Oregon saw its streak of four consecutive Pac-12 series wins end Sunday as Washington State took the final two games after Oregon (27-12, 11-7) won 6-2 on Friday night. It’s the first home series loss for the Ducks this season and their first series loss since dropping two straight to Texas State. @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&KEY=&SPID=11401&SPSID=94835@@
Game One
Oregon opened the series with a 6-2 win over Washington State behind seven solid innings from Alex Keudell and a three-RBI night from right fielder Kyle Garlick. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205417116@@
Keudell earned the win to improve to 6-3 on the season, but coming off a stretch of back-to-back Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week, the Duck ace didn’t feel it was his best outing.
“I didn’t have my best stuff,” he said. “But I battled through it and was able to keep guys off base in key situations.”
Head coach George Horton agreed with Keudell’s self-assessment, but he said the senior’s ability to limit damage was a large part of Oregon’s success.
“Al luckily turned potential crooked numbers into ones, and that was the key to the game,” Horton said.
Oregon took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on the strength of a two-out, two-run triple from Garlick. Oregon added two more in the fourth on a leadoff home run from Garlick and a double from Kevin Shepherd.
The Ducks broke deep into Washington State’s bullpen, forcing Washington State head coach Donnie Marbut to bring five relievers in. Horton said that would only factor into the rest of the series if Oregon was able to knock the Cougars’ starters out of the game.
“The bullets that they used out of the bullpen might play big if we can break down their starter,” Horton said. “But if their starter goes nine then it’s not a problem.”
Game Two
A nightmarish eighth inning doomed the Ducks on Saturday as Washington State batted around and plated six runs to turn a 3-2 deficit into an 8-3 win. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205417704@@
“There’s nothing we can do about this one — we didn’t handle our end of the bargain,” Horton said.
Freshman Jake Reed started on the mound for the Ducks and threw seven solid innings before leaving the game in line for the win.
Washington State scored a run in each of the first two innings but Oregon kept the deficit at one heading into the third thanks to a great throw from Kevin Shepherd and a block of the plate by Brett Hambright.
Oregon took the lead in the bottom half of the third, and once again Garlick was involved, tying the game with a two-out, two-RBI hit. Garlick scored the go-ahead run later in the inning on an error by Washington State’s Patrick Claussen.
The Ducks carried the lead into the eighth inning before the Cougars’ monster outburst.
Game three
Washington State used two big innings, scoring three runs in the first and four in the fifth, to set the tone Sunday as the Cougars won an offensive showdown 10-6. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205418141@@
Oregon scored two runs of their own in the first inning, but a pair of two-run hits in the fifth inning served as the knockout blow. Washington State would add another run in the sixth and two more in the eighth.
The scoreline was just one of Horton’s worries, however as an already injury-plagued team, the Ducks may have lost another regular starter.
In the top of the seventh, Brett Thomas collided with shortstop Kevin Shepherd chasing a ball hit by Jason Monda and was down for several minutes before walking off the field under his own power, albeit slowly.
“We were both running full speed and called it at the same time,” Shepherd said. “I think my shoulder hit his head so he got the worst of it.”
Horton said it was too soon to tell for sure, but Thomas showed concussion symptoms after the collision and he will be evaluated by team doctors.
“He was pretty shaken up,” Horton said.
Oregon showed some life in the late innings with a solo home run from Mendenhall in the eighth, and a three-run ninth inning that brought the tying run to the plate, but the Ducks’ rally fell short.