It never rains at Autzen Stadium, but it definitely does at PK Park, where No. 23 Oregon baseball (2-0) took the second game of its opening series 14-5 on the front end of a doubleheader against the George Mason Patriots (0-2).

Left fielder Angel Laya (2-4, 3 RBI) and third baseman Drew Smith (1-4, 4 RBI) led the Ducks’ offense with 2 home runs and a grand slam, respectively. 

Right-hander Collin Clarke (6.0 innings, 2 ER, 10 K) started things off on the bump for Oregon, with righty Diego Cardenas got the start for the Patriots. Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski gave Brayden Jaksa the start behind the plate in his collegiate debut.

Clarke got off to a bad start with contact on his first two pitches, a pop-up and then a home run from Julius Bognerise to start the first inning. He recovered, striking out two to get out of his early-game funk. The Ducks got off to a slow start with only one hit in the first from designated hitter Dominic Hellman.

Things started to pick up with shortstop Maddox Molony picking up his first hit of the season, a single up the left, after going hitless in yesterday’s game. Right fielder Angel Laya then smashed a ball into the next zip code for a two-run home run to go up 2-1. Jaksa followed that up with a stand-up double that looked like it had the distance but bounced off the top of the wall. He was sent home on a single from left fielder Jax Gimenez to go up 3-1. 

Multiple pitching blunders from Cardenas, including a wild pitch and a bases-loaded walk, sent home centerfielder Jack Brooks and Gimenez. The Patriots made the call to the bullpen and brought in right-hander Jake Drumm. His first outing of the season was ruined after Drew Smith demolished a pitch down and in for a grand slam. It put the Ducks up 9-1.

Clarke struck out two in the third, staying hot after letting up the early home run. The Ducks’ bats cooled off following the nine-run inning as the rain slowed down, with no batter getting on in the third.

Clarke was fired up in the fourth after a strikeout and snagging a comebacker, and got a talking to from the third base umpire. He immediately let up a first-pitch home run to Lucas Alberti to right field. Gimenez started things off right in the mid-fourth with a leadoff double to the right corner and got sent home on an RBI single from first baseman Gabe Miranda to go up 10-2. 

It was quiet through the fifth and sixth, with Clarke striking out the side in the sixth. Leo Uelman replaced Clarke in the seventh, his first appearance since 2023 after redshirting in 2024 and not appearing in 2025. He let up two singles against Luciano Terilli and Albert, and quickly earned a visit to the mound from the coaching staff.

Things only got worse for Uelman after an RBI double from Matthew Westley sent Terilli home to make it 10-3. Toby Hueber replaced Westley at second as a pinch runner and was sent home alongside Albert on a two-run single from Laken Tignor to make it 10-5. Uelman recovered with back-to-back strikeouts to head into the seventh-inning stretch.

Uelman struck out one in the eighth before getting replaced by righty Ryder Edwards, a transfer from Division III school George Fox University. Laya continued his hot streak with a second solo shot to deep right in the bottom of the eighth. A single and double from Jaksa and Brooks set up a three-run homer for Ryan Cooney to go up 14-5. 

Right-hander Tyson Willis replaced Drumm following the four runs. Elijah Cook came in as a pinch hitter for Gimenez, and Owen Morgan pinch hit for Hellman. Tyler Holley came in as a defensive substitute in the ninth for Smith at third.

The Ducks managed to close the game out to win 14-5 in their first leg of the doubleheader.