Some people say it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. Tonight, Burke-Lee Mabeus and Naulivou Lauaki Jr. had plenty of fight in the 6-4 comeback win over the Washington Huskies in Seattle.

No. 13 Oregon baseball (34-11, 16-6 Big Ten) took the series opener against Washington (20-25, 9-13 Big Ten) 6-4 today on clutch hitting from Mabeus (1-3, HR, 3 RBI) and Lauaki. (3-4, HR, 2 RBI). A poor start from pitcher Will Sanford (4.1 IP, 5 K, 4 ER) was quickly forgotten after the Ducks took game one of the series.

Oregon got off to a solid start in the first with Brayden Jaksa reaching on a hit by pitch before a throwing error allowed Ryan Cooney to reach first and Jaksa to advance to third. Shortly after the error, Drew Smith dropped a sacrifice bunt, which scored Jaksa to give the Ducks an early lead to start the late-night showdown in Seattle.

Sanford got off to a rocky start after hitting the Huskies’ leadoff man on the second pitch before allowing left fielder Jackson Hotchkiss to slash a single to shallow left to put two runners on with no outs. After a walk loaded the bases, Sanford struck out one, but a double from Blake Wilson cleared the bases to put Washington back in the game with a two-run lead.

After a scoreless top half of the second, Sanford got into another jam after walking two batters and striking out two. A wild pitch walk allowed catcher Ethan Swindler to score before a little league-esque double steal failed with Mabeus able to catch Hotchkiss attempting to steal home.

The Ducks struggled to put bat to ball in the early going with zero hits through the first three innings. Things turned around in the fourth with Lauaki Jr. sending an RBI single through Huskies pitcher Jackson Thomas’s legs to score Angel Laya and advance Mabeus to second to reduce Washington’s lead to two. 

After letting on two to start the bottom of the fourth, Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski made the call to the bullpen for Luke Morgan. He got off to a hot start with a strikeout before a pop fly got him out of the jam set up by Sanford. 

After yet another scoreless offensive effort from the Ducks, Wasikowski brought out Toby Twist following Morgan’s six-pitch appearance. Twist struck out one before center fielder Mic Paul reached via an infield single. A dazzling play on a line drive catch from Smith resulted in a double play to end the inning.

In the top of the eighth, the Ducks’ offense showed signs of life after Cooney drew a walk and Laya advanced him to third on a single to right field before advancing to second on a wild pitch to put the tying run in scoring position. Oregon got the heroes they needed after Mabeus demolished a ball to deep right for a three-run homer just before Lauaki hit a solo home run to give the Ducks a two-run lead heading into the bottom half of the eighth.

Tanner Bradley became the fifth pitcher for Oregon, entering a save situation. He walked one before a double play and a lineout quickly ended the inning. Bradley has been Wasikowski’s go-to closer alongside Devin Bell this season and boasts a 1.50 ERA.

After a scoreless ninth inning, Bradley closed things out with two strikeouts to secure his first save of the season with a 6-4 win.

The Ducks will face the Huskies tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. at Husky Ballpark.