With one swing of the bat, Jacob Walsh turned a two-run deficit into a two-run lead. His fourth-inning grand slam plated Oregon’s first four runs of Sunday afternoon’s 8-5 win over Arizona State.
The Ducks (11-4, 2-1 Pac-12) took down the Sun Devils (7-8, 1-2 Pac-12) to earn their first series win of Pac-12 play. It was another comeback win for Oregon after a wild rally on Saturday.
Timely hitting and a dominant bullpen outing helped the Ducks finish their five-game roadtrip on a high note.
Kevin Seitter didn’t have his best outing on Sunday, but he was able to minimize the damage. Despite allowing five hits across his 3.2 innings, Oregon’s starter limited the Sun Devils to just a pair of runs. The two he allowed both came on RBI doubles — one from Brandon Compton in the second and the other from Harris Williams in the third. Seitter earned a no-decision and his ERA sits at 6.32 after his first outing of conference play.
Michael Freund came in for Seitter in the fourth and quickly got the Ducks out of a two-on, two-out jam with a ground-out to end the threat.
Then, Walsh launched his grand slam — his fifth of the season — to rapidly change the momentum of Sunday’s contest. With one swing, the Ducks had a lead that they wouldn’t surrender en route to the series win.
An Anson Aroz RBI single extended the lead to 5-2 in the top of the fifth, but back-to-back home runs from Williams and Ryan Campos in the bottom of the frame brought the Sun Devils within a run after five.
ASU walked in two batters in the top of the sixth. Both Ryan Cooney and Mason Neville drew walks to bring in runs, but the Ducks were unable to push more than two runs across in the inning. Oregon had three of its five total runners left on base in the sixth. Arizona State left 10 runners on base in its loss.
Campos homered again in the seventh to bring the Sun Devils within two. His next at-bat determined the fate of the game.
A tense bases-loaded, two-out, full-count at-bat in the bottom of the eighth had both dugouts holding their breath. Oregon’s Logan Mercado’s 3-2 offering was sent deep into right field by Campos, but Aroz reeled in the catch to end the threat and keep the Oregon lead at 7-5 entering the final frame.
The ninth inning was less dramatic. Aroz sent his second homer of the series out to right field to add an insurance run and the Sun Devils went down quietly in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
Freund earned the win on Sunday as he put in 2.1 innings of two-run ball. His outing was similar to Seitter’s: good enough and damage-limiting.
Mercado earned the seven-out save as he allowed just one hit across his 2.1 innings. The save is his second of the season.
Six ASU pitchers took the bump — including three in the ninth — on Sunday. The loss was credited to starter Tyler Meyer, who allowed Walsh’s go-ahead slam.
The Ducks took the win and the series after dropping the opener on Friday. In all, Oregon went 4-1 during its Arizona-based roadtrip with a pair of wins over both Grand Canyon University and Arizona State.
Oregon returns home next weekend for a three-game series against the California Golden Bears (10-3, 2-0 Pac-12). First pitch on Mar. 15 is set for 5:05 p.m.
