For the second straight night, the Ducks took on their rival.

For the second straight night, they had a chance to upset the No. 9 Beavers.

For the second straight night, the offense failed to get off the bus and spoiled a dominant pitching effort. 

For the second straight night, No. 22 Oregon turned wasted opportunities into a loss. 

Again, Drew Smith supplied all of the Ducks’ offense. His solo home run in the third — his second of the season — knotted the game at one. In the eighth, he tied the game up again with a sacrifice fly. But on a night where Oregon (28-15, 11-10 Pac-12) mustered three measly hits, it wasn’t enough.

One night after RJ Gordon pitched a gem and got burnt by his offense, it was Grayson Grinsell’s turn to do the same. 

He pitched six incredible innings, limiting one of the best offenses in the country to two runs on four hits while fanning eight and only walking two. His effort should have been more than good enough, but for the second straight night, the Ducks’ bats were nowhere to be found. 

After Smith’s heroics tied the game in the top of the eighth, the Beavers (34-9, 13-7 Pac-12) wasted little time regaining their lead. 

Elijah Hainline ripped a two-run single off Logan Mercado — who earned his first loss of the season — to give Oregon State a 4-2 lead to protect in the ninth. 

It was a task Bridger Holmes is more than familiar with. He locked down his 10th save of the year by striking out the side in the ninth. It was one of three innings in which Oregon’s offense tallied three Ks. 

In all, the Ducks struck-out a whopping 15 times against OSU on Saturday. Jacob Walsh and Bryce Boettcher led the charge with three apiece. Mason Neville had two of his own. Not one batter in Oregon’s lineup didn’t strike out in one of the Ducks’ worst-looking losses of the season. 

Props to OSU starter Jacob Kmatz. He played a big role in making Oregon look as bad as it did on Saturday. Across his 6.1 innings, he allowed just one run on two hits while fanning 10. It was a pitcher’s duel through and through, Kmatz just had the better offense behind him. 

The Beavers got all their runs off RBI singles. Canon Reeder had one in the second to open the scoring and Jabin Trosky had one in the seventh to help OSU go up 2-1. 

Oregon was 3-29. The Ducks have four hits in two games this weekend. It’s hard to imagine Oregon even sniffs a ranking over the next few weeks.

Oregon State is a great team, but the Ducks’ offense has looked so good in non-conference games. It’s a concerning pattern for it to not show up during meaningful conference games. 

Oregon looks to avoid the sweep tomorrow.