It only gets harder for Oregon from here. 

That statement may sound like a grim one. But the truth is, the Ducks likely won’t see another opponent that they can outscore 51-13 in a four-game series like they did against Lafayette. 

Oregon (6-1) capped off the weekend-long abuse of the Leopards (0-7) on Sunday with a 12-2 win that was highlighted by Kevin Seitter’s dominant outing on the mound.

Seitter, the Quinnipiac transfer, made his second start of the season on Sunday. After an outing against Baylor in Texas that saw him allow three earned runs on five hits across four innings, Seitter had a much better outing against the Leopards’ offense. 

His six inning performance featured 11 strikeouts — including three in the 1st — as he limited Lafayette to just two runs on four hits. Of his 92 pitches, 62 found the zone for strikes. His 11 Ks are the most by an Oregon pitcher in a single game since Robert Ahlstrom did it on May 7, 2021. 

“It definitely builds confidence, Seitter said. “But, I know there’s a lot more.” He said he wants to improve his first-pitch strikes and breaking balls as the season rolls on. 

The first three games of the series gave little indication that Lafayette would be able to break through on Sunday. Seitter made sure of it, picking up his first win of the season. 

With final scores of 17-3, 15-4, 7-4 and 12-2 across the four-game series, Oregon consistently demonstrated the immense gap in talent between the Ducks and the Leopards. All that Sunday served as was a continuation of a series that proved to be as advertised: a beating. 

“It’s early to start giving difinitives on every little thing,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikwoski said. “But, we’re seeing a lot of pluses. Something to build off this weekend because I know next weekend is going to be a heck of a task.”

There will be plenty of tasks trickier than the Leopards were this weekend. 

Lafayette’s Corey Savedoff entered Sunday with just 1.2 innings under his belt. In one appearance this season, he allowed an earned run while striking-out four. He toed the rubber for the series-finale and looked to shut down the Ducks. 

He never even got going. In the six batters he faced, he walked two and hit two and allowed Bennett Thompson to score on a wild pitch. Despite not allowing a hit, Savedoff was tagged for the loss after going 0.2 innings and allowing the earned run. He threw just 24 pitches in his brief appearance on Sunday. 

The Leopards’ sloppy defense was on full display in the 2nd. It paired nicely with an explosive five-run, five-hit inning from Oregon’s bats as the Ducks opened up a 6-0 lead. 

After Jack Brooks got hit in the head by a pitch and Justin Cassella singled into left field, Chase Meggers ripped a single into left field that was misplayed by Jeremiah Holder and allowed two runs to score. Jeffery Heard then picked up his sixth RBI of the series on an RBI-double that plated Meggers. Another wild pitch scored Heard, a single from Garate scored Walsh, and the Ducks were in firm control of Lafayette again. 

Lafayette got on the board in the 3rd. Colella’s second hit of the day set the Leopards up with two baserunners and Blaze Fadio brought one home with an RBI-groundout.

Jeremiah Holder’s first-career homer left PK Park in the 5th. Lafayette’s nine-hole hitter took Seitter deep to — temporarily — bring the Leopards back within four runs. 

Oregon got the run back as early as it possibly could. Ryan Cooney lit a leadoff-bomb to start the Ducks’ half of the 5th and the lead was back to five runs.

Brock Moore took over in relief for the 7th. He worked a scoreless inning while striking-out two as he predominantly demonstrated his 100+ mph fastball. Jaxon Jordan pitched the 8th and Turner Spoljaric closed out the 9th. In total, Oregon pitchers tallied 16 strikeouts on Sunday — the most in a single game by the Ducks’ pitching staff since whiffing 20 against New Mexico State on April 3, 2021. 

Cooney also led the 7th off with a triple, and would come in to score on Bryce Boettcher’s three-run homer as a part of a four-run inning that extended Oregon’s lead to 11-2. Also in the 7th, Garate got plunked for the sixth time in the series. 

“I think it says a lot about [his toughness],” Wasikowski said. “He’s just a good player and he’s a really tough kid.”

Despite the dominating win, Oregon baserunners got thrown-out on the basepath four times on Sunday. Three Ducks were caught stealing and Walsh got picked off. 

Oregon’s schedule gets harder — although, any opponent would likely prove a tougher test — next weekend as the Ducks host No. 22 UC Santa Barbara (3-3) at PK Park in the relocated series.