Across the country, teams are honoring their seniors during the final games of the regular season. At PK Park, it was the freshmen getting the love after Brayden Jaksa and Naulivou Lauaki Jr. hit two crucial home runs in the 4-3 win on senior night.  

No. 16 Oregon baseball (37-15, 19-10 Big Ten) took game 2 of its final home series against No. 17 USC (42-13, 20-9 Big Ten) today. Standout performances from Will Sanford (6.0 IP, 7 K, 3 H, 2 ER), Jaksa (1-4, 3 RBI, HR) and Lauaki (1-4, HR, 1 RBI) helped secure the win and force a rubber match for game three.

Sanford got off to a strong start in the first with a three-pitch strikeout to lead off the inning before striking out two to cap off the perfect inning. This strong start was a stark contrast to his last outing against No. 1 UCLA, where he gave up two runs on three hits in the first. 

“I thought Will was really good coming off of last weekend,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said postgame. “I know he wanted to make a statement, and he did make a statement.”

The hot start quickly turned sour in the second inning with right fielder Jack Basseer hitting a line drive triple off the glove of Jax Gimenez in left center field. With a runner on third and no outs, Basseer scored on a groundout up the middle from designated hitter Augie Lopez. Any memory of Sanford’s hot start quickly faded after he walked Andrew Lamb and gave up back-to-back singles to shortstop Dean Carpentier and center fielder Walter Urbon.  A run scored from Urbon’s hit, which gave the Trojans an early two-run lead heading into the bottom half of the second. 

The Ducks’ offense could not get off the ground after getting zero hits through the third inning. Things finally turned around in the fourth after a throwing error from third baseman Maximo Martinez allowed Ryan Cooney to advance to second base with no outs. After a groundout from Angel Laya advanced Cooney to third and Drew Smith drew a walk, Jaksa got the crowd on their feet with a three-run home run past the left field foul pole. Shortly after the blast, Lauaki sent a ball deep to center field for the second home run of the inning. 

“I put together a good battle, and I knew once I got it in the air, it was a good chance,” Jaksa said. “Hit the ball hard and I always try to stick to my approach. It’s really cool to see [Lauaki] do well when he gets put in those opportunities.”

Oregon continued to fly high heading into the final third of the game after managing to hold the Trojans to no hits following the two-run inning in the second. Outside of strong pitching from Sanford through the middle innings, the defense was stellar, including a home run robbery from Jack Brooks in the top of the sixth.

The top of the seventh saw Wasikowski make his first call to the bullpen of the game, with Collin Clarke coming in as an atypical relief pitcher. He got off to a hot start with a strikeout before back-to-back singles from Martinez and Lamb put runners on first and second. A walk loaded the bases, but Clarke managed to strike out one before Luke Morgan was brought out from the pen to close out the inning. After getting into a 3-1 count, Trojans second baseman Kevin Takeuchi flew out to end the nailbiter inning.

Jonah Barkoff took over on the mound to start the eighth in only his third appearance of the season. Entering the game, he boasted a 0.00 ERA with six strikeouts in three innings of play. After walking two batters with one out, Barkoff found himself in danger of letting up the first run of his collegiate career. Before he could try to work his way out of the jam, Devin Bell took over in a potential save opportunity.

Bell immediately put a runner on with a hit by pitch, which loaded the bases with one out. A potential double play was missed on a fielder’s choice from Cooney, and a run scored to cut the lead to one before Bell fanned the final out heading into the bottom half of the inning. 

USC went three up, three down to close out the game and handed Bell his 11th save of the season.

“There’s never a doubt in my mind when he comes to the game that he’s going to get those last couple outs,” Sanford said.

The Ducks will take on the Trojans in the final game of the regular season on Saturday, May 15, at 3:02 p.m. PST at PK Park.