on the road next weekend.
