Oregon in its green jerseys playing a home game on St. Patrick’s Day? Sounds like a lock.

Sunday was never going to be anything but an Oregon win. That’s just what the Ducks (13-6, 4-2 Pac-12) got with their commanding 10-3 win over California (12-5, 4-2 Pac-12) to snag the series victory. 

“Good teams win on Sundays,” Oregon’s Anson Aroz said. “You finish sweeps, you don’t get swept [or] you win the series. So whatever the situation is, winning on Sunday is always huge.”

After Oregon dropped Friday’s opener in 13-1 fashion, Grayson Grinsell led the Ducks to a 5-1 win on Saturday. Sunday was the rubber match both squads needed to secure their second series wins of conference play. 

Oregon’s offense entered Sunday hitting a collective .196 in conference play and .185 in the series. The Ducks began to change that narrative early in the first. Justin Cassella led the frame off with a single and would come around to score on a Bennett Thompson RBI single. Then, Jacob Walsh lined his seventh home run of the season out to left-center field. The Ducks led 3-0 after attacking Cal’s Tom Mayer right away.

California’s Rodney Green Jr. was 0-8 with eight strikeouts — five on Friday and three on Saturday — through the first two games of the series. On Sunday, he put a ball in play for the first time in the top of the first with a groundout to second. He’d go 1-3 with a pair of RBIs on Sunday. 

PJ Moutzouridis opened the game with a double to right field. Cal had its first baserunner and its first scoring threat early. Kevin Seitter, however, responded by working a groundout and a pair of strikeouts to strand Moutzouridis. 

Seitter didn’t do himself a lot of favors in his early innings. The Golden Bears marked leadoff hits in each of the first three innings. Often, Seitter was able to settle it down after the hit as only one of the leadoff runners came around to score — Jarren Advincula in the third. 

In all, Seitter had the afternoon the Ducks needed from him in Sunday’s rubber match. He threw a dominant 5.0 innings while allowing just one run on four hits while striking-out six and only walking one. He earned his second win of the season and his ERA dropped from 6.32 to 5.23.

“Pitching on Sunday’s when it’s a rubber match is a lot of fun,” Seitter said. “You need someone to go out there and throw strikes and compete and I pride myself on doing that and I’m looking forward to staying in this role if I may.”

Mayer’s day ended in the fourth. After allowing back-to-back doubles to Walsh and Aroz and walking Carter Garate, he was pulled for Tyler Stasiowski — who immediately surrendered a two-RBI double to Cassella. The Ducks tallied three in the fourth as Cal turned to its bullpen. 

Mayer finished allowing six runs on five hits across his 3.2 innings of work while only fanning three. He earned his second loss of the season as his ERA rose from 3.63 to 5.57.

Bradley Mullan relieved Seitter for the sixth inning. He too got into early trouble by allowing his first two batters he faced to reach. But, similarly to Seitter, he calmed down and threw a pair of strikeouts to keep the frame scoreless and hold Oregon’s 6-1 lead. 

Michael Freund pitched the seventh for Oregon. As was the theme, the first batter he faced reached. Green Jr. hit a two-out, two-RBI triple down the right field line to drive in two and cut into Oregon’s lead. Freund would finish the inning, but the Golden Bears were sneaking their way back into Sunday’s contest. 

Oregon’s offense, on the other hand, had gone silent. Following Cassella’s double in the fourth, California’s pitching staff retired 10 straight Ducks. 

Then, unlike Saturday’s game, the offense came alive again in the later innings. In the eighth. Walsh sent his second homer of the game — again, to left-center — to score himself and Jeffery Heard — who opened the frame with a double. 

On the next pitch, Aroz put his third homer of the season on the roof of the player development building in right. A few batters later, Ryan Cooney sent his second homer in as many days out to left. The Ducks had a comfortable 10-3 lead to take into the ninth. 

“Finishing a weekend with that excitement, leaving off on an awesome note is huge,” Aroz said. 

Logan Mercado threw both the eighth and ninth innings for Oregon. He too allowed a leadoff hit in the eighth, but also settled down to pitch two scoreless frames. 

The Golden Bears’ leadoff hitters were 6-9 on Sunday, but Cal couldn’t muster the timely hitting it needed. The Golden Bears stranded eight runners in the rubber match and were just 3-13 with runners in scoring position.

Oregon will remain in Eugene to face Arizona (7-10, 2-3 Pac-12) for a three-game series from Mar. 22-24. The Ducks were 4-0 against the Wildcats in 2023 including a 5-4 win in the Pac-12 Championship. First pitch on Friday is set for 5:05 p.m.