For the second straight day, Oregon baseball faced a seven-run deficit. While the Ducks were able to scratch out a miraculous 8-7 win on Friday, they couldn’t quite replicate the same magic on Saturday in front of one of their most packed crowds all season. They trailed 8-1 at one point and ultimately fell 10-8 to Washington State.
“The Oregon fans are the best in the business,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “These people love good baseball or good sports, just exciting stuff. We had several opportunities… We had a couple at-bats get away from us, which was disappointing.”
Washington State started the scoring by hitting a two-run homer off Jace Stoffal in the first inning.
Stoffal, sitting 91 to 92 mph with his fastball, issued a walk with one out in the second inning. He then gave up another two-run homer, extending the Cougars’ lead to 4-0. Once again, Oregon found itself in an early hole.
Anthony Hall and Colby Shade hit back-to-back singles in the bottom of the second. Jack Scanlon nearly went deep for his third three-run homer of the year, but it tailed just foul and he ended up striking out. Gavin Grant struck out as well, and the Ducks didn’t score.
Stoffal gave up a walk and a double in the third inning, which ended his outing after 2 1/3 innings pitched.
“I didn’t think Jace pitched very well today,” Wasikowski said. “I thought the ball was coming out of his hand good, but he had some count-leverage pitches that got away from him. When you’re in an 0-2 count and you’re giving up a home run, that’s not it. Jace knows that.”
Matt Dallas replaced him and hit the first batter he faced to load the bases. He then induced what appeared to be a tailor-made double play, which the Ducks have been great at executing this year. But Josh Kasevich uncharacteristically dropped the ball on the transfer, allowing the Cougars to scratch across another run.
The Ducks got on the board in the bottom of the third. Drew Cowley walked, Brennan Milone collected his second hit and Cowley scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-1.
Dallas issued a two-out walk in the fourth, then gave up the Cougars’ third two-run homer of the game. A single, a wild pitch and another single made it 8-1. Just like on Friday, the Ducks faced a seven-run deficit.
The Oregon hitters went back to work in the bottom of the fourth, this time with the added confidence that they had the ability to come back.
Hall and Shade opened the inning with back-to-back doubles to score a run. Scanlon was hit by a pitch, and Grant made it 8-3 with an RBI single. Tanner Smith grounded into a double play to calm the rally, but it brought in another run.
“We don’t quit. No doubt about it,” Wasikowski said. “That’s established… We’ll play it out all the way ‘til the end. Leaving the ballpark early is probably not a good move with this club. These guys are hungry, and they want to win, and they’re gonna give you everything they’ve got ‘til the very end.”
Despite a rough fourth inning, Dallas stayed in the game. He bounced back to strike out two batters in a scoreless frame.
“He’s been really good this year,” Wasikowski said of Dallas. “Everybody doesn’t have a great day every day that they go out there, but when he went back out there he threw up the first zero that we had of the game, which was huge.”
The Ducks loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth with two walks and a single. The Cougars made a pitching change, bringing in Kolby Kmetko. He hit Shade, forcing in a run to make it 8-5, and he was taken out after facing just the one batter.
Scanlon drove in another run with a hard groundout, but Grant flew out to end the inning.
Three singles against Oregon right-hander Dylan Sabia added a Washington State run in the sixth. In the seventh, he gave up the Cougars’ fourth homer of the game and seventh of the series, extending the Ducks’ deficit to 10-6.
Hall kept Oregon alive, hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to make it 10-8. It was the Ducks’ first homer of the series. Perhaps more significantly, it was their 57th of the season, which set a new school record.
“When you’re hitting home runs, it’s fun,” Wasikowski said. “It’s fun to see the ball go out of the park… It’s great that we got 57 home runs. Hopefully that gives the crowd what they’ve been wantin’. That’s physical play that guys get in there and they take their swings, and they’re competitive until the end.”
Caleb Sloan struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth, reaching 96 mph with his fastball.
“When you’re throwing 96 miles an hour and you’re a big strong kid like him with that mentality, that’s pretty intimidating, and he did great today,” Wasikowski said. “Really proud of Caleb and his development. I think Coach [Jake] Angier has really helped Caleb in his development, and I’d like to see him continue.”
Sloan gave up a pair of singles in the ninth and was pulled with one out. Rio Britton recorded a strikeout and ended the inning on a fantastic pickoff move to second.
Unlike Friday’s wild five-run ninth inning, Saturday’s final frame was quiet. The Ducks went down in order, losing the game 10-8. Their seven-game winning streak came to an end.
“It’s a fun group to be with, and even though we lost today, I can’t wait to suit up with them again tomorrow,” Wasikowski said.
Oregon (26-12) and Washington State (15-22) will play the rubber match of the series Sunday at noon.
