A day after RJ Gordon dazzled with his 8.1-inning outing, No. 17 Oregon baseball secured the series win with a 5-3 victory over the Trojans. Saturday, however, was significantly less flashy and impressive. Still, a win is a win, especially over another squad vying for the top of the Pac-12 standings. 

The Ducks (25-9, 10-4 Pac-12) took advantage of flooky plays on a drizzly day to topple the Trojans (16-18, 9-7 Pac-12) 5-3 to clinch their fifth conference series of 2024. 

An 85-minute rain delay pushed back Grayson Grinsell’s start, and the potential rust of the delay was on display early as USC’s leadoff man reached in each of the first four innings. 

USC, however, failed to capitalize early. A pickoff ended the first inning and the Trojans had a man thrown out at the plate in the second. Despite having five different batters reach through the first two innings, USC left three on base and was held scoreless until the third. 

In what was a bizarre game from start to finish, the Ducks scored Saturday’s first run on a ball off the bat of Anson Aroz that hit the first base bag and allowed Jeffery Heard to score as the ball took a wild bounce. The Ducks led after two innings on a wet day in Eugene. 

When the Trojans finally did break through, it did so on another flukey play. With runners on second and third, Ethan Hedges sent a sacrifice-fly out to center field. The throw came in high, and was fielded by Grinsell. He then — while trying to back-pick the runner at second — threw the ball into the left-center gap, allowing a second run to score. 

An inning later, Kevin Takeuchi launched his third homer of the season to the USC bullpen. The fourth-straight leadoff batter to reach against Grinsell extended the Trojans lead for the time being. 

More weirdness helped the Ducks regain the lead in the bottom half of the frame. After Chase Meggers singled in a run, Maddox Molony laid down a bunt that brought two in to score. Meggers never stopped running and scored from second on the play. Molony then scored on an RBI single from Bryce Boettcher. The Ducks got four in the inning to make it 5-3 after four.

Grinsell’s day ended after five innings, but his fifth was by far his best frame. He struck-out the side and kept the momentum on Oregon’s side. He finished the day with six strikeouts and four across his 5.0 complete innings. He allowed three runs, but only two of them were earned. He earned his fourth win of the season as his ERA dropped only slightly from 3.79 to 3.76.

Oregon’s bullpen was incredible on Saturday. It allowed no runs on three hits across 4.0 innings. Ryan Featherston pitched three scoreless innings and Bradley Mullan locked down his fourth save of the season. 

Oregon has a chance to go for its first sweep of conference play tomorrow at 12:05 p.m. Kevin Seitter (4-1, 5.02 ERA) will be on the mound for the Ducks. Sunday serves as a huge opportunity for Oregon to establish itself at the top of the conference, while the Trojans look to avoid a crucial sweep.