For the first time in Oregon baseball history, the team has scored 20 runs in back-to-back games.

The Ducks thought they had a big eighth inning on Monday when they scored 12 runs. They somehow topped that in Friday’s home opener, putting up a whopping 13.

St. John’s made a worthy comeback attempt in the middle innings, but Oregon’s bats exploded in unrelenting fashion. Playing in the new-look PK Park for the first time in front of fans, the Ducks came away with a blowout 23-5 victory. They recorded 18 hits and drew 12 walks on the night. Oregon has scored an absolutely absurd 44 runs in its last two games.

“You gotta ride with the positives and grind through the negatives,” Ducks third baseman Drew Cowley said. “It’s always nice though when you put up 23 runs like we did today, so hopefully just build off that going into the rest of the series.”

Brennan Milone continued his torrid stretch by blasting a two-run homer in the first. He said on Wednesday that he’s being more aggressive at the plate than he was at South Carolina. It’s already paying huge dividends — he’s 11-for-20 with three homers and two doubles to begin his Oregon career. He also drew two walks Friday.

Colby Shade nearly replicated Milone in the second, driving one to left-center that bounced off the new, shallower fence. After Gavin Grant drove him in, Cowley broke it open with a two-run homer that made it 5-0.

Starting pitcher Adam Maier’s sinker sat at 92-93 mph from the outset. He battled some early control issues, inducing an inning-ending double play in each of the first two innings. The Ducks looked like a different team defensively, staying calm and making crisp plays in the field.

He settled in during the third inning. He wiped hitters away with his nasty low-80s slider, collecting four strikeouts through four scoreless innings.

Maier appeared to be in a groove, retiring the first pair of batters in the fifth. After a two-out walk, he gave up an unlucky infield single. That was just the Red Storm’s third hit, two of which were infield singles.

But Maier allowed a big fly with two outs. In one swing of the bat, St. John’s cut the Ducks’ lead to 5-3.

The Red Storm recorded yet another infield hit against Maier in the sixth, then followed with a hard-hit single that put runners on the corners with one out. After a mound meeting and some deliberation, Maier’s evening came to an end.

“I didn’t think that his command of his fastball was as good as we’ve seen it,” Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski said of Maier. “And his slider percentage for a strike probably wasn’t as good as he’d like it to be.”

Matt Dallas gave up a single to the first batter he faced, bringing in a run that was charged to Maier and making it 5-4. Dallas recorded a crucial second out that advanced the runners to second and third, and Oregon turned to lefty Rio Britton for the biggest spot of the game thus far.

Britton recorded an enormous strikeout, holding the one-run lead and closing the book on Maier.

Oregon added some much-needed insurance in the bottom of the sixth. Two walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases, and Cowley got on base for the third time with a single that made it 6-4.

After a passed ball brought in another run, a balk called on St. John’s pitcher Tim Cunningham made it 8-4. The PK Park crowd loved it. Cunningham did not.

Anthony Hall was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and the fifth run of the inning came in on an error by the third baseman. The Ducks only recorded one hit in the inning but blew their lead open to 10-4.

Oregon’s lone defensive miscue came when Jacob Walsh dropped a ground ball in the seventh as a run scored. The run would have come in anyway, but Stone Churby had to work harder. He recorded two strikeouts to limit any further damage.

A five-run lead wasn’t enough as the Ducks put a ridiculous rally together in the eighth. The first 11 batters reached without recording an out, including five consecutive walks. A total of 18 batters reached in the inning, scoring 13 runs on eight hits and six walks.

Oregon has scored a total of 25 runs in its last two eighth innings.

“The kids can hit,” Wasikowski said. “This is a group that people can rally around and say, ‘This is gonna be fun to go to the ballpark and watch these guys hit and play.’”

Dylan Sabia pitched a perfect ninth inning, closing out the 23-5 win just under the four-hour mark.

After a shaky start to the season, the Ducks are on a historic surge of offensive dominance. 

Oregon (2-3) will continue with Game 2 of the four-game series against St. John’s (1-4) Saturday at 2 p.m.

“I think this is gonna be a really exciting team to watch, and a team that should contend for a league title,” Wasikowski said.